[homesteadmamma]

This is a cool site for those of us with kids with autism/asperger sydrome.

http://www.isn.net/~jypsy/forums.htm

 

[captclearance]

Thank you HS Mama, I have a 6 year old son with Asperger's.... We waited a long time for something definitive regarding him..... When he was very young we were told that he had "Profound Autism" and that he would be shut inside of a world we would never be allowed to enter. He was to young as we learned to diagnosed with autism..... We have since learned (& I believe ) it is asperger's. He is in 1st grade and reads at grade level 4.1, but the school is quick to point out that is comprehension is ONLY 3.9... He is almost fluent in sign language, and has extraordinary math skills for a 6 year old... He communicates very well, but had tactile issues that he has for the most part overcome... He is happy and very well behaved... Almost too well behaved, we would rather read a book or speak to adults than play with other children.... He has NO UNDERSTANDING for violent or aggressive behavior.... He simply wants no part of it....... So subsequently he is deemed by the school and medical professionals to be socially impaired.... Everyone is so quick to label him and imply that he is mentally ill, I understand the gifts he possesses. This boy IS different, but I believe he will do great things !! He is smarter than his peers and smarter than many adults that often are quick to label him.... Does anyone else out there have an asperger's child ???

 

[homesteadmamma]

OMG - have you been in our home without my knowing it? Your speaking of my son and although he was diagnosed with autism many have suggested he has aspergers also, which I would agree with. Our closest friend has a son with asperger's and she consistently says our Justin has it. She is a nurse.

Your son is exactly like my son except my ds is 14. He reads at a university level, does math (algebra at a senior high level) and is a savant when it comes to remembering names and stats.

Our son would rather read a book and talk to adults than play with kids also.

Amazing!!!

 

[captclearance]

They are really something..... The medical and educational communities seem to have a need for labels...... If you are sloppy and rude you are in the norm....... It is a genetic mutation, I won't say defect because that is not what it is, it is a gift. As far as genetics are concerned... Non us are "MR. Clean Jeans (Genes)" No two us are alike, asperger's is in fact very rare. My son is meticulous and very organized (even by adult standards) I have an 11 year old daughter who I now think may be asperger's but not quit as pronounced as Jeff. He is a wonderful little man !!! He amazes people all of the time with his wit and knowledge... He has an insatiable appetite for learning and it comes so naturally for him.... He is very impatient when he has asked a question..... HE NEEDS TO KNOW THE ANSWER RIGHT NOW !!!
He organizes his things and knows if I have moved them or rearranged their order, he has since he was 2.he has a memory better than most adults, we have had to be very careful about what we tell him, he needs the right information or it is so difficult to unlearn something... He takes things quit literally, yet has a great sense of humor.He was a surprise baby, I was 35 and dh was 48, he has been such a blessing, he is still everyday a surprise.... I love the way his mind works..But with a diagnosis so closely related in the minds of some to Autism, it's hard to get him into a gifted program, the school would prefer special education.. Did you know that Albert Einstein fits an asperger's profile?

 

[captclearance]

BTW, most children with asperger's are first misdiagnosed with autism, they are not the same.... Some of the profile is similar but they are unrelated..... I don't know what it is like in Canada, but here, being able to label a child with something like autism is very lucrative for the schools... They receive extra $$ for educating children with Autism..... At what age was he diagnosed ???? If before 5, then those diagnosis may be incorrect.. If you have seen the movie "Rainman", that is often a clearer picture of a savant, great in one area, but lacking in some other areas. It's hard to explain the difference, however no one knows better than a child's own Mother, As far as I know there is no definitive medical test for Autism, there is however an "Asperger's Gene". Which ever it is, but usually not both..... Could be both, but unlikely. The profiles are similar, read the medical profiles for your self...... High functioning Autism is usually low functioning for their given age, asperger's is high functioning given any age.

 

[captclearance]

Here are some names of persons with Autism and Asperger's.....
I am sure for HSMama these names will not surprise you...... These children are capable of doing anything they set their minds to doing...... Often more...... These people have either been diagnosed or have been submitted because they fit the profiles........ HS MAMA There is an author here I know you will recognize (He wrote...."To so love wisdom as to live according to its dictates a life of simplicity, independence, magnanimity, and trust")The medical & Education communities have a word for this kind of intelligence..."Genius" Yet if the child has Asperger's or Autism it can only be referred to as "savant" or "high functioning"... It's time they were given their due.......
*********************************
Jane Austen 1775-1817, English novelist, author of Pride and Prejudice
Béla Bartók 1881-1945, Hungarian composer
Ludwig van Beethoven 1770-1827, German/Viennese composer
Alexander Graham Bell 1847-1922, Scottish/Canadian/American inventor of the telephone
Anton Bruckner , 1824-1896, Austrian composer
Henry Cavendish 1731-1810, English/French scientist, discovered the composition of air and water
Emily Dickinson 1830-1886, US poet
Thomas Edison 1847-1931, US inventor
Albert Einstein 1879-1955, German/American theoretical physicist
Henry Ford , 1863-1947, US industrialist
Thomas Jefferson 1743-1826, US politician
Carl Jung 1875-1961, Swiss psychoanalyst
Franz Kafka , 1883-1924, Czech writer
Wasily Kandinsky 1866-1944, Russian/French painter
H P Lovecraft 1890-1937, US writer
Ludwig II 1845-1886, King of Bavaria
Charles Rennie Mackintosh 1868-1928, Scottish architect and designer
Gustav Mahler 1860-1911, Czech/Austrian composer
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , 1756-1791, Austrian composer
Isaac Newton 1642-1727, English mathematician and physicist
Friedrich Nietzsche , 1844-1900, German philosopher
Bertrand Russell , 1872-1970, British logician
George Bernard Shaw , 1856-1950, Irish playwright, writer of Pygmalion , critic and Socialist
Richard Strauss 1864-1949, German composer
Nikola Tesla , 1856-1943, Serbian/American scientist, engineer, inventor of electric motors
Henry Thoreau 1817-1862, US writer
Alan Turing, 1912-1954, English mathematician, computer scientist and cryptographer
Mark Twain , 1835-1910, US humorist
Vincent Van Gogh , 1853-1890, Dutch painter
Ludwig Wittgenstein 1889-1951, Viennese/English logician and philosopher
Historical people prominent in the late twentieth century (died after 1975)
Isaac Asimov , 1920-1992, Russian/US writer on science and of science fiction, author of Bicentennial Man >)
Hans Asperger , 1906-1980, Austrian paediatric doctor after whom Asperger's Syndrom is named
John Denver , 1943-1997, US musician
Glenn Gould 1932-1982, Canadian pianist
Jim Henson , 1936-1990, creator of the Muppets, US puppeteer, writer, producer, director, composer
Alfred Hitchcock , 1899-1980, English/American film director
Howard Hughes , 1905-1976, US billionaire
Andy Kaufman , 1949-1984, US comedian, subject of the film
S Lowry , 1887-1976, English painter of "matchstick men"
Charles Schulz , 1922-2000, US cartoonist and creator of Peanuts and Charlie Brown
Andy Warhol , 1928-1987, US artist
Contemporary famous people
Woody Allen , 1935-, US comedian, actor, writer, director, producer, jazz clarinettist
Tony Benn , 1925-, English Labour politician
Bob Dylan , 1941-, US singer-songwriter
Joseph Erber , 1985-, young English composer/musician who has Asperger's Syndrome, subject of a BBC TV
Bobby Fischer , 1943-, US chess champion
Bill Gates , 1955-, US global monopolist
Crispin Glover , 1964-, US actor
Al Gore , 1948-, former US Vice President and presidential
Jeff Greenfield , 1943-, US political analyst/speechwriter, a political wonk
David Helfgott , 1947-, Australian pianist, subject of the film Shine
Garrison Keillor US writer, humorist and host of Prairie Home Companion
Kevin Mitnick , 1963-, US "hacker" Diagnosed Asperger's
John Motson , 1945-, English sports commentator
John Nash , 1928-, US mathematician (portrayed by Russell Crowe in A Beautiful Mind , USA 2001)
Keith Olbermann , 1959-, US sportscaster
Michael Palin , 1943-, English comedian and presenter
Keanu Reeves , 1964-, Lebanese/Canadian/US actor
Oliver Sacks , 1933-, UK/US neurologist, author of The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat and Awakenings
James Taylor , 1948-, US singer/songwriter

 

[homesteadmamma]

Thats our Justin. Thank you so much for the info. I knew many of the names, there are few though I didn't know.

Our son is a savant in stats and in remembering names and what they've done in history. He will read encyclopedias until I finally have to stop him. He goes page per page and reads about each person and then remembers every bit of detail. He can tell you most of the presidents, their birth dates and when they were in as president. He watches Jeopardy every day and gets the final answer right 90% of the time. (btw - thats what he looks for at yard/garage sales are encyclopedias and we always purchase them for him.

He wants answers when he asks them too and it sometimes drives us nuts because we don't always have them. He asks questions that are often beyond us because that is how he understands it.

He does algebra at high school level and remembers math like hes known it all his life. I homeschool him so he can go at whatever speed he wants too. He too loves to learn and learn and has an appetite to know everything. When he doesn't know something, he'll tell you.

He has his own scroll saw and does beautiful work but thats not what he prefers to do. He wants to read!!!

It is so good to be able to talk about the similarities our sons have and for someone to understand where our guy is coming from. Thanks so much!!

 

[captclearance]

I am blessed with all my children, each different, all great, all MINE !!! I am glad too that their is someone who can understand what a great treasure they are........ not disabled, but enabled !!

 

[homesteadmamma]

Lori - AMEN!!!!