“Normal.” You know… that word has always bothered me. I mean, who decided what was normal and what wasn’t? Somewhere in the attic I have a philosophy paper I wrote in college that asked that very question. My theory was that everyone would have some character trait that someone else in this world would consider “weird.” I barely scraped by with a C, because one of the two professors did not like my theory and failed me, but the other professor was a weirdo an eccentric, so he gave me an A to balance out the F and allow me to pass the class.
I slipped the news into that big 2009 round up that we had GeekBoy tested and officially confirmed what I had long suspected. ADHD, Processing NOS, Dsygraphia, and Asperger’s Syndrome. We recently had thePinkDiva tested also, and lo & behold! Another Aspie. Not really surprising if you really know her… I mean, there *is* a reason her online nickname is “thePinkDiva”.
First, let me say that I am well aware that I am blessed. As far as the Asperger’s goes, life could be so much worse. See, Asperger’s Syndrome is a form of Autism. But Autism and Asperger’s have a huge range of possible difficulties, that’s why it’s called a “Spectrum.” When most people hear “Autism”, the tendency is to think of either the kid who is walled off from the world, unresponsive to those around him for the most part, or the mental genius who can’t relate to the world a la “Rain Man”. There is so much more to the disorder though.
Asperger’s Syndrome falls on the edge of the spectrum. The biggest difference between Aspies and Autistics is language. While Autistics usually have a speech delay to varying degrees, Aspies usually have no speech delay. In fact, often times their speech is so well developed that Aspies have been referred to as “little geniuses”. The biggest problem for an Aspie, is the social game. Aspies just are not good at reading other people’s emotions and non-verbal cues. There are other difficulties to be sure, but that’s the biggest one.
“Normal” in our house is much different then “normal” in many other houses. A normal day in our home consists of dealing with the daily misunderstandings and the fights that result, as well as the almost daily flares of temper and screaming fits that collide with another’s audio sensitivity. Our days must be planned in advance, and routines must be maintained. Any deviation from the routine requires forewarning and patient explanation as to why the disruption is necessary.
But… It has always been this way in our home. This is our “normal.” When I look at my children, I don’t see a couple of Aspies. I see brilliant, sweet, loving, Godly children who just think differently than I do.