...seeing things from a different perspective...

"Imagine a world where Aspergers was the norm, and non-autistics or neurotypicals were the minority. Let's try it: Those who feel the need to constantly be with a variety of friends are considered fickle. Those with no propensity for computers and science are called geeks. Those with no special interest are thought to be ungrounded and lost. Those without obsessive focus have to take classes to cultivate it."

~Rudy Simone

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...stare, don't stare...make up your mind...

"I don't really understand why it's considered normal to stare at someone's eyeballs"

~John Elder Robison

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...creative solutions...

"When living with a neurological condition (or with a loved one who has one), it can be very easy to focus on the challenges and limitations.  But in my life, I have found that focusing on abilities, finding new ways to adapt, have been crucial to my successes in life. Seeking those solutions can even be seen as a form of creativity."

~Lynn Soraya

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...learning the 'rules'...

"Girls are generally recognized as superior mimics. Those with [Asperger's Syndrome] hold back and observe until they learn the 'rules', then imitate their way through social situations."

~Tony Attwood

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...there is no epidemic...

"As the diagnosis of autism is increasing the diagnosis of mental retardation is decreasing. And more and more on the other end, the high end, more children who are just a little bit off, who ordinarily you would not single out now are being described as perhaps Asperger's syndrome or on the high end of the autism spectrum, so I don't believe there is an epidemic."

~Gerald Fischbach

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...a way of being...

Saying you "have" something implies that it's temporary and undesirable. Asperger's isn't like that. You've been Aspergian as long as you can remember, and you'll be that way all your life. It's a way of being, not a disease.

~John Elder Robison

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...different, not defective...

"From my clinical experience, I consider that children and adults with Asperger's Syndrome have a different, not defective, way of thinking."

~Tony Attwood

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...an important and valuable characteristic...

"Asperger's syndrome has probably been an important and valuable characteristic of our species throughout evolution."

~Tony Attwood

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...measuring the success of our societies...

“To measure the success of our societies, we should examine how well those with different abilities, including persons with autism, are integrated as full and valued members."

~ Ban Ki-Moon, Former United Nations Secretary-General

...the movement of rivers and stars...

“We contain the shapes of trees and the movement of rivers and stars within us."

~ Patrick Jasper Lee

...the reason I'm successful...

“My autism is the reason I’m in college and successful. It’s the reason I’m good in math and science. It’s the reason I care."

~ Jacob Barnett, sixteen-year old math and physics prodigy

...travelers from the distant past...

“Although people with autism look like other people physically, we are in fact very different…We are more like travelers from the distant, distant past. And if, by our being here, we could help the people of the world remember what truly matters for the Earth, that might give us quiet pleasure."

~ Naoki Higashida, The Reason I Jump

...the ultimate square pegs...

“Autists are the ultimate square pegs, and the problem with pounding a square peg into a round hole is not that the hammering is hard work. It’s that you’re destroying the peg.”

~ Paul Collins

...then their abilities will shine...

“Do not fear people with Autism, embrace them. Do not spite people with Autism, unite them. Do not deny people with Autism, accept them for then their abilities will shine.”

~ Paul Isaacs

...a part of humanity...

“Autism is as much a part of humanity as is the capacity to dream.”

~ Kathleen Seidel

...embracing value...

“Until we create a nation that regularly wants to employ a person with autism, assure for a quality education for each person with autism, and eliminates the far too many unnecessary obstacles placed in the way of success for a person with autism, we really won’t be as successful as we must. We need to get all in our nation to embrace the belief that each person with autism is valued, respected and held to the highest level of dignity and must be provided every opportunity for the highest quality of life each and every day.”

~ ASA President Scott Badesch

...what comes naturally...

“Let’s give people with autism more opportunities to demonstrate what they feel, what they imagine, what comes naturally to them through humor and the language of sensory experience. As we learn more about autism, let’s not forget to learn from those with autism. There are poets walking among you and they have much to teach.”

~ Chris Martin, Unrestricted Interest

...diversity of the human gene pool...

“Autism is here to stay and may be considered a part of the diversity of the human gene pool."

~ Dr. Stephen Shore

...a bright thread...

“I see people with Asperger’s syndrome as a bright thread in the rich tapestry of life.”

~ Tony Attwood

...differences in cognitive functioning...

“The concept of neurodiversity provides a paradigm shift in how we think about mental functioning. Instead of regarding large portions of the American public as suffering from deficit, disease, or dysfunction in their mental processing, neurodiversity suggests that we instead speak about differences in cognitive functioning."

~ Dr. Thomas Armstrong