Life with Aspergers

Crystal Puzzle: Growing Up with a Sister with Asperger's by Ashley Nance Crystal Puzzle is a very interesting book which offers a rather different point of view to the usual autism biography story. Normally these books are written by one of three people; the person with Asperger's Syndrome, that person's mother or that person's doctor.  In this case the book has been written from the point of view of the sister (Ashley) of the person with Asperger's Syndrome (Crystal).  What makes this approach so interesting is that both Ashley and Crystal grow up through the course of the book and as they do so, their points of view and opinions change.  Fair Warning Before I start talking about the book, there are two things which I want to point out; Christian Language: There are quite a few instances in the book where Ashley talks very openly about religion and a couple of passages feel like sermons.  Since religion is a very personal thing, some people m...

If you were to do a survey of people on the street, you would probably come away with a general consensus that depression means "feeling sad", an idea which is way off the mark. Questions about the frequency of depression would probably be answered more accurately though as most people would suggest that "everyone feels sad sometimes". I've talked about depression and Asperger's syndrome before, in the very early days of this blog. Back then I talked about how common it was in people with Asperger's syndrome and what some of the possible causes could be. This time I want to look at what depression is and how to support people who live with it. Photo by Jude Beck on Unsplash What does depression feel like? It's hard to explain what depression feels like to someone who has never experienced it before but it's something that those of us who have loved ones with depression really need to understand. Many people describe depression as a kind of ...

One of the "habits" I got into when I was growing up and sleeping in a single bed was the idea of cocooning myself using my doona or eiderdown.  The idea was that you lie down, rock over to one side (so that the blanket falls underneath you, then rock over to the other side (so the blanket gets stuck under there and finally lift your feet so that the blanket covers your feet and you can't move. It was also not uncommon to have the blanket pre-filled with stuffed animals. When I got older and moved out of home - and even got married, these behaviors persisted (not the stuffed animals part of course) despite my wife's clear dislike of the idea.  I've tried to keep the blankets "normal" but I don't sleep as well. It's only relatively recently that I've realized that this is pretty much an Asperger's behavior. Asperger's and Touch I can't say for certain that this is common to all people with Asperger's syndrome but I'v...

Born to fly is a novella based on the methods and life of Cath McCarthy, a mothercraft nurse with experience taking care of "emotionally detached" children. It's clear from the outset that names and ages have been changed and that many of the background descriptions are fictional but that the methods and responses are not. The novella format makes this story interesting and very easy to read. It can be read as a period drama with a very helpful message. The story is told as a story within a story, essentially a journalist interviewing Ms McCarthy. It starts in rural Australia in 1946 with the birth of Jamie, a boy who is later diagnosed with "gross mental deficiency", a term used before autism was widely accepted. His parents are told by their doctor that "there can be no correction or improvement in his behaviour. He will never walk, talk or feed himself" and Jamie is committed to an asylum for the rest of his life. To say more would ruin ...

"Who did you play with at school today?" Mother asks to which the the answer is a mumbled, "Nobody..." It's one of the most common problems faced by children with Asperger's syndrome and their parents. Making friends is not easy - keeping friends is even harder. Back in November, I blogged about my own experience growing up and making friends but this time I want to offer some tips and advice for parents of children who are struggling with the whole friendship thing. Getting Help Recognizing Friends The idea of friend-making relies on a number of steps which are not necessarily instinctive in children with Asperger's syndrome. The first step of friendship is recognition, a step which contains two parts; facial recognition and name recognition. Usually the former comes naturally although some children have "face blindness" and some have recognition difficulties when others change their hairstyle or other aspects of appearance. There we...

The idea of an Autism "Awareness" day is fraught with problems. It suggests that people aren't even aware that autism exists, It's a very scary thought. It puts autism far behind most other forms of  disability.  There is no problem with the acceptance of blindness or deafness, of people with missing or damaged limbs or indeed, of most other mental and physical conditions.  People have no difficulty believing in "invisible" (at first) issues like cancer, AIDS or MS but for some reason, the entire autism spectrum is subject to scrutiny. Everything from ADHD, to Aspergers to Autism is disbelieved. Raising Awareness and Blue Light Bulbs Raising awareness is a nice little idea which effectively means that people get to post little blue statuses or celebrate recognition because they've lobbied to light up national monuments in blue. The problem is that raising awareness of a condition does very little to improve the live of the people who live with it...

My latest article on Special-ism which went live about a week or two ago (I've been very busy, sorry) is all about Anxiety.   Following my review of Dr Edward Aull's book " The Parent's Guide to the Medical World of Autism ", last month, I turned my thoughts to Anxiety and the different ways in which it manifests in children and adults. I also thought about the different ways that we deal with anxiety. Head over to Special-ism to have a read; Detect and Deal with Anxiety by Gavin Bollard http://special-ism.com/detect-and-deal-with-anxiety/ Also, while you're there, have a look at Kimberley S. Williams article entitled " Invisible Anxiety: Hiding in the Classroom " which lists some common signs to look out for and ways that parents and teachers can get help and reduce anxiety in the classroom.