learn more about autism and aspergers syndrome

Me and my boy’s dad are going on the Earlybird Plus course about dealing with children with autism next month. I hope it might shed some light on how to keep the boy calm and happy.

I have finished the book I was reading about Asperger’s Syndrome. So much about my son makes more sense to me now, and it’s also making me look at my own experiences differently, especially as 46% of 1st degree relatives of a person diagnosed with Asperger’s also have Asperger’s traits. What an amazing thing to find out. I will reread parts of the book that I think will help us cope with life, and I aim to make sure the people in his life are as understanding and educated about this as possible.
He really is a lovely boy, but can get very stressed in certain situations, namely the ones where he is expected to socialise. It makes it hard (read: impossible) for him to make friends at his age, but now I am learning more, I will know what to do to make sure he reaches his full potential in this area.

I ordered a highly rated informative (text?) book about Aspergers today. Even though my son hasn’t officially been diagnosed, he obviously has enough of the characteristics in common, so I think this book could help me to help him make more sense of the world. I can’t wait for it to come in the post.

My son possibly has Aspergers Syndrome. I mean, he probably does, he has special help at nursery with socialising, playing and making friends, and speech and language therapy for social interaction. He is apparently “exceptional” with numbers and reading. I love him as he is, I am not pushing for a diagnosis by the psychiatrists just yet as I don’t think it will change anything (he is only 4). I was told that Aspergers is suspected today by his paediatrician, and then just sent home with no further information. Luckily, I consider myself to be quite resourceful, so now it is time to really learn about this and feel positive about it.

Since I was a very small child, I have always:
Been described by everyone, in positive or negative terms, as ‘weird’.
Had extreme difficulty with social interaction, conversing with people, and making friends.
Been very verbal, but prone to use formal language and long words, and talk at people rather than to them.
Had more or less long-lasting obsessions with various subjects.
Suffered from a degree of sensory overload if I’m in a room with too many people, or there are several people talking at the same time, or if I’m given several tasks to deal with at once.

Bearing in mind that I’m an adult, and that back when I was a kid nobody used the term Asperger’s syndrome, this is something I’ve only just started to hear about in the past few years. The more I discover, the more it makes sense. And yet, I’m still kind of reluctant to actually state that yes, I think I may have this.

I thought about formal diagnosis, but I’m not sure. Partly I wonder if any of this needs a label, and partly I think that if I come out and state that it has one, my family (in particular) will think I’m just ‘making excuses’ somehow.

I don’t know. Anyone else been here?

I’ve studied mental illnesses for about 2 years on a daily basis, here’s some books about Autism Spectrum Disorders that I found intresting
_{Thinking in Pictures (Writen by an autistic woman who rose above it and got a PH.D)
~Asperger Syndrome, the universe and everything (Written by a gifted 10 year old with AS)
~Freaks geeks and Asperger Syndrome (Written by a 13 year old with AS)
~The OASIS guide to asperger syndrome and high functioning autism (the bible of AS)
~Pretending to be normal (AS woman)
~The boy who loved windows}

If you have any questions or would like to talk I’d LOVE to talk to you…
Email- urgodandiamnot@hotmail.com
Yahoo- urgodandiamnot
AIM- bugsAndBS

Jen