an inspiring story from Childrensapraxianet

Kennedy

Fitting In and Speaking Out:

Me and Asperger's Syndrome

by Martin

http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/fitting_in.htm

Hello. I am Martin, of Ms. L's 5th grade class. Those of

you who have been around me a lot have noticed that

sometimes I act like I'm from another planet.

I may flap my hands, or not look at you when I talk, or not

understand your hints or body language. Things you think

are nothing may really upset me, and things you can ignore

may distract me from the job at hand. I have trouble

following a long string of instructions, but I can get so

involved in a book that I don't realize I'm in a room full

of active, noisy people. I seem uncoordinated or clumsy,

yet I can talk forever about computers and video games.

During the past 6 years, some of you may have asked me why

I do these things. I usually answered, "Don't ask", or "Ask

my Mom". I didn't want to tell you the truth because I was

afraid you'd misunderstand. But now I'm ready to explain,

and I think you're ready to listen.

I have an abnormality in my brain called Asperger's

Syndrome, which is a form of autism. No, I'm not crazy or

retarded: My brain functions on a high level, just

differently than yours. My senses work, but the information

they sent to my brain can get misfiled, or come in on the

wrong pathways. (Can you imagine "hearing" bright

sunlight?). Sometimes, all the info from all my senses hits

my brain all at once like a million radio stations playing

at the same time, and I don't know how to filter out the

junk and pay attention to what's important.

This gives me advantages and disadvantages. On the good

side, I can be unbelievably smart at some things, like

remembering different computer codes, or remembering dates

and facts and trivia, or having different formulas for

getting the right answers to math problems. I can read

technical books written for adults, and "talk shop" with

people at Dad's computer lab at work, sometimes even

helping them solve programming problems.

On the bad side, I am prone to asthma, allergies, and

thyroid problems. My muscles aren't strong or coordinated,

I have trouble working in groups, and bullies use me as an

easy target. I can't keep my desk and folders organized, I

really hate being outdoors, and certain clothes just don't

feel right and bug me to death. And sometimes, I just get

overloaded and need to get away for a few minutes to find

my center again.

I'm not asking you to feel sorry for me. Because if you

pity me, you are also pitying all the great people like me,

for example: Thomas Edison, Alexander Graham Bell, and

Shatoshi Tijjaru (creator of Pokemon) who all have autistic

traits.

We're not looking for a cure for Asperger's; just your

understanding, and the understanding that comes from

research. After all, if autism was cured, society would

lose access to many of its great geniuses and inventors. We

need you to accept us and be friends with us, while we

learn to survive and be successful in your world.

I know there are lots of kids in our school with different

levels of autism who are very lonely, and afraid of being

made fun of. And I know you'll meet more autistics in

middle school and beyond.

I'm asking you, in the future, to be more tolerant of

autistic kids. Autism is a disability, like bad eyesight or

deafness. And who knows? The person you are friends with in

school may end up discovering an anti-gravity energy

source, or develop the first physical-object transporter,

like on Star Trek, or solve the world's hunger problem. Or,

more likely, help you with trig or physics in high school!

Please take time at home to read the folder I'm giving out

today. You'll be surprised who's on the list of famous

people with Asperger's Syndrome! See if you can find Mark

Twain and Jim Henson's names, and think about anyone else

you can add to the list. (This list is incomplete, and

being added to every day).

Finally, to the students and teachers here at Meadowland

who took the time to care and be my friend, I end by saying

"Thank you".