Aspergian Tales

"Stalk Hop Friday" Networked Blogs & GFC

2011-02-10T15:00:00.014-06:00

Grab the Badge:

Welcome to "Stalk Hop Friday"! It's hosted at: Mrs. Marine and the Tiny Troops, Novel Bloggers, Two Peas in a Pie, and Aspergian Tales! This one is a little different from the usual, instead of just following on Google Friend Connect (GFC), each week the "Follow Theme" will rotate to something different! There will be two linky's each week, one for the Theme and one for GFC!
So everyone has a chance to participate!

**The RULES**

**If your a New follower be sure to leave a comment and I will follow you back (it may take me a day or two)

**Hop around the Links ("Stalk" each other) Follow others, Follow Back, have fun!

GFC Linky: Follow the Host Blogs

Mrs. Marine and the Tiny Troops
Novel Bloggers
Two Peas in a Pie
Aspergian Tales

Link directly to your Blog post about "Stalk Hop Friday" or Friday Follow below!
**Please grab the Badge to put in your post, help spread the word and make this hop big!!
Note: It's a lot easier for others to leave a comment and follow you back if they have a specific post to comment on.

Theme Linky: Follow the Hosts on Networked Blogs @

Mrs. Marine and the Tiny Troops
Novel Bloggers
Two Peas in a Pie
Aspergian Tales

Then Link-up below to your profile page on
e.g. http://apps.facebook.com/blognetworks/blog/your_blog

More Friday Follow Fun!

Click here for the Theme Schedule

"Stalk Hop Friday" Blog Frog & GFC

2011-02-03T15:00:00.006-06:00

**The RULES**

Mrs. Marine and the Tiny Troops
Novel Bloggers
Two Peas in a Pie
Aspergian Tales

Link directly to your Blog post about "Stalk Hop Friday" or Friday Follow below!
**Please grab the Badge to put in your post, help spread the word and make this hop big!! Note: It's a lot easier for others to leave a comment and follow you back if they have a specific post to comment on.

Theme Linky: Join the Hosts Blog Frog Community's @

Mrs. Marine and the Tiny Troops
Novel Bloggers
Two Peas in a Pie
Aspergian Tales

Then Link-up below to your profile on

e.g. http://theblogfrog.com/1234567

More Friday Follow Fun!

Click here for the Theme Schedule

Tony Attwood's Key Characteristics of Asperger's

2011-02-02T08:16:00.002-06:00

One of the books that I recommend for anyone with an Aspie in their life is Tony Attwood's Complete Guide to Asperger's Syndrome.

From his book, here are some key characteristics:

*Children with Asperger's Syndrome have the following Characteristics:

* delayed social maturity and social reasoning
* immature empathy
* difficulty making friends and often teased by other children
* difficulty with the communication and control of emotion
* unusual language abilities that include advanced vocabulary and syntax but delayed conversation skills, unusual prosody and tendency to be pedantic
* a fascination with a topic that is unusual in intensity or focus
* difficulty maintaining attention in class
* an unusual profile of learning abilities
* a need for assistance with some self-help and organization skills
* clumsiness in terms of gait or coordination
* sensitivity to specific sounds, aromas, textures or touch

Monday Meet and Greet

2011-01-31T10:14:00.003-06:00

There are more and more families being touched by Aspergers and we felt it would be interesting to reach out and actually speak with some of those families. Our first meet and greet this Monday is with Mr. Bollard from his blog Life with Aspergers.

Please join us in learning more about his life with Aspergers.

1. Who is the Aspie in your life? What is his or her age?

Actually the correct question is "who is the neurotypical in my life". My wife is the only neurotypical in our family. I'm an Aspie, my eldest son Kaelan who is 10 is an aspie and my other son, Tristan who is 7 has a diagnois of high functioning autism but leans much more towards Aspergers syndrome.

2. When did this person get diagnosed?

Kaelan was diagnosed with aspergers in about September 2006, I followed less than a year later and Tristan was a couple of years after that.

3. What was different about this person that lead to getting a diagnosis?

The main thing that I noticed about Kaelan was that he was having a lot of trouble paying attention. This obviously isn't a typical Aspergers trait so he was eventually diagnosed with ADHD-Inattentive (ADD). His teachers and my wife noticed considerably more but I didn't pick up on their observations. First there was the "sensory things" for example he became obsessed with water and would stop all water activities at preschool to simply run it over his fingers instead.

There were other things too, odd speech, strange tilts of the head, an unusual gait, deep obsessions and unusual mannerisms. He would "space out" at times and we had a lot of difficulty getting his attention when this happened. Personally though, I didn't see many of those things as "different" and would often tell my wife that I was exactly the same as his age.
We had a lot of arguments about it and it was a tough time for the family because I simply couldn't understand the difference.

4. Does your Aspie have any obsessions, if so, what?

Kaelan went through a "wheels" obsession as a child where he would simply spin wheels and watch them for hours. He had a lot of cars but they spent most of their time lined up in rows or upside down. He later developed a Transformers obsession which lasted about a year and a Lego obsession which has been going for at least six years. He's also obsessed with Star Wars.

It was very different with his younger brother Tristan and for a long time I thought that he didn't have an obsession. It's only recently that I've recognized his love of animals for what it truly is. As for myself, I developed an obsession with Doctor Who when I was four and I am still obsessed today.

5. What is one of the funniest experiences you have had with your Aspie?
Every day that I spend with my sons is funny and our minds are often so close that we have jokes between us that others simply don't understand. I feel bad for my wife sometimes because this can mean that she is left out of the fun. It's funny because she'll often use a trite expression which would go down perfectly in a room full of neruotypicals. In our family though, she understands the true meaning of the phrase but the rest of us take things literally. It can have some very funny consequences.

One time we were driving and the boys were bombarding her with questions. She reached her limit, held up her hand and said, "talk to the hand". After a few minutes of puzzled silence, there was a voice from the back seat that said tentatively but friendly; "Hello Hand...".

6. What advice do you have for others that also have an Aspie in their life?

The greatest gift that you can give your aspie is acceptance. You need to let your aspie know that there is one place where they will always be welcome and accepted; home.

7. Is there anything else you'd like to share?

The best kind of therapy for your aspergers child is early intervention. This includes physiotherapy for balance, control and co-ordination, speech therapy for more emotive vocalisation and occupational therapy to develop a whole lot of other critical skills. Of course, it doesn't stop there, you should be looking to get an IEP at school which specifically addresses the known weaknesses of aspergers and is truly individualised to your child. Other things which can help are private tutors for academic development and scouts for social development.

Thank you for sharing your Aspergian Tale with us! We hope you enjoyed letting the world at large see a little into your life!

"Stalk Hop Friday" Follow Linky Twitter & GFC

2011-01-27T15:00:00.001-06:00

Grab the Badge:

Welcome to my New "Stalk Hop Friday"! It's hosted at: Mrs. Marine and the Tiny Troops, Novel Bloggers, Two Peas in a Pie, and Aspergian Tales! This one is a little different from the usual, instead of just following on Google Friend Connect (GFC), each week the "Follow Theme" will rotate to something different! There will be two linky's each week, one for the Theme and one for GFC! So everyone has a chance to participate!

**The RULES**

**If your a New follower be sure to leave a comment and I will follow you back (it may take me a day or two)

**Hop around the Links ("Stalk" each other) Follow others, Follow Back, have fun!

-Scroll down for the GFC linky!-

Theme Linky: Follow the Hosts on Twitter @

Mrs. Marine
Novel Bloggers
Two Peas in a Pie
Aspergian Tales

Link to your Twitter account below!
e.g. http://twitter.com/username

GFC Linky: Follow the Host Blogs via Google Friend Connect:

Mrs. Marine and the Tiny Troops

Novel Bloggers

Two Peas in a Pie

Aspergian Tales

Link directly to your Blog post about "Stalk Hop Friday" or Friday Follow below!
**Please grab my Badge to put in your post, help spread the word and make this hop big!! Note: It's a lot easier for others to leave a comment and follow you back if they have a specific post to comment on.

More Friday Follow Fun!

Click here for the Theme Schedule

Quarter, Quarter, who has the Quarter???

2011-01-25T09:38:00.001-06:00

Motivating an Aspie to do what you want, when they don’t want to do it can be difficult. No… it can be down right impossible. You see, negative consequences simply do not work well with them. You have to motivate them by using positive goals and support.

My daughter would not pick up her room. If I tried to force her to do it, she’d end up rolling on the floor crying and screaming. If I tried to threaten her, she’d end up laying on the bed playing with a toy and “forgetting” that there was a consequence and crying when she got in trouble.
Aspies get overwhelmed and even those who are high –functioning, like my daughter, devolve a bit when they hit their overload point.

My daughter goes through the obsessive phases and I remember when she was obsessed with pirates. She would dress as a pirate. She only wanted pirate books. She wanted to watch pirate movies… etc. You get the idea.

Well, I decided to use that to my advantage. I said, “well, as a pirate you need a treasure! Right?” and she whole-heartedly agreed. So I told her that I would give her tasks and for each task she completed, she would get a quarter. I then gave her a bucket to keep her “booty” in.

This worked really well, while she was in the pirate phase. Then one day I said, “ok, are you ready for a quarter?” and she said, “Yes” and I said, “Ok, go put all the shoes in your room in the closet neatly.” And she said, “oh, no, I don’t want a quarter anymore.” And poof, the pirate phase was over and she was moving on to ballet… and the quarters simply didn’t motivate her.

What are some tricks or experiences you have to motivate your Aspie?

Another Aspie Painting

2011-01-21T08:32:00.004-06:00

My Aspie painted this when she was 9 years old for me to hang in my office.

How threats can backfire with an Aspie child

2011-01-18T13:01:00.000-06:00

Before we discovered our daughter had Asperger’s, we were told it was ADD. One thing was always obvious to us, and that was she was quite a bit different than her sister. The parenting techniques that were successful on the older daughter were rarely successful on my Aspie.
I remember one day, I wanted my Aspie to clean her room. She laid in the middle of the room crying and then got distracted and ended up talking to herself. She laid there and did nothing for about an hour.

I went to her and said, “If you don’t start picking up your room, right now, I’m going to go get a trash bag and pick up all the toys on the floor and put them in the trash.”
Her response to me, “That’s ok, I’ll help you. I don’t like those toys anymore and you’ll just buy me new ones.”

Really, as a parent, how do you respond when your parenting technique completely backfires? The two of us ended up filling a trashbag with toys.

When I told her therapist about this episode, his advice was that just saying “clean your room” is too overwhelming for her. She walks in and sees endless opportunities of things she has to do and she can’t break it down and get started.

So, the plan was, tell her individuals tasks, such as: “Go pick up all the shoes and put them in the closet. When you do that, then come back for more.”

It became much like a mission game for her. She would be given one task at a time, like, “take this trash bag and pick up the trash off the floor, then come back for more.”

Giving her these line by line instructions helped her focus and achieve these little tasks. Her room wouldn’t be completely cleaned, but at least I’d get her to clean some of it and with a lot less crying and screaming.

Sibling Difficulties Non-Aspie Vs. Aspie

2011-01-14T09:28:00.001-06:00

There are plenty of occasions when my girls get into disagreements and have normal sibling rivalry. Then there are those moments when my thirteen year old simply becomes annoyed and frustrated by the Aspieness of her younger sister.

One of the difficulties my Aspie has is telling stories. She often has the “ums” “ohs” and “yeahs”. More than once her story will focus on details that don’t really matter to anyone but her and then in a “round about” and very slow way, she ends up at the end of her tale.

The other day my thirteen year old flopped her hands down and said in a very exasperated way, “I hate the way you tell stories!”

I told her that wasn’t a very nice thing to say, but it is frustrating to listen to my Aspie relate stories more often than not. It takes patience and attention. I know more than once my mind has started to wander while she goes on about something she feels is very important and I have to force myself back to attention.

I had to tell the teen that sometimes we just have to listen to our Aspie the best we can and that it’s ok that she was feeling frustrated but to remember her sister has feelings and that she can’t really help the way she does some things.

Honestly, I’m thinking I need to take my teen to see someone to talk to about the frustrations she has with her sister. Just to help her understand and cope with some of these daily difficulties.

How did you know your child was “different”?

2011-01-03T09:37:00.000-06:00

It’s a question I get sometimes from parents or teachers. Doctors tend to word it a little differently. But the answer is… from birth. No, even before birth. At 19 weeks I went on bedrest with pre-term contractions. Nothing every happened but I guess my little Aspie liked bouncing around an awful lot.

She is very petite and was always on the 0 to 10% percentile for growth. We took her in regularly to make sure she was growing. She was, just on a very small scale. She was picky. I remember her as a toddler dancing around the room in her diaper and my mother saying, “She just dances to the beat of her own drum.” And it was a very true statement.

By the time she was five and in kindergarten we learned that she actually was different from her peers. I would get nearly weekly phone calls from the teacher. The teacher said my Aspie was very bright and knew the answers, but she wouldn’t do the worksheets and she kept getting distracted by everything. She would also cry, a lot. And she would nearly miss the bus every day. My Aspie moves at her own speed and no matter how much you say, “quick, quick, like a bunny” and clap your hands it doesn’t do much.

We took her to a psychologist who said she was young and immature and that really all he could say is that she had ADD – with no hyperactivity. My Aspie tended to sit and focus on something for hours, even foregoing trips to the restroom while in her obsession. He told us that ADD was like a bucket that these days everything got tossed into. He said that when she got older we could test her more accurately.
In the second grade we were blessed by a wonderful teacher. She called us in one day and said that she had been working with ADD and special needs children for 15 years and my Aspie didn’t have ADD, she said that she likely had a social disorder, perhaps Asperger’s.

I took her to the doctor and the doctor recommended a pediatric neuro-psych eval. Well, one psych eval later and we find out she’s got Asperger’s with above average intelligence and skills, except for deficiencies in math. Now that we know what she faces, it’s easier to work with her and help her do better. She has sensory difficulties and easily gets overwhelmed at school, we had to initiate an IEP plan to help her do better in school and this year she has no D’s or F’s. That is truly something!

Mrs. Marine's Aspergian Tales

2010-12-30T02:38:00.001-06:00

Hi, I'm Mrs. Marine, I'm happy to be a contributor here! You may have seen me around the Blogosphere at my other blog Mrs. Marine & the Tiny Troops.
My "Tales" are just beginning and I'm learning as I go. I have a 7 year old daughter and a 3 year old son.
Back in October both of my kids were tested for Asperger Syndrome. What caused me to seek out testing for them was actually because of my daughter. She has been doing Neurofeedback therapy since January to help with her (current diagnosis of) ADHD and Tourette Syndrome. Several months ago her therapist told me she had noticed that my daughter had some symptoms of AS. I began researching about Asperger's and the more I read the more it fit my daughter. So I made the appointment to see about getting testing done. They had told me that it was likely if one child has Asperger's then the other will as well. So Hubby and I decided to go ahead and have both kids tested.
Oddly enough, I went in thinking my daughter would get the diagnosis, I saw the signs with her, I didn't see them with my son.

My daughter's test came back and she has many symptoms but not enough to make a diagnosis of AS at this time. They suggested I have her reevaluated in a year or two. They confirmed again her diagnosis of ADHD and Tourette's. And recommended she be evaluated by a Occupational Therapist to confirm she has a Sensory Integration Disorder (which sensory issues are common with Aspie kids). The more I read, AS still fits her, its been proven that girls can be harder to diagnose with AS. Her therapist and I are still convinced she has AS and I have figure when she is again reevaluated she will then get a AS diagnosis as well. Her therapist also said that since she has been doing Neurofeedback for almost a year now that it has helped to mask her AS symptoms.

My son, has been diagnosed with Asperger's. His major symptoms are he's lacking social skills and has a sensitivity to sounds, textures and food (hes a ridiculously picky eater). Also, 1 in 4 kids with Asperger's have a large head (macrocephaly)... Go figure (Dr.'s got worried when he was 6 months old because his head grew too fast in a short amount of time, turned out to be nothing, he just has a big head, which he is slowly growing into)... His big head is not what diagnosed him, its just one of the many factors.

The testing also confirmed that both my kids are very smart and have advanced language skills. Which I already knew.

I don't want to "label" my children. Their individuals, there both unique, their NOT a diagnosis, a disorder, a syndrome or a label. But here, on the web, among the vast number of other bloggers, I feel its the best way to find and connect with other parents who have similar children. I need to find other parents for advice and support, so I know I'm not alone. I'm still learning about my children, about Asperger Syndrome and I think Ill continue to do that for a long time...

A New Contributor

2010-12-28T09:40:00.003-06:00

I have found someone who also raises an Aspie and she has most kindly agreed to share some of her experiences here. I continue to look for other contributors but soon, Mrs. Marine will be joining and posting a little about herself!

Socks, Socks, Socks

2010-12-09T09:19:00.001-06:00

My Aspie struggles with socks that have uncomfortable seams and she will have a little "tantrum" if they "hurt" her toes. Anyone else face this problem? I remember from my childhood that my brother was exactly the same way!

Thank goodness for Smartknit socks. I think I'm going to have to buy a bunch for stocking stuffers!

Want to share a post here?

2010-12-06T10:14:00.002-06:00

I'm looking for parents of Aspie's or Aspies themselves to periodically contribute a blog post here. It doesn't have to be consistent, just periodic, unless you want to be consistent. It also doesn't have to be original, you could post something here with links back to your blog if you blog elsewhere.

If you'd be interested in sharing some of your stories, please let me know.

Thanks!

Is your Aspie an Artist?

2010-12-04T09:52:00.002-06:00

Mine loves to draw and color and paint. There are times she will sit for hours while she is working on her artworks. Many times she has told me she wants to be an artist when she grows up. Sometimes she hyperfocuses to the point that we can't get her attention at all and she sinks into oblivion. I have the urge to pull her out of it, but I've learned to let her be if I don't really need her doing something else.

So, is your Aspie artistic? Here is a painting my Aspie did a year or two ago, she was in an abstract phase. I have it hanging on the wall.

Sympathy Illness?

2010-12-03T09:08:00.002-06:00

My 13 year old is going through puberty and she has inherited the family issue of migraines.

The other day, my 10 year old Aspie called from school saying she had a migraine. She described the blurry vision, the sick stomache and then the pain. She also cried. So it seems she is genuinely feeling it. But, could she be having sympathy pains from her sister? My Aspie certainly has sensory issues. There is also this little problem that she now hates school because a couple of girls have been beating up on her.

So, with your Aspie, how do you know when they are genuinely ill and when they are just overwhelmed? Do you also face these kids of difficulties? I'd love to hear your thoughts and experiences.

Questions from the Aspie

2010-12-02T10:43:00.002-06:00

The other day, we went to a Red Lobster for dinner and while we were waiting for the food to arrive my little Aspie piped up with this question:

"Do they have bubble gum in Iran?"

I looked at her a moment in that stunned mom silence that we sometimes get.

"I really don't know, but why do you ask?" I said.

"I was just curious."

"Oh, well I'll see what I can find out for you." I said

I then turned to some friends and facebook and got the answer that yes, they do have bubble gum in Iran, though it is rude to chew it in public and even more so for women. Which I can completely see how they'd have problems with that.

Any new little questions from your Aspie?

Why do I have to go to school?

2010-09-21T12:00:00.001-05:00

School has been a difficult area for us since... well, forever. In previous years, we would have mornings or afternoons when she would cry and have a meltdown over how much she didn't want to go to school and how bad her days were.

She is now in the 5th grade. She has now presented me with the "Why do I have to even go to school?"

I'm finding it a difficult question to answer for her. Trying to reason, trying to explain, doesn't really help. So I've resulted to using the "it's a rule" method and telling her it's the law that children must go to school, when I say it, she accepts it, but the question has popped up a couple of times. Honestly, I'm not quite sure how to answer her.

What do you suggest?

From the Neuropsychological Evaluation

2010-05-01T11:56:00.000-05:00

My Aspie visited with the PsyD, LP in November of 2008 and received her diagnoses of Asperger's after a two day evaluation. Here is a segment from that evaluation:

"Meg was evaluated over the course of 2 testing sessions. Meg presented as shy and quiet. She was neat, well groomed, and carried a black notebook wherever she went. Meg generally displayed good eye contact and appeared to easily engage in social interations with the examiner and to share her interests. Almost immediately, Meg told the examiner a long and detailed story regarding one of her school projects, and it was somewhat difficult to redirect her focus back onto the testing."

Communication of "stories" with our Aspie has always been difficult. The stories have many interruptions and sometimes take quite a long time to get to the point, if there is a point at all. I'm curious, how is your experience with the stories?

I don't ever want to rush her and I see how people who don't know her can become frustrated by the length and disorganization of her stories. Lately, they've been getting worse. I'm looking for tips on ways to help her with her story telling. What do you suggest?

SmartKnit Kids Product Review & Giveaway!

2009-10-09T10:25:00.003-05:00

“MOM! I can’t wear these!” This is a phrase I often hear as I’m trying to hurry my children out the door for school in the morning. This phrase is usually followed with an angry scowl and stomping feet and crying.

My younger daughter, PeaPie, has Asperger’s.

“Persons with AS show marked deficiencies in social skills, have difficulties with transitions or changes and prefer sameness. They often have obsessive routines and may be preoccupied with a particular subject of interest. They have a great deal of difficulty reading nonverbal cues (body language) and very often the individual with AS has difficulty determining proper body space. Often overly sensitive to sounds, tastes, smells, and sights, the person with AS may prefer soft clothing, certain foods, and be bothered by sounds or lights no one else seems to hear or see.”

My daughter’s sensory system is delicate. A tag on her shirt can drive her to distraction. A bumpy texture on a school chair can pull her focus from her work and a seam on a sock being “squished” against her toes with her shoes can result in a major situation. She’ll stop, sit down and not move until she takes those socks off. She will often just go without socks because she doesn’t like the way socks feel in her shoes.

Well, winter in Minnesota is not the best environment to go around sockless. So, when I saw SmartKnit Kids on Blog Friendly PR I was excited. They have these fantastic socks that are seamless! They link to incredibly helpful information on Sensory Processing Disorders. I immediately contacted their representative, Rose, and asked her if I might be able to review a pair of these seamless socks. She sent me three pairs in my daughter’s size.

My PeaPie was excited to get a new pair of “special” socks and immediately put them on. She then danced around my bedroom showing me how comfortable her new socks were. She wore them all day and to bed. She calls them her special socks. This morning, she was wearing them again. She told me she wants the other pairs of the special socks and she said that her older sister needs them too!

She’s had these socks for over a week now and they are the only socks I’ve seen her wear. She tells me they are very comfortable and they don’t hurt her feet when she wears her shoes.

I’m simply thrilled. When you have a child who has a sensitive sensory system, anything, at any time, can seem to send them into a fit. It’s a constant search and destroy mission to discover what is bothering them and try to figure out ways to keep it from bothering them.

Thankfully, SmartKnit Kids seamless socks, has taken care of one of my problems. If only all my problems could be solved with a good pair of socks!

SmartKnit was kind enough to send me three pairs of these socks. I gave one to my daughter and I’m going to share the other two pair with one of you. The size is XL Crew, you can see the shoe sizes this fits here.

I’m thinking that these socks will make some great stocking stuffers this Christmas and the cost for a pair is 6.95. Considering the troubles I have had with my daughter’s discomfort, this product is well worth the price in my opinion.

To enter my SmartKnit Kids Seamless Sock giveaway, go to my main blog Two Peas In A Pie and enter it there.

Hmmm

2009-09-22T14:51:00.000-05:00

Deciding if I want to pursue breaking my Asperger's related posts into their own blog or not... I'll give it a day or two to decide.

Bright Aspergers

2009-09-08T14:52:00.000-05:00

“Advocates for Asperger's/gifted (AG) children are eager to have them appreciated as wonderful, special children. The presence of dual exceptionality always casts a shadow over this goal. So much of Asperger's Syndrome echoes the behaviors of healthy highly gifted children that some of the first discussions of AS in the gifted community are cautions not to mistake giftedness for Asperger's Syndrome.” From http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/eric/fact/asperger.pdf

In the 3rd grade, my little Aspie struggled with school. “Needs Improvement” and failing grades were common. She would forget to bring home assignments, she’d forget to take them back, or forget to even take them out of her backpack. She’d work extremely hard, only to accomplish a third of what her classmates were completing in the same amount of time.

Can you imagine our surprise when we received a letter congratulating us on our bright child and welcoming her to the ACT Explore program’s equivalent for elementary grade children?

Truly, that was one of the major things that lead us to pursuing the proper testing and diagnosis of our daughter. How could she be so creative, so artistic, struggle so much in school and with common sense, but then score one of the highest scores in her grade for reading competencies?

The child bounces between reading Pokeman and Journey to the Center of the Earth, though, now she’s reading the Lightning Thief series.

Consistently, her teachers told us how bright she was. How quick she could be, but on paper, test after test, she would fail. It wasn’t until we started understanding how her mind works and discovering where she is so talented and where she struggles.

It took a qualified pediatric nueropsych professional to properly evaluate, test and then diagnose our daughter. I can’t tell you of the confusion, angst, and frustration we have experienced over the years before we properly understood her type of mental pattern.

“In addition to the clinical syndromes outlined by Dr. Webb, Asperger's Disorder is another that is becoming commonly mis-diagnosed in gifted youth. Although there can be similarities between a gifted child and a child with Asperger's Disorder, there are very clear differences. Thorough evaluation is necessary to distinguish gifted children's sometimes unusual and sometimes unique social interactions from Asperger's Disorder. In the same way, thorough evaluation is also necessary to distinguish Attention-Deficit/ Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) from behavioral problems and inattention that result from other causes such as anxiety, traumatic experiences (e.g., abuse), inappropriate curriculum, or even poor parenting.” From http://www.sengifted.org/articles_counseling/Amend_MisdiagnosisOfAspergersDisorder.shtml

She is a delight and a joy and our lives are much easier to manage now that we have the information we need. Luckily, our school system was very supportive and after running a whole slew of their own tests, they narrowed down the items that are most troubling to her in school. With our IEP plan in hand, we begin the 4th grade with a sense of excitement, anxiety, and hope.
Here is to a year where she will feel success and confidence!

Do You Know Geri?

2008-12-08T08:00:00.000-06:00

The other day I was in the car with my younger daughter, I'll call her Little Bit, and we had a conversation that went something like this.

She says, "Hey mom, do you know Geri?"

I thought for a moment, quickly scanning my memory to see if I know a Geri.

"No. I don't think I know Geri."

"Well, he was married." She says.

"He was?"

"Yes, and then his wife left and she had a baby." She says. "And then she sent the baby to live with Geri."

My immediate thought was, who the heck is Geri and why don't I know him, if she knows so much about him. I started to feel that little flush of concern. I mean, come on. My 8 year old is talking about some guy... and I have no idea who he is or how she knows him.

"How do you know Geri? From school?" I said.

"No mom." She laughs. "You know.. Jerry, from Tom and Jerry."

And then the lightbulb brightens. Earlier in the day she had watched Tom and Jerry on the cartoon network. Now, my first response is the desire to debate with her. Explain that Jerry is a mouse and he wasn't married, etc. But instead, I said, "Oh, I didn't know that."

She smiled and told me again that Jerry had been married and his wife left and then had a baby. Because, in Little Bit's world, that's the way it is. She has Asperger's and the simplest explanation we get is... she sees the world differently than the average person. She doesn't think to say, "You know Jerry, from Tom & Jerry?" first. In her mind, she knows exactly who she is talking about and kind of forgets that others aren't privy to that information.

So, even though I want to tell her that Jerry probably wasn't married and that Jerry probably didn't have kids in the majority of the episodes, I don't. I know that if I do, she will end up crying and I'll end up completely frustrated. I never know what kind of conversation to expect with my Little Bit.