The Gift

Note: This document is the opinion of one person with Asperger Syndrome. It might not apply to another person with AS. The document mentions several great achievers who had, or might have had, AS. Parents must be careful not to expect miracles of their children, and persons with AS must not expect too much of themselves either. Albert Einstein may have had AS, but not everyone who had AS was Einstein.

Asperger Syndrome is classified by many experts as a type of autism, and as such, a defect. In fact, it is also sometimes called Asperger Disorder, although this term is not widely used. While AS almost always causes problems to the individual in question, there is also little doubt that it offers benefits. There are two ways to deal with AS – fight against it, or use it to one's own advantage.

For example many top company executives pay wads of money to learn techniques like "Lateral Thinking" (Edward De Bono, 1971) to help them in their management decisions. Many aspies are born with this ability. So, why not use this ability instead of fighting it? This document was written to help others with the same gift maximise their potential. There is no doubt that other persons with AS will have developed their own techniques, formed their own opinions etc. I would like to hear those if you are willing to share.

Recognising the Talents

One of the most important steps to succeed with AS is to recognise the talents that AS gives you. Many AS persons skip from one hobby to another, getting the feel of each and often becoming reasonably good before seeking a new challenge. This also helps to identify where one could succeed most. However, apart from concrete subjects, one should identify the more abstract concepts (which are often listed as 'symptoms' of AS).

Below are some examples.

Innovative approaches to problems

The novel approach to a problem often employed by aspies often allows them to find solutions which simply would not occur to neurotypicals. Prof. Edward De Bono has developed "Lateral Thinking", a process which involves looking at problems from unconventional angles. I believe this process is very similar to the way that we aspies think.

Prof. De Bono's thinking methods have gained international recognition, and he is considered to be the world authority on the processes of thought. Top company executives pay oodles of money just to hear one of his lectures or attend his courses. I find it amusing to think that this guy is making money teaching rich neurotypicals to think like an aspie.

In the computer course at school, we had to write a BASIC program as a project – everyone could choose what to write. I decided to write a program which plotted a 3D graph using a user-defined formula giving a value for Y based on X and Z (eg, Y=X2+sin(Z)). Instead of trying to interpret the formula entered by the user (a laborious process), my program would write out a file containing a line number and the formula as a BASIC "DEF FN" statement, insert the new scrap of BASIC code into itself using the "CHAIN MERGE" statement and continue running. The BASIC interpreter would reach that line, interpret the formula and my program would go ahead and plot the graph. If you don't understand programming, imagine a person performing surgery on himself to give himself new abilities as they are needed. The program caused quite a commotion. My teacher showed it to all the other teachers and they all remarked at the novelty of this approach. Made me feel rather smug at the time. Still does :)

Immunity to peer pressure, stigma

Many aspies are relatively (not totally) immune to peer pressure. In clothes for example, fashion is of minor importance compared to comfort. This helps aspies to break free of popular ideas and "dare to be different". For example, if Colombus didn't dare to challenge popular thought, he'd never have gone as far as he did. When you consider that everybody thought he was going to his death (dropping off the edge of the world), you'll appreciate the kind of courage it took. By challenging accepted ideas, aspies can come up with better solutions.

Several aspies were not diagnosed until adulthood. When they discovered that they had AS (many of them diagnosed themselves), they describe the main feeling as that of relief. This contrasts sharply to neurotypicals who get a diagnosis for any condition – they often break down. When aspies (esp. adults) discover about their condition, they often respond by searching for more information, seeking to know more instead of denying the existence of this condition.

Dissociation from emotions

Although this is often considered to be a problem, that depends on your point of view. The ability to keep your head when other people would panic is quite a useful thing to have. Panic or hysteria effect the ability of persons to think logically. Remaining calm helps.

Fantasy

The ability to fantasise can be used to 'run' a real-world situation in your mind, predicting outcomes. Although it is not always accurate, it often pinpoints problems before they happen.

As a computer programmer, I often do this to predict the functionality of a particular program before writing it. My fantasy allows me to 'design' an entire system in my mind before settling down to write it. I rarely if ever use design tools, unless it is to document what I've already designed mentally so that others can work on it.

I also use the technique when dealing with people, when expecting an argument, meeting or presentation, to try to predict all possible arguments used, or questions asked by the other person, preparing suitable answers in each case.

Fantasy and creativity is essential in the arts. The creativity and fantasy of an aspie can be expressed in stories, music, paintings or any other art.

Recognising The Problems

As mentioned before, aspies encounter many AS-related problems throughout life. Many of these problems occur during the school years and are called behavioural problems by NTs. Several different problems surface during adolescence – this is the time when peer pressure is strongest, even for aspies. Some problems may continue well into adulthood.

One can say that many of these problems are inflicted by society on the aspie, not caused by the aspies themselves. For example, if an aspie child is unable to learn using the techniques employed by the teacher, the aspie is often punished for it. However, it is very unlikely that society will fall over itself to ease the burdens of persons with Asperger Syndrome. So, while moves in this direction are very commendable, aspies must try to deal with these problems themselves where possible.

School

At school age, young people (NTs and aspies) are often treated as idiots who have no intellect, no rights and no feelings, who only exist to obey. There is a very well-ingrained notion that adults necessarily take the right decisions, and that if children have a different opinion, it is obviously the wrong one. This is very irritating to an aspie (probably to an NT too).

Schools have found methods which work with 99% of their population, and these are used exclusively – the remaining 1% are either allowed to exist, punished for their actions, or attempts are made to get rid of them. Only in few cases does the school make special allowances for them. Einstein and Mark Twain (both thought to have had AS) had very poor reports from their schools. Einstein even got bad marks in mathematics. Mark Twain said "I owe my success to the fact that I didn't allow my schooling to interfere with my education." (Reader's Digest - long time ago)

Persons with Asperger Syndrome may find certain academic subjects very boring, and do not learn things they consider boring. On the other hand, subjects which they themselves choose may be interesting and they will learn them in detail without any 'pushing'.

I consider it important at this age is to support the child's natural curiosity and help them learn the things they find interesting. I don't think that this will hinder other subjects. Within academic subjects, try to identify, with the child's help, any teaching methods they find interesting. If a subject is fun and interesting, they will respond better. They might respond to a game, or to a competition, or to diagrams. They might enjoy working for a team instead of for themselves. Dividing the class into teams (Red, blue and green teams) may ignite in them a competitive spirit, the desire to make their team win. This method would also be fun for the NTs in the class. I say might - in conversations with other aspies, several differences in learning methods appeared.

Adolescence

During adolescence, peer pressure is at its strongest and self-esteem at its lowest, and young people often notice this subconsciously and use it to tease each other, resulting in calling of names, teasing and "bitching". Anyone who is fat, has lots of freckles, wears glasses, has a pale face, wears braces, or anything else is made to feel uncomfortable. Kids who have AS but don't know it will be treated in the same way, but are unable to put their finger on what's wrong. If the AS has been diagnosed, parents and teachers might be able to stay on the lookout for this and both prevent excesses, and provide support where needed.

All kids tend to gravitate towards persons who share the same interests. Among kids, there are normally overriding interests in each age group. These might be things like football (boys) or fashion (girls). If the aspie does not share these interests, they will not be interested in "joining in". It might help to find out about special interest clubs. For example if they are fascinated by astronomy, they might look for and join an astronomy club. The fact that there is a common interest helps an aspie to join in conversations.

During adolescence, aspies like anyone else may wish to initiate a relationship. This is due amongst other things to physical desires, the need to share with someone, and social/peer pressure. This is often a big problem. Finding "the right person" is not easy at the best of times. To a person with Asperger Syndrome it can be far more difficult. Many persons with AS manage to find an ideal husband/wife. Some couples have found that they both have AS - sometimes after meeting each other. However this doesn't mean that couples with AS will automatically match. Other persons with AS have found it easier to remain single.

To be continued ... probably.

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