Labels

I had a long talk with my mother tonight about labels and Aspergers.  She doesn't really want to believe that she produced an Aspie.  I get that, because she would have to admit that she's one too.  And she may not be ready. She says it's just another label.

I tried to get her to see that while it may be just a label, it's a label that explains so much for me.  The meltdowns, the shyness, the clumsiness, the issues with noise and light and so on.  Having this name to call it means I am  not so abnormal after all.   I'm not crazy, or stuck up.  I'm just different.

I think it's much easier to meet a challenge when you know what the challenge is.  You can waste a lot of timing climbing a mountain if the challenge is to find a certain tree at its base.  That's the benefit of having the label.  It may not define my challenges, but it does tell me what letter to look under.