Reply #5: my son with aspergers [View All]

[RainDog]

has NO interest in computers, technology, video games, math and is really, really at a disadvantage with spatially important activities... just ask him about geometry.

he was dx'd at 8 y/o by one of the top ppl in the field in the U.S.

his dx came about b/c a teacher he had, who had taught for decades, had her first "aspie" identified kid the year before and called my then-hub and me into a conference and told us that she thought he should be evaluated b/c he was very sweet, but distant... it's hard to explain, really.

instead, he loves acting - b/c he gets to act like other ppl - he loves attention. he was pretty cute as a baby - his pediatrician called him a gerber baby, so, as the doc who dx'd him said, he would have it easier in some ways because he doesn't really have the "look."

he was all-state vocal jazz. - again, he's not afraid to perform... I, on the other hand, had to drop out of a group when I was younger because I had such stage fright. Like many aspies, he can talk/sing loudly w/o recognizing it. his voice carries like you wouldn't believe.

he also loves baseball... that's his "aspie" obsession. and all other sports. his compulsion is to play his own season of baseball in his head/the backyard, with sounds for diff. kinds of hits, with him being both color commentator and announcer... he's been told repeatedly by adults that he should go into sports broadcasting or writing, but he wants to be in theatah - so his mom and dad have told him to major in something practical, too... which, in his case, has been French.

He's got an amazing memory.

although he cannot easily relate to others, and doesn't see that his constant talk about tv shows, baseball stats and moments in history, etc. are annoying (I have to tell him, sometimes, that it's time to stop talking about this or that... at which point he's embarrassed... but it hasn't changed more than a decade...

I've read Temple Grandin's work and find that's she's amazing. But I've never seen her work address someone like my son - someone with his personality and background (he got all the arts stuff from me.. his dad's bg is math and computer science... and I've sometimes wondered about him on the autism spectrum...

just posting this b/c it's curious to me, and b/c I think it's good to get another view of aspies.

I don't post pix of my kids online, for the most part. but this is when he was part of a "living statues" event with the h.s. drama club. (the 5 o'clock shadow was fake) - and I won't keep it up here for long - but just to note that he doesn't fit the stereotype. -- as in, that's not a typical geek idea of a male.



edited to add - this character was indiana jones.... I personally provided him with the whip. (oh, okay, I got it at the local farmer's co-op...)