[email protected]

There was a boy (he's grown now) in our unschooling group who had severe
Asperger's behavior, and the other kids were so nice to him and so patient that
he made noticeable progress within a year's time, just being out of school
and being around kids his age (a little younger, which was fine) who were nice
whether he wanted to play with them or just watch them or totally ignore
them. Eventually he would play with them a little, and then more.

His mom did him a gigantic favor taking him out of school.

For retrospective diagnoses, my nephew Elijah (the one who was in the gifted
class, the one who inspired my sister to offer her kids the option to
homeschool, documented somewhat here: _http://sandradodd.com/schoolchoice_
(http://sandradodd.com/schoolchoice) ) was looked at lately as Asperger's. He cried
a LOT as a baby, and rocked. They found something physically wrong and he
had surgery, but that wasn't all of his problem, probably. He was tested for
deafness because he wouldn't respond to people, yet he was writing very
early. He spoke in a monotone, and still, to some extent does now.

When a child can score high at school, school tends to care less about
"conditions," they'll just justify it as quirks of giftedness. When a child's
talents are not what school values or when a child won't play for school-points,
THEN the school wants to justify their "failure" to teach, and they want to
get special ed funding and to separate the problem child from other kids, and
that's where a lot of labelling comes in.

These days Elijah Trujillo (my nephew) is growing fancy organic stuff for
the Santa Fe farmer's market (he made money last year and so has already planted
for this year), and though he only started learning bass guitar a few months
ago, he's now playing bass, lead and rhythm and kind of alarming well.
Stunning progress and musicality, but my sister was always that way. When she
learned a new instrument or musical style, she would zoom along for a while,
and then lose interest in favor of something newer and more exciting.

I'm just blabbering now, lost my train of thought, sorry. It's late.

Sandra


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

gbdawson

Last week on the public radio program _The Infinite Mind_ (also
available to listen to on the web at www.theinfinitemind.com), was
the first of a two-part special on Asperger's (both parts listed
below):

Asperger's Disorder: "Don't Try to Cure Us!" Part one of a Special
Report (beginning May 11, 2005) In the first segment of this ground-
breaking two-part report, we examine the challenges and gifts of
Asperger's syndrome, a form of high functioning autism, and what it
might teach all of us about the difference between the male and
female brain. We'll track the emergence of a vocal, largely web-based
Asperger's community: Don't call it a disability, these folks say,
and please don't try to "cure" us; we like our differences. We'll get
a peek at some break-through research from British scientist Simon
Baron-Cohen, who believes that Asperger's and other autistic
disorders result when two "systematizing" types, like engineers and
mathematicians, have kids.

Asperger's Syndrome: Part two of a Special Report: (beginning May 18,
2005) In this second segment of our two-part series on Asperger's
syndrome, we explore the impact of this learning difference in
children and young adults. We'll hear from noted child development
expert Dr. Stanley Greenspan, who believes that the most widely
practiced therapy for Asperger's and autism is misguided and may
actually worsen the condition. We'll also talk about Asperger's in
adolescence with a 17-year-old boy and a psychologist who works with
these sometimes touchy teens. And, a moving and personal commentary
from Howard Bloom.

Some final personal comments:
1. Though never formally diagnosed, my brother (age 46) has
displayed many of the traits now associated with Asperger's. He
works as a computer operator, a job at which he can work
independently. He does not appear to need much contact with others
(in fact, he prefers it that way).

2. I've worked in software development environments for 20+ years.
My non-scientific, anecdotal opinion is that Asperger-like traits are
better accepted, understood, and appreciated in this kind of
environment.

Gail Dawson