re: #198 ProLifeLiberal

As a mom to a son with Asperger’s I’d like to point something out(as late in the thread as this may be):

All autistic people are not the same. What you read or hear from doctors and other”experts” shouldn’t be taken as a one size fits all piece of advice or information. The fact is,the best scientfic minds in the world only know a very tiny bit about the brain and autism.There are also alot of quacks and bullshit artists out there associated with autism and related developmental disorders,ask for help if you’re unsure about something you’ve read or heard.

I’ve had to correct many people’s assumptions about my kid. One example being that alot of people think all Aspies are good at math. Nope. Another misconception is that Aspies lack empathy or feelings in general. Again,not true. My son has barely passed math classes and will openly weep if he realizes he’s hurt someone’s feelings. It’s not a lack of empathy,it’s a lack of social skills that’s the problem, in his case at least. It’s impossible to develop those skills when people won’t give you the chance,that’s one of his biggest challenges right now. It’s hard to watch him struggle. People can be asshats.

I guess my point is that you should think about who you really are as a person and let the Asperger’s be a bit more secondary. I tell my son to try and figure out who he wants to be and work on that part first. The Asperger’s is not ALL of who he is,just a part. For what it’s worth.