The mental disorder they think I have is one I'm fairly sure I don't have, after taking online tests which put me safely within normal ranges for autism and talking with a mental health expert on the phone. For one, I rarely drone on about one topic without noticing other person's loss of interest. To the contrary, I usually let others do most of the talking. Aspergers isn't something that claims you along the way such as schizophrenia, but is there at birth. It's possible that I do have some mental illness or disorder such as depression or social anxiety, but nothing has been diagnosed.

I was the social butterfly of the bunch when we were kids, and this other sibling was a ridiculed outcast. I didn't spend more than a day alone during my childhood, and would engage in creative play and activity with my friends on a daily basis. I became somewhat of a loner as a teen due to circumstances, a move to the country and the isolation that comes with it.

My faux pas was a misunderstanding of game rules for a simple game I hadn't played in decades, mainly because I wasn't paying much attention because I was socializing with relatives and strangers at a restaurant. I'm eligible for mensa, and could handily beat any competition at the local chess club, so I'm no idiot when it comes to games.

After a lot of surgery and whatnot plus a professional career, this sib has become quite the confident, or smug, person. Maybe I should have called them "special" when we were kids. My family has labeled me as aspie, and sided with a cop after I was falsely arrested, saying I should get a designation on my driver's license to avoid any more trouble. I've had only this single incident with a cop, and reading online about this cop, he's been under legal scrutiny for abusing suspects.

Like shezbut, I've never heard the word "special" applied to mental illness before, but to those with cognitive disabilities. Why didn't the sibling first try covering for me with a standard excuse of "sorry, he didn't hear the rules because we just got here and were busy ordering food", or "uhm, koko's unemployed and can't really afford a round of drinks for everyone". I suspect that they were terribly embarassed by my faux pas, and pointed at me and used the word to distance themselves from me, the source of their embarassment.