Aspergers Awareness #1

I've debated long and hard about this series of posts. I've debated how much I want to tell of our story. Can it even be expressed in a series of blog posts? Do I want to draw attention to myself and what we've been through over the last thirteen years? Do I share names and personal information? There's so much to consider.

What I've decided is this...our story needs to be told. And I have to warn you, its not pretty. It's dark and horrible, but hopefully it will have a happy ending. I believe it will on my good days. I am going to change names, though, not because I want to protect the people I talk about. It's more for our own self-preservation and out of respect for my son, who is now 17 years old and a sophmore in college.

This is not a fictional tale. I'm not going to sugar coat it. I'm not going to deviate from the truth of it. Because it is all, sadly and heartbreakingly, true.

Asperge'rs Syndrome is currently considered a form of Autism. Each child on the Autism Spectrum is different and their strengths and struggles play out differently, but what people with Aspergers all seem to have in common are (a) high intelligence (b) sensory issues (c) fine and gross motor skills struggles (d) social skills deficits.

For my son, Asperger's Syndrome presents itself in high-gifted intelligence bordering on genius, extreme touch sensitivity, noise sensitivity, motion sensitivity, hand writing issues, coordination issues, sequencing-of-events issues, difficulty understanding other people's points of view, difficulty with social cues, and extreme struggles with social interactions. His life is difficult enough - but it has been made infinitely worse by the way some people have chosen to handle his struggles.

Because of what has happened to him, my son also now struggles with clinical anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress. He requires medication and counseling, and probably will for the rest of his life.

Be prepared, if you choose to follow my posts. They will be frank. They will be difficult to read. They will make you question what happens to your own children in school. And I hope, for me, they will be cathartic.