This week has seen an influx of visitors to Aspergerteen looking for information on Bill Gates and Asperger’s. I’d say CNN’s article Asperger’s: My life as an Earthbound alien is why.
Don’t pity me or try to cure or change me. If you could live in my head for just one day, you might weep at how much beauty I perceive in the world with my exquisite senses. I would not trade one small bit of that beauty, as overwhelming and powerful as it can be, for "normalcy."
That’s beautiful! It should be on billboards and bumper stickers and business cards and everywhere! I think if I ever attend an IEP again that will be read at the start of the meeting.
The CNN manager, who doesn’t appear to have an credits on the story, exquisitely sums up the Aspies traits.
- tend to have specialized interests
- don’t quite understand small talk
- A misconception is that Aspies do not have a sense of humor. [Tommy has a great sense of humor!]
- lack the ability to see emotion in most facial expressions
- intensified senses
- live with anxiety
She leaves out that Asperger’s Disorder typically follows the male lineage which makes her even more unique. I find these articles interesting and wish we had written more when Tommy was younger. Tommy now blogs but I think he often finds it a chore. I hope he will read this article and be inspired to write lengthier, more intimate stories of his own life.
I do caution people about red car syndrome. The Autism spectrum is broad and it is easy to find autistic traits for everyone we know and even ourselves. Be sure to visit a professional to confirm any suspicions of Asperger’s Syndrome. Asperger’s was first diagnosed in 1944 by Austrian pediatrician Hans Asperger. The diagnosis was not translated into English until 1989 and was not accepted as a diagnosis in America until the mid-nineties. Only in the past decade have inroads toward acceptance, treatments, therapies, integration in schools, and support systems developed in the United States. Today’s Aspie is very fortunate compared to the Aspie a decade ago. Tomorrow’s Aspie will be ever more fortunate.
