Essays on Asperger Syndrome

Over the years, we have all encountered essays or short pieces about Asperger Syndrome. They are usually written by someone with firsthand experience with the disorder. The authors are parents struggling to understand their children and get them the help that they need. They are adults attempting to come to terms with a lifetime of feeling misunderstood and isolated. They are adult children working to make sense of a childhood spent with a parent or parents who were decidedly odd. These pieces are filled with all the daily struggle that comes along with Asperger Syndrome.

Here we have collected some of these essays that seem particularly relevant and timeless.

"Things We've been Told about our AS Children"
by Linda Newland
"He's apraxia, aphasia, anomia, no, I feel it's just a phonological / articulation disorder.
The probability of him ever saying more than five word sentences is highly unlikely
Don't worry, let's just wait and see; some kids develop slower than others.
I don't see a reason to test now, because you can't get an accurate 'base line" (psychology test) done on children for any disability before the age of 6 years 8 months.
He has Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).
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"Enabling our Children"
by Deborah Thorpe
I hear it everyday. I belong to a parent support group for children with learning disabilities and ADHD, one of the largest Internet listserv groups for parent support for these disabilities. There seems to be a constant, recurring topic among our group: "The teacher says I am enabling him to be the way he is" or "The teacher says if we gave him more discipline he'd be fine." Parents of children with invisible disabilities are constantly being blamed for their child's difficulties. We are easy targets.
http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/enabling.htm
"Becoming Real"
by Nancy Mandell
I have been pondering my life lately. Since I discovered myself as an Aspie, I have become overjoyed and delighted in my self-discovery. My life up until the mid-forties was confusing and misunderstood. I have been to many therapists. I was misdiagnosed and felt like an alien from Venus. I was diagnosed Borderline Personality Disorder and ADD, Anxiety Disorder. None of these diagnoses quite fit the full picture. I do show many ADD traits. I get easily distracted but can hyper-focus on my interests. I could always see the beauty and absorb emotions around me. Yet, I felt left out in the ordinary world. I wanted to become real for such a long time.
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