Do you know anyone affected with Asperger's Syndrome?

My husband has Asperger's, his obsession is figuring out how to give the world free energy. Hours every day are spent researching, experimenting and talking to like minded people. My son also has Asperge'rs. He can't get enough of science and computers. My daughter has also bediagnosedsed and she doesn't go anywhere without a book to read or her laptop to write stories. My youngest son is like me is neurotypical. Our house has VERY interesting conversations and ideas bouncing around but it can be very difficult too with so many people living together with a lack of interpersonal skills especially when tiredness, hormones, outside experiences etc wear tempers thin. There are times i wish they could workout everyday problems without me or not misplace/forget everyday things so much, but i also get to see things in a different way that i wouldn't think of myself. I don't really like the label Asperger's it would be better if everyone could just accept people for who they are inside and quit being judgemental. I Love my family and the world needs Asperger's Syndrome

I worked with a young girl - age about 13 - one summer. She had the intellectual talents of an adult, with a nearly photographic memory, a huge intellectual curiosity about all things scientific or historical, and a sweet smile. However, she didn't know how to have a conversation.

For example, our group had the opportunity to do a pottery project. A typical conversation with her would be her making comments, ignoring questions, and never asking anything about anyone else's perceptions, or even acknowledging that their perceptions might be relevant, let alone different for her own.

"Your class seemed very creative. I loved all the shapes and colors. Did you enjoy making the pottery?"

"I read a book about 15th century pottery in Korea last night."

"Oh, really? Was it anything like class?"

"I've read seven other books about making pottery. One was 523 pages. The others were all 200 pages or less."

She participated in "parallel play" rather than "interactive play." She would be in the company of others, but she generally did her own thing, and found even caring that anyone else was involved in similar activities to be irrelevant or of no interest to her.

We worked with her to have "normal" conversation flow, where one person asks a question and the other answers, the follows up with a question of her own - "how are you today -I'm well. How are you?" She would typically answer "how are you today" with some statement of fact that had little connection to the current situation. Small talk was impossible for her. She was lucky in her friends, though. Her peers had gotten used to her quirks. They made what I thought were often valiant attempts to include her, which she simply didn't see as requiring any sort of reciprocation. They taught her how to fix her hair, helped her paint her nails. She saw no value in improving her appearance, but did so because she was smart enough to know that she was "supposed" to try to look more like her peers.

She was the sort of young woman who might one day be a researcher or clinical diagnostician, but she is unlikely to ever have a bedside manner that would make her a successful doctor. Perhaps she'll find the cure for cancer or Alzheimer's.

I have Asperger's Syndrome so I can relate. My main obsession is with literature. I love to write stories and poetry. I also have an obsession with hearts and at one point I thought I was somebody's heart in my past life. I have impaired motor skills so I can't draw very well and my handwriting isn't so hot. That's not true of all people with Asperger's Syndrome; I know some people with it who are very artistic. I'm just not one of them. Like you said in your discription, my interpersonal skills are lacking. I have self-esteem problems but I'm working on it. I want to be an author and a veterinary technician when I grow up so I can help animals and inspire people with my stories. My hero is an autistic animal scientist, author and inventor, Temple Grandin. However, I disagree with Temple Grandin on some things. She has the idea that all autistic people think in pictures, don't hold grudges and don't overgeneralize, but by saying that she's overgeneralizing. I make some pretty wide generalities, I'm not always loyal and I think mostly in words. My mother has a college degree in working with people with disabilities. She is currently unemployed, but she worked with autistic people of all ages and her most recent job was working for disabled college students. My mother also told me people with Asperger's Syndrome are more likely to aquire mental illnesses like depression. I am fourteen years old right now and taking Risperdone and Prozac but when I was thirteen I suffered severe depression to a point of wanting to commit suicide. My middle school counselor didn't understand me too well. She was even behind a couple of traumatic events that could have separated me from my family. Luckily, I now attend private school where my new counselor understands me very well. There is a lot I need to accomplish before I grow up if I want to succeed in life, but I already accomplished a lot.

Yea. Me.

One of my former students has Asperger's. It was a challenge in that we were in a tech/career school and we had many discussions over his interpersonal skills (which included slamming his laptop down on the desk during class when he got frustrated.)

That being said, he is a bright guy and looked to open his own IT consulting business.

Don;t be afraid of asking for some help and good luck in your future endeavors.

Yes, I do. I have known several people in my lifetime. It's just the line of work I am in which tends to make me come across asperger's syndrome more frequently than the average Joe on the street. I also have one member of my extended family with this condition.

As to what their obsessions are, I won't divulge that information as much as I wouldn't divulge yours to other people. Their privacy and dignity should be respected.

I have ADHHD and maybe Asperger's since I often blurted out answers in school to the great annoyance teachers and fellow students. I often have obsessional thought, and kind of work on the computer andpoliticss. The computer is kind of like escaping from people/ My feelings are easily hurt too. I kind of wish I was like you because You have some very brilliant thoughts.I know people both with Aspergers and Autism. Sometimes I see myself in them Best Wishes

I had an English teacher that had Asperger's. He was a very interesting guy, and extremely intelligent. I learned a lot of great vocabulary words from him. His obsession was with Shakespeare - he actually cut his hair like Shakespeare's, had a Shakespeare action figure on his desk, tons of pictures, and could quote him of course. On Halloween he dressed up in full Shakespearean garb. He also brought in stage fighting swords a couple times and took us out on the lawn to learn how to use them. Fun times. =)

My Uncle is also affected with Asperger's Syndrome His obsession is really in Auto Machanics and Sports

I have Asperger’s syndrome myself. My biggest obsession is animals.

I wouldn’t want a cure either. Asperger’s is a big part of who I am and I accept it, both the good and bad sides. I’m not broken, so there’s no need to fix me. I’m just different and there’s nothing wrong with that.