ASPERGER'S
PASSPORT
Wear
an orange
Asperger's
Passport wristband!
The Asperger's Passport campaign is run by people with Asperger's for people with Asperger's.
The idea originated from the myth of the land of Aspergia - the lost civilization of the Aspergian people.
The Asperger's Passport, also known as the "Aspergian Passport" serves three purposes:
1. It aims to create a symbolic sign used by people with Asperger's to identify themselves, and recognise 'their own people'. A way to connect! Not surprisingly, it shows that we do things differently: even our passport is different...
2. It aims to highlight Asperger's Syndrome's place in many people's lives as a set of traits that makes them unique, rather than being a condition.
3. It seeks to increase the visibility of Asperger's campaigns, by creating a visible symbol, in the same way some campaigns use ribbons or badges.
What is Asperger's Syndrome?
Current thinking places Asperger's Syndrome on the "autistic range", usually referring to it as a form of "high functioning autism"
(HFA). It is believed that Individuals with Asperger's Syndrome tend to have an IQ ranging from average to genius, and there is much speculation that the likes of Albert Einstein and many other philosophers, scientists and genius musicians
had Asperger's. Individuals with Asperger's Syndrome tend to develop excellent speech and language capabilities, but they do differ from the norm in various other ways.
The main characteristics of a person with Asperger's are often (but not always) a deep focus on a specialist subject or area (or consecutive areas), a difficulty in understanding human interactions and human social codes (almost like being an alien trying to understand a strange species) and thus also a difficulty with changing environments which need to be learned and adjusted to.
people with Asperger's Syndrome tend to have a normal to high intelligence, often coupled with a special skill or ability (e.g. extraordinary mathematical or linguistic abilities). In addition
they are sometimes hypersensitive to various stimuli such as light, noise and pain, and their motor skills may be less developed than the norm (e.g. they tend to play less sports). Many of them are partially face-blind (have a problem remembering faces), and are often clumsy. They have to invest a lot of energy in understanding interactions, and would often need to consciously plan their social behaviour in advance, including when they walk down a busy pedestrian road, and have to avoid running into people. That intuition - the innate ability to translate human body-language and non-verbal cues is simply not there for them.
People with Asperger's Syndrome often describe their experience as that of "being on the wrong planet". They have to learn how humans interact and simulate it. It isn't a natural trait for them as it is for everyone else.
There are many talented people who have Asperger's Syndrome and have contributed to society in the fields of science, research, the arts and many others. Although they face a lot of challenges functioning in "normal" society, they often excel and surpass what is normative, and prove that special skills can enhance the contribution of those who are "outside of the norm".
What does the Asperger's Passport visible symbol look like?
The Asperger's Passport campaign symbol is an orange wristband, which can be made of any material. It is intentional that this is something you can create at home using some orange thread, or any plastic orange band.
How can I get one?
The Asperger's Passport campaign encourages people with Asperger's or their friends, family or anyone supporting the campaign to create their own Asperger's Passport wristband. Orange coloured thread or rope, or a plastic orange wristband are all examples of ways to create an Asperger's Passport symbol.
Can I add one to my website?
The Asperger's Passport campaign encourages webmasters to use the campaign pictures on their websites. You can do so by placing one of the three small versions of the pictures on this site on your website, linking to the Asperger's Passport homepage (http://www.aspergia.com/passport). The pictures are:
How can I learn more about Aspergia?
The Aspergia website can be found on http://www.aspergia.com
How do I get in touch with other people with Asperger's?
Aspergia has a very
lively and active Internet community which can be found on http://www.aspergia.com/comments.htm
To contact us, please click here
The Asperger's Passport Campaign is an international campaign.
In the United Kingdom it is known as Asperger's Passport UK
Terms of use for this website can be found here
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