I think the lefty thing is being mentioned because many things are made with right handed people in mind. It probably has nothing to do with the old superstitions that left handed people were once associated with. It would be more of a minority, but that's just my theory.

I'm not sure if its similar(to your depression), but I went through quite a bit of anxiety over the past year. It was a health/situation anxiety kind of thing. Made is difficult for me to do anything, and I practically starved myself for two months because I had literally no will to eat anything. I still go through episodes every now and again but I seem to be doing alright. It isn't nearly as serious as some anxiety disorders or depression but it can still affect my life, and my college work.

Self-diagnosing is a bad idea. Diagnosis requires the meeting of very specific criteria, and there are a number of neurological disorders with symptoms that overlap Asperger's. If you really think you have it, you should consult a mental health professional.

We were however, a nightmare in sheild walls, having to stand at one end of the line. Plus the last castle I fought in had a staircase that was anti-clockwise. My source? I'm a left-handed historical re-enactor, so sick to death of being sent to the end of the line in shield walls for being "awkward", I switched from sword-and-board to archery, and shot them all instead. Also no fighting up stairs requited.

Being left-handed may not be an impairment, but it sure is an annoyance sometimes.


I suggest you go and educate yourself about mental health problems before you go mouthing off about 'attention seeking' (a common misconception that actually stops a lot of sufferers seeking professional help out of fear they won't be taken seriously.) If I'm not mistaken, wasn't this thread supposed to be about impairments people don't understand? Judging by some of the ignorant responses in here I'd say there's a great deal some people don't understand. The website of the mental health charity Mind http://www.mind.org.uk/mental_health_a-z/7980_understanding_depression if you'd like to be better informed about mental health issues. It can happen to anyone.

As for my own impairment, I get panicked in crowds and enclosed spaces. The symptoms can range from relatively harmless nausea or looking for an exit to 'get away', to shortness of breath, rage and palpitations. Aeroplanes are a real barrel of laughs for anyone travelling with me, as they inevitably end up looking after me all the way.

This. People cannot fathom that I have a disorder that makes it impossible to function in every day life because I'm always "smiling and so happy" and have no outward manifestations of it (unless I'm in full panic mode). I would do anything to be able to travel outside of my town... Seriously, my goal in life is to be able to travel successfully 1 hour in each direction and still be able to function.

I also have people tell me: "Man, you don't work? I wish I had your life!" That line makes me so freaking mad because then they follow it up with "I'd be at every single day!" to which i have to remind them that if they had my life, they'd also have panic disorder with agoraphobia and they wouldn't be doing anything of the sort... but they just look at me like I'm crazy and tell me they wouldn't let it stop them.. blah, blah, blah.. like it's my choice.

The "smiling and happy" thing is frustrating: it's something that's developed over a lifetime because it's not helpful to ourselves or others to look stressed and miserable, but sometimes it backfires. I get so used to doing it that sometimes I can't turn it off, and I've even had the "you seem okay to me" routine from health professionals who should know better.

The supposed benefits of free time are definitely not worth having. The times I can't work I hate being dependent on anyone else and will do anything to get myself together, though willpower alone sometimes isn't enough. And likewise, being able to actually get out and see the world would be nice...

I never had anything... Teeths, good looking, muscular, excellent sights etc, I got it all. I never get sick either, like fever. Supernatural nuff said.

Chronic periodic depression. It's mellowed a lot over the many years but it does still interfere with a lot of stuff ... like personal goals and whatnot.

And sometimes I consider my 4' 11" height to be an "impairment" ... at least as much as being left-handed is.

eg, everything is designed with taller people in mind (chairs, toilets, sinks, clothes, counter tops, cars, shelving, etc) so it's often irritating to "fit into" the world. Especially desks/chairs. My feet don't touch the ground if I'm seated properly in a chair at a desk/table that's average build-height, putting pressure on knees (or on the back from constant slouching). Fine when I was younger, not so fine when I'm older. Footstools everywhere - or when possible, I take the legs off desks to make them shorter. As a chr. in Silverado said ... if the world doesn't fit, you make alterations. Not really a big deal, just inconvenient at times.

Auditory Dyslexia. I need subtitles on almost everything all the time.

And if you have a foreign accent, even a slight one, I have the hardest time understanding you. Most people just chalk it up to American ignorance, but really I have an extremely hard time with even local diallects.

I'm not diagnosed but I was tested. The doctor ended saying something about "Oh he's just acting up cause of the divorce!" even though I've always been myself since birth, and such. I personally am thinking about doing the test again cause I do think I have Asbergers. I have like every single symptom that people with Abergers have and I'm reading a book about it in class. So far, I've related either completely or slightly to the majority of the things that the author had done in the book (Or his past, so to say).

I have that too. It's really weird, but it only happens once a week or so. It doesn't bother me, and my friends think it's funny for some reason.
This too. I was diagnosed with Asperger last May and I have a very bad case of anxiety disorder. My psychologist says I'm an extreme case and that she hasn't seen it this bad before. I can't talk to people without risking a panic attack, and interactions with children are even worse (I don't get along with them). Picking up the phone or calling someone is nearly impossible as well, even when it's just my friend or my grandpa or something. I can't get a job because nearly every job requires some form of interaction with people but unfortunately I also can't survive living like a hermit (if only I could).

Even something small, like someone dropping something on the floor and cursing, if it's unexpected and makes me jump, I risk a full blown panic attack.
Internet is a bit easier because it's so anonymous, but posting on places where I'm not familiar causes anxiety as well (not so much here anymore). Therapy doesn't help because the fear is part of the autism, so it's not 'learned' behavior. It's in my brain, but we're trying to get it under some level of control through meds. Of course, I'm not happy with that either, but whatever works I guess. I've had this all my life and I'm 26 now, so yes I'm quite tired of experiencing stress and fear every day. It's exhausting. I did manage to struggle my way through school but it seems to be getting worse with every year that passes. Not that there isn't some improvement but nothing that really makes a difference.

I also can't handle certain sounds or certain kinds of artificial lights. I get really uncomfortable and snappy when I see/hear them.

It's really frustrating when my colleagues at work (freelance, petting zoo, to make sure I still get outside and have some form of contact with others) give me dumb looks when I try to explain to them why I refuse to pick up the phone or refuse to address a visitor. Not because I'm lazy, or don't want to. It's because I'm afraid to, and I guess that is just difficult to understand for a 'normal' person.

My wife is pretty much deaf in one ear and she has to concentrate on what people are saying and sometimes she doesnt completely get the message. Also at times she has trouble realizing how loud she's talking, mostly when she's talking on the phone and she has to have the phone on her good ear.

On being left handed. I'm right handed but I write like a left handed person and also I at times can use my left hand better than my right hand depending on the situation. I think I might be kind of ambidextrous.

My hearing in my right ear isn't the best, cause of shooting without ear protection when I was young.

I don't consider it a disability, but people tell me it is. I mumble alot, always having to repeat what I say. I say open you're freaking ears

And I have been depressed since my Brother did back in 2011.

Oh and selective hearing.

Nvm.

i have occular ambliopia in my right eye. Started in my early childhood, so my retinal link to my brain never fully developed for that eye.. Basically, i am a cyclopse with extended peripheral vision on my right side.

its easy enough to explain to people that its essentially like watching TV. But it took me some time to get my drivers lisence because i dont have any depth perception.


aside from that.... im not even sure what condition it is, but i tend to think of both sides to every scenario. its annoying as all get out, because its like i have a courtroom trial going on in my head. even for the most mundane stuff. messes with confidence and interpersonal relationships at times.

I wouldnt call that a disability or a condition but rather being very opened minded. You are able to look at a situation from multiple perspectives and get a feel of how people in that situation may feel, right? I do the same thing. It's like i can feel remorse for the family of a murder victim while also feeling sorry for his family when he is given the death penalty.

it certainly does allow for empathy.
but, at times, it is kind of debilitating, Like say, when you are making frineds. and one side says "hey i got new friends!!" and the other side is like "theyre all gonna laugh at you!" it just happens often enough that it makes me second guess myself..
i now most people have their engels and devils. But, mine need to take a night off once in a while.

or another example is that it has me guessing peoples motivations for most everything. its not always needed, nor are the jury's findings always accurate.

With all due respect, I think some people confuse "quirks" with "disabilities/impairments".

We all have things that make us tick that might be a little different than others, but disabilities are things that have a pretty significant effect on your life.

I have "OCD" tendencies where I like things to be done a certain way and get pissy if they're done differently. Does that mean I have OCD? No. I'm just quirky like that.

This reminds me: I have absolutely no fashion sense. None whatsoever. Give me clothes and I'll have no idea what goes with what and why some of them don't fit together at all, I just don't see it. You choose awful clothes because you don't see certain colors, I see all of them and still make the same awful choices. Does it count as impairment?

On a more serious note, I have Asperger's - just like half of the people in this thread, it seems.


I know this feeling. It's always been so difficult to explain why I can't do some very simple, everyday tasks: I once had an panic attack when I had to buy theatre tickets and ended up going home and ordering them online. It was stupid because I was standing right there, several meters from the box office and I just couldn't do it, I couldn't walk up there, say two sentences and be done with it. It was happening all the time and what's worse, it was before I was diagnosed - so it eventually got the ridiculous point when I wanted to make an appointment with a psychologist, but I didn't because I was unable to make the phonecall. I really wanted to get professional help with my anxiety, but trying to register caused a panic attack, the very thing I was trying to get rid of. Madness.

I barely went through highschool, I was absent half of the time and the only thing that saved me were my academic achievements.

I did get help eventually and I learned to manage my anxiety. I always handled fear a little better than most aspies (except the high school period, that was a disaster) and while there are many things that I'm afraid of and I still have panic attacks every now and then, I can live with them. It's the other aspects of Asperger's that make my life difficult: being unable to understand certain social rules, for example. Requiring explanations for things that others grasp naturally. Establishing rules everywhere I go, trying to form patterns: I need them to feel safe. It's always a problem when I join groups or organizations. Lack of understanding of their internal structures and traditions confuses me greatly.

Well, my wife has schizophrenia. Quite a difficult impairment. Most people run away when they hear that word...there are so many stereotypes about the disease. She's quite a nice person once you peel away the schizophrenia barrier.

I also happen to have Asperger's. Of course, we Aspies have long been prone to bullying and oppression due to our social ineptitude.

And now that there is more awareness about the disorder and the Autism Spectrum in general, many people would still either ridicule us, or dismiss the disorder as an 'excuse' or 'crutch'...

Also for us straight Aspie males in particular, most girls tend to find us pathetic and creepy...

Tim (aka the Slipperman)

There's hope. Josh Klinghoffer, the guitarist for the Red Hot Chili Peppers, has Asperger's. He's a pretty cool guy.

I'm pretty certain that I don't have any disabilities or impairments, but I ended up responding to this thread anyway because the subject matter of the thread has already morphed to include simple personality quirks.

I suppose I may as well add myself to the list. There seems to be rather a lot of us, but perhaps RPG players are a bit of a self-selected group.

In my case with Aspergers, that kind of describes some of the attitudes I've gotten from a few relatives.. except they claim I never want to go anywhere and don't understand that I'm an indoors person and prefer most of my time alone.