Does Lori have Asperger's?

[Sava]

Would I be able to get through entry-level Marine Corps training and be an officer if I genuinely had Asperger's?

Probably. I've heard they've had to lower standards a bit since not as many are re-enlisting.

[Al B. Sure!]

Probably. I've heard they've had to lower standards a bit since not as many are re-enlisting.

Umm... The exact opposite, actually. There's a massive reduction in force, a ton of forced retirements of field grade officers and SNCO's, stricter enforcement of regulations (ie- 'alcohol-related incidents' leading to separation), and fewer company grade officers being career-designated. It's damn near impossible to join as an officer now (in fact, the Marine Corps is not taking any Active Duty officers this entire fiscal year, hence why I'm a reservist); even enlisting is ridiculously hard and Delay Entry is averaging about 12 months. There's a reason why the Commandant has been able to crack down on things like tattoos because the Marine Corps and the military as a whole frankly doesn't need people so they are actually raising the standards.


I really don't know what you heard:

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-02-13/pentagon-may-oust-troops-involuntarily-under-budget-reductions.html

The Pentagon plans to cut 67,100 soldiers from active and reserve Army units and the Army National Guard in the five years starting Oct. 1, as well as 15,200 from the active and reserve ranks of the Marine Corps as part of an effort to save $487 billion over a decade, according to the budget sent to Congress today.

The tattoo policy is a typical example of the tightening of standards:

http://www.marines.mil/News/Messages/MessagesDisplay/tabid/13286/Article/112183/amplification-to-the-marine-corps-tattoo-policy.aspx

Here's one section re: sleeves

SLEEVE TATTOOS AS DEFINED IN PARAGRAGH 5A ARE PROHIBITED. HALF-SLEEVE OR QUARTER-SLEEVE TATTOOS THAT ARE VISIBLE TO THE EYE WHEN WEARING STANDARD PHYSICAL TRAINING (PT) GEAR ARE LIKEWISE PROHIBITED.

[Elok]

Would I be able to get through entry-level Marine Corps training and be an officer if I genuinely had Asperger's?

Quite possibly. There's nothing in the diagnosis that would make you intrinsically unfit for general service. It certainly doesn't affect physical fitness, which would be the main criterion for entry-level training. I don't know about the requirements for officers, but I don't imagine empathy is a huge necessity for someone who may be forced to knowingly send subordinates to their deaths. IIUC, the military likes to make orders crystal-clear and keep relationships simple and clearly delineated, so that's no problem--and the tendency towards moral rigidity would be more of a plus than anything. The only problem I can foresee is the risk of overstimulation; you don't get much alone time to recharge in a barracks, and all the screaming of orders would be a bigger stressor for aspies than for normal folks. But that's not insurmountable for a sufficiently motivated individual.

Now, I wouldn't make it. But I'm asthmatic, and extremely nearsighted, and in poor shape, and I react to screamed orders with extreme hostility. Also I'd have no motivation to go through with it, since I'm not patriotic or militaristic at all. Doesn't matter, since not all aspies are exactly like me.

[Krill]

See what I mean by stigma?

[Elok]

See what I mean by stigma?

Al's opinions should not be depicted as representative of the general population's. He has this weird thing for Asperger's, to boot.

[Krill]

I dunno. Is Al that far removed from the general populaton?

[Ben Kenobi]

There's a difference between:

neurotypical and not having aspergers, albie

Anyways, some have commented that I have it as well, some of those who know me in real life have said that I exhibit some of the traits.

Your Aspie score: 77 of 200
Your neurotypical (non-autistic) score: 143 of 200
You are very likely neurotypical

Meh, I don't know about the frustration question. I want to say yes, and I think I should have said yes on it.

[Lorizael]

FWIW, I get a 120/200 on the aspie part and 70/200 for NT, which the test says makes me very likely to be an aspie. Clearly, my therapist knows what she's doing.

[Ben Kenobi]

FWIW, I get a 120/200 on the aspie part and 70/200 for NT, which the test says makes me very likely to be an aspie. Clearly, my therapist knows what she's doing.

Hey, I gave you my assessment.

Part of the problem is that the test isn't designed to differentiate between 'aspie' and 'deaf people' traits. Many do overlap. The strange thing is that some of the OCD traits which have nothing to do with my hearing I find very comfortable doing. Keeping strict routines, etc. I can see now why my mom was concerned about certain things when I was growing up because it wasn't *just* the hearing.

Edit, going over it:

6.6/10 in the OCD section.

18 could be a solid yes. Is it important to be left alone... absolutely. Is it vital? I very rarely work when interrupted, but I can succeed with it. It's just, if I'm going to be productive, why would I waste time with an inferior environment?

19, is yes, I'll do that every time I have time, prepare myself for the situation. Is it necessary though? Do I need it or can I function without it? I can get by but I vastly prefer being prepared.

I think part of it is that my mother knew what she was doing putting me in team sports.

Do I find it easier with 'odd or unusual people' or normals? I look at that and ask myself 'who is normal'? Is that a bad sign? I can talk with pretty much everyone.

And the going up to someone I don't know and saying hi and stuff, well, I was trained that way. If you're brought up that this is what you should do, and taught, this is what you should do in social situations, it's just automatic. I'm looking through a lot of the test, and I'm seeing how much of it is because, I was taught a particular way. Lots of the stuff in there - that I just do is all there and then you have what I've been taught.

Interesting. I wonder if I scored high on one of these when I was younger, say 10 or so, and my mother has been working on me since then.

[Elok]

I dunno. Is Al that far removed from the general populaton?

On this particular matter, at least: yes. He used to have this weird fixation on it. He'd bring it up in almost every thread I posted in, refer to me as "the aspie" or some crap like that. Nobody else on here has given me grief about it, except for a few cases where they were obviously trolling.

Oh, and one time I said two songs Asher liked were overrated, and he said it was because aspies like me couldn't understand romance and idealism. But Asher tends to treat me as a stereotype of my attributes in general. Like when I got married, and he assumed I'd shacked up with a virtual stranger because I was a naive Christian desperate to lose my v-card. Or basically any political thread, where I'm assumed to be a right-wing caricature on account of my nationality.

Anyway, most people here know who and what I am and have the sense to treat me as an individual. But then I've been here for a decade now. Crikey, I just realized that.

[Ben Kenobi]

Oh, and one time I said two songs Asher liked were overrated, and he said it was because aspies like me couldn't understand romance and idealism. But Asher tends to treat me as a stereotype of my attributes in general. Like when I got married, and he assumed I'd shacked up with a virtual stranger because I was a naive Christian desperate to lose my v-card. Or basically any political thread, where I'm assumed to be a right-wing caricature on account of my nationality.

Perhaps that's because it's Asher who has the problem?

[giblets]

Would I be able to get through entry-level Marine Corps training and be an officer if I genuinely had Asperger's?

Yes, and your narrow obsession with doing so doesn't convince me that you don't have Aspergers.

[DaShi]

Would I be able to get through entry-level Marine Corps training and be an officer if I genuinely had Asperger's?

Don't take any **** from them. Us normies have to stick together.

[Elok]

Yes, and your narrow obsession with doing so doesn't convince me that you don't have Aspergers.

Ahem. We like to obsess over stuff like trains and robotics. You know, the sort of thing that actually provides some benefit to society.

[Tupac Shakur]

Ahem. We like to obsess over stuff like trains and robotics. You know, the sort of thing that actually provides some benefit to society.

The Marine Corps is all about using cutting-edge robots on the battlefield and pulling trains on each other. Semper Fi!