I'm going to start off by saying I do not parent a child of Aspergers, I'm only 16. But, I do have insight on what it's like to have grown up being diagnosed with Aspergers from a very young age.
I have grown up and matured in a very loving, caring family. They admittedly had no idea what Aspergers was when I was diagnosed at the age of 3. I was predicted to never develop abstract thinking capabilities, or any sort of social communicative ability. Thankfully, they were wrong. But, growing up as a child with Aspergers is a learning experience for the entire family, the process of evolving and maturing is full of nightmarish outbursts, and occasionally amazing, and frankly fascinating accomplishments.
I'm here to speak about the brighter side of Aspergers. Yes there is one.
I'm sure many of you whom parent children that has aspergers are aware of your child having very particular, special, and extremely focused interests. That usually come in phases, with a few recurring ones. I went through phases like this all throughout primary school. And middle school, and currently high school! But, there is always a recurring interest, for me that is Astrophysics and Mathematics. . .
I founded my love in Mathematics all the way back in second grade. Our teacher would hand out daily tests on addition and subtraction, and would time them. I 99% of the time was the first to finish. I was completely enveloped in the computation of numbers, my brain was doing everything it could to comprehend and understand, and thirsted constantly for more. When you finished within certain time limits, you often advanced to a more difficult level of problems - all the way up to multiplication and division of 2 digit numbers. I made my way through the entire sea of tests. But, apart from this interest and loving of mathematics, I was a very disruptive, and chaotic second grader! I didn't get along with kids - at all. I was assigned a regimen in which the teacher would record and observe my behavior, and report it back to my parents. I honestly never cared about how I behaved. It was irrelevant. My only love was math. I needed to learn about fractions, exponents, and square roots! It wasn't until the last few months of the school I got what I wished for, by having to go directly to the front office, and see the school counselor. Managed to have the 6th grade math textbook lent to me for the last few weeks. And oh man, did I study that book! I soaked in every piece of information I could get my clingy hands onto! I eventually found my way into astronomy for this, and spent my summer memorizing star charts and categories of supernovae, while re-watching over and over Carl Sagan's 'Cosmos' and the TV mini-series 'The Planets.' But, during all of this, my atypical behavior was the only concern of my parents. And of my teacher. They completely overlooked my fascination in mathematics, and I was never correctly introduced into the environment that could further enhance my interest. Which lead to the decay of my interest for nearly 7 years. . . Until I picked it backup last year! This time I had books, textbooks, studying material! Eventually read my heart out, and tested out of Geometry and Algebra 2! (Yes, I actually fell behind in math during this 7 year period). My parents are not as attentive to my behavior now, and now focus on my academics. I took Pre-calculus over the summer, passed. And am now taking Calculus AB, and BC! Hoping to pass both, and take college level multivariate calculus (Calculus 3) during my Junior year.
Now that my short story is over, its time for what should be taken from it
Children with Aspergers have the opportunities to become geniuses. They have interests in certain areas so deep and profound, it tends to encapsulate their entire consciousness! As parent of a child with Aspergers, and you see him/her have a very particular interest - be it from toy cars to biology - FEED IT!!!! Put aside the behavioral issues, focus on what your child is fascinated in. Their ability to acquire knowledge may surprise you. Begin checking out books from the public library, read to them, or have them read it. All you need to do, is supply them with the information, and they will eat it up like its delicious candy. They'll go through phases of interests, one day your son could be digging around the basics of biology, and the next he could be browsing sports channels for statistics on sports teams. But, there will be a recurring interests. Certain subjects that your kid will always come back to. Whatever, give it food necessary to spawn and evolve. Because I promise you, a child with Aspergers is a powerhouse of learning. Think about this: You handing them a book about astronomy at the age of 8, may lead to them being the first humans to step foot on another planet, or to prove and rigorous, mathematical theorem!
Do not deprive your child of an amazing learning experience! Please give them the food of knowledge!
Here's several articles that relate to this subject, I strongly suggest reading them, possibly letting your child reading them, so they know what they're capable of.
- Dinosaurs 24/7: Understanding the Special Interests of Children with Asperger's | Interactive Autism Network
- My Aspergers Child: Aspergers Children and Their Special Interests: A Good or Bad Trait?
- Jacob Barnett, 14-Year-Old With Asperger's Syndrome, May Be Smarter Than Einstein
- Link Found Between Child Prodigies and Autism
Thank you for reading!
I have grown up and matured in a very loving, caring family. They admittedly had no idea what Aspergers was when I was diagnosed at the age of 3. I was predicted to never develop abstract thinking capabilities, or any sort of social communicative ability. Thankfully, they were wrong. But, growing up as a child with Aspergers is a learning experience for the entire family, the process of evolving and maturing is full of nightmarish outbursts, and occasionally amazing, and frankly fascinating accomplishments.
I'm here to speak about the brighter side of Aspergers. Yes there is one.
I'm sure many of you whom parent children that has aspergers are aware of your child having very particular, special, and extremely focused interests. That usually come in phases, with a few recurring ones. I went through phases like this all throughout primary school. And middle school, and currently high school! But, there is always a recurring interest, for me that is Astrophysics and Mathematics. . .
I founded my love in Mathematics all the way back in second grade. Our teacher would hand out daily tests on addition and subtraction, and would time them. I 99% of the time was the first to finish. I was completely enveloped in the computation of numbers, my brain was doing everything it could to comprehend and understand, and thirsted constantly for more. When you finished within certain time limits, you often advanced to a more difficult level of problems - all the way up to multiplication and division of 2 digit numbers. I made my way through the entire sea of tests. But, apart from this interest and loving of mathematics, I was a very disruptive, and chaotic second grader! I didn't get along with kids - at all. I was assigned a regimen in which the teacher would record and observe my behavior, and report it back to my parents. I honestly never cared about how I behaved. It was irrelevant. My only love was math. I needed to learn about fractions, exponents, and square roots! It wasn't until the last few months of the school I got what I wished for, by having to go directly to the front office, and see the school counselor. Managed to have the 6th grade math textbook lent to me for the last few weeks. And oh man, did I study that book! I soaked in every piece of information I could get my clingy hands onto! I eventually found my way into astronomy for this, and spent my summer memorizing star charts and categories of supernovae, while re-watching over and over Carl Sagan's 'Cosmos' and the TV mini-series 'The Planets.' But, during all of this, my atypical behavior was the only concern of my parents. And of my teacher. They completely overlooked my fascination in mathematics, and I was never correctly introduced into the environment that could further enhance my interest. Which lead to the decay of my interest for nearly 7 years. . . Until I picked it backup last year! This time I had books, textbooks, studying material! Eventually read my heart out, and tested out of Geometry and Algebra 2! (Yes, I actually fell behind in math during this 7 year period). My parents are not as attentive to my behavior now, and now focus on my academics. I took Pre-calculus over the summer, passed. And am now taking Calculus AB, and BC! Hoping to pass both, and take college level multivariate calculus (Calculus 3) during my Junior year.
Now that my short story is over, its time for what should be taken from it
Children with Aspergers have the opportunities to become geniuses. They have interests in certain areas so deep and profound, it tends to encapsulate their entire consciousness! As parent of a child with Aspergers, and you see him/her have a very particular interest - be it from toy cars to biology - FEED IT!!!! Put aside the behavioral issues, focus on what your child is fascinated in. Their ability to acquire knowledge may surprise you. Begin checking out books from the public library, read to them, or have them read it. All you need to do, is supply them with the information, and they will eat it up like its delicious candy. They'll go through phases of interests, one day your son could be digging around the basics of biology, and the next he could be browsing sports channels for statistics on sports teams. But, there will be a recurring interests. Certain subjects that your kid will always come back to. Whatever, give it food necessary to spawn and evolve. Because I promise you, a child with Aspergers is a powerhouse of learning. Think about this: You handing them a book about astronomy at the age of 8, may lead to them being the first humans to step foot on another planet, or to prove and rigorous, mathematical theorem!
Do not deprive your child of an amazing learning experience! Please give them the food of knowledge!
Here's several articles that relate to this subject, I strongly suggest reading them, possibly letting your child reading them, so they know what they're capable of.
- Dinosaurs 24/7: Understanding the Special Interests of Children with Asperger's | Interactive Autism Network
- My Aspergers Child: Aspergers Children and Their Special Interests: A Good or Bad Trait?
- Jacob Barnett, 14-Year-Old With Asperger's Syndrome, May Be Smarter Than Einstein
- Link Found Between Child Prodigies and Autism
Thank you for reading!
