Fwd: DALLAS MORNING NEWS ARTICLE ON ASPERGERS

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In a message dated 4/9/2004 9:47:05 AM Central Standard Time, Merinance4

writes:

> In a message dated 4/9/2004 9:34:53 AM Central Standard Time, Merinance4

> writes:

>

> >> Eagle Scout made a video about his own medical condition 06:26 PM CDT on

>> Thursday, April 8, 2004

>>

>> By SHERRY JACOBSON / The Dallas Morning News

>>

>>

>>

>> When Boy Scouts decide to tackle the challenge of becoming an Eagle Scout,

>> most turn to their communities to find qualifying projects, such as a park

>> that needs picnic tables or a cemetery that needs cleaning up.

>>

>> Nick Irwin, an 18-year-old Plano Scout, decided to focus his Eagle Scout

>> project on himself. He wanted to share his experience of coping with a mild

>> form of autism called Asperger syndrome.

>>

>> " I was hoping to show people what Asperger syndrome is about and to help

>> the people who have it, " he says. " We're the same as everyone else but with

>> some differences. "

>>

>> Children with Asperger's have serious problems reading people's facial

>> expressions in conversations. Despite having normal and even above-normal

>> intelligence, people with Asperger's often shy away from social situations

and

>> have a hard time making friends.

>>

>> " He's the kid sitting alone in the cafeteria or watching from the sidelines

>> as other kids play basketball in the street, " says Nick, whose condition

>> was diagnosed when he was 13 years old. Nick is home-schooled with his two

>> younger brothers, who also have been diagnosed with Asperger's.

>>

>> With the help of about 120 volunteers, including his family and fellow

>> Scouts, Nick produced a 40-minute video called Asperger's Syndrome – An

Eagle

>> Eye's View. It dramatizes social situations that cause problems for

youngsters

>> with Asperger's, or " Aspies, " as Nick calls them.

>>

>> The video, which took about 350 hours and three years to finish, was

>> written and performed by volunteers based mainly on experiences shared by

Asperger

>> sufferers from as far away as the United Kingdom and New Zealand.

>>

>> " We used the Internet to find Aspies who could tell us what happened to

>> them, " Nick says. " A girl in New Zealand told us she went to a funeral and

>> asked people if they were having a good day. That was really the wrong thing

to

>> say. "

>>

>> In another vignette, an Aspie joins a group discussion but manages only to

>> change the topic and hog the conversation. Another scene shows an Aspie

>> trying to play a game in which he insists that the other participants must

play

>> by his rules and allow him to go first.

>>

>> Each vignette is followed by a " social autopsy, " a term that Nick and his

>> family use to describe what went wrong and how the problem could be remedied.

>> " You have to look at the situation and discuss how to do the right thing, "

>> Nick says.

>>

>> For medical and scientific information, Nick relied on a book, Asperger's

>> Syndrome: A Guide for Parents and Professionals by Tony Attwood, an

>> Australian psychologist who specializes in treating people with the syndrome.

>>

>> Mr. Attwood viewed the video last summer and endorsed it as an educational

>> tool. " I am sure that hundreds, if not thousands, of other people would like

>> to see the video, " he wrote in an e-mail message to Nick in August.

>>

>> The video also was well-received by Nick's Scout troop, says nne

>> Paccioni, who validates Scouting projects for Troop 225 in Windermere, Fla.,

>> where the Irwin family lived before moving to Plano about 2 ½ years ago.

Nick

>> received his Eagle badge, the highest award a Scout can achieve, in late

>> February in Florida.

>>

>> " He had started working on the project with these boys, and they were

>> committed to helping him finish it, " says Ms. Paccioni. " It's unusual for a

Boy

>> Scout to do a research-based project like this, but it was fantastic that

>> Nick could share himself with people the way he did. "

>>

>> Nick, who plans to study computers in college, says it did not bother him

>> to focus attention on his disorder because he felt certain it would help

>> others. Besides, he says, it gave him a chance to tell people " the good part "

>> about having Asperger syndrome.

>>

>> " I love to read, " notes Nick, whose family recalls that he once took an

>> encyclopedia to read at the dentist's office. He also has been known to thumb

>> the dictionary for casual reading.

>>

>> Kids with Asperger's often develop intense interests in subjects such as

>> astronomy or science fiction at a young age, and Nick was no different. He

has

>> been fascinated with Star Trek since he was 8 years old, he says, often

>> watching videos of the 1960s shows and reading books about it – sometimes

>> simultaneously.

>>

>> " An interest gives an Aspie comfort, a sense of order, " explains Nedra

>> Irwin, Nick's mother. " But they have to learn to do these things in

moderation,

>> such as watching one episode of a TV show instead of nonstop episodes. "

>>

>> A local support group called DANISH – Dallas Asperger Network for

>> Information, Support and Help – is distributing Nick's video as a public

service.

>> Copies can be purchased on the group's Web site (at aspergerinfo.org) for $10

>> to cover duplication and mailing costs.

>>

>> " It's not really a professional-quality movie, " notes Mandell, who

>> founded the support group. " But it really helps the patients we work with. We

>> think Nick did a great job. "

>>

>> Nick says that through his video project, he learned there's a lot more to

>> Asperger's than he ever realized. He's also learning to cope with social

>> situations that he once would avoid. Last December, he went alone to a

>> Christmas party and surprised himself by actually enjoying it. " I talked to

people

>> and I had a pretty good time, " he says.

>>

>> E-mail sjacobson@...

>>

>> WHAT IS ASPERGER SYNDROME?

>>

>>

>>

>> Asperger syndrome is a developmental disorder that causes major

>> difficulties in social interactions.

>>

>> It takes its name from Dr. Hans Asperger, an Austrian pediatrician, who in

>> 1944 described a group of young boys who had problems with social

>> interaction and communication.

>>

>> Research has shown that children with Asperger's may need to be taught how

>> to:

>>

>> Express their feelings

>>

>> Give and accept praise

>>

>> Apologize

>>

>> Take turns in a conversation.

>>

>>

>>

>> For more information on the disorder and area support groups, visit

>> www.aspergerinfo.org or www.asperger.org.A SCENE FROM NICK'S VIDEO

>>

>> Narrator: A person with Asperger syndrome, or an Aspie, needs to work on

>> repairing a conversation, coping with the

>>

>> unknown, screening out irrelevant comments and not interrupting. Practicing

>> with family can help develop these skills.

>>

>>

>>

>> The scene: A family is in the kitchen getting a meal ready. Brothers and

>> sister are talking to Aspie about Yu-

>>

>> Gi-Oh. Aspie completely changes the topic.

>>

>> Mom: Wait a minute, they were talking about Yu-Gi-Oh. What did you talk

>> about?

>>

>> Aspie: Well I said that monks made pretzels.

>>

>> Mom: What do you think they wanted to talk about, or how could you make

>> that

>>

>> smoother?

>>

>> Aspie: (pause) Well ... um ... I guess I could have said something about

>> Yu-Gi-Oh and

>>

>> talk about pretzels later.

>>

>> Mom: That is great.

>>

>>

>>

>>

>>

>

>

>

> -----------------

> Forwarded Message:

> Subj: Fwd: DALLAS MORNING NEWS ARTICLE ON ASPERGERS

> Date: 4/9/2004 9:34:53 AM Central Standard Time

> From: Merinance4

> MJNMOM

>

>

>

> -----------------

> Forwarded Message:

> Subj: DALLAS MORNING NEWS ARTICLE ON ASPERGERS

> Date: 4/9/2004 9:34:30 AM Central Standard Time

> From: Merinance4

> ASPERGER@...

>

>

> Eagle Scout made a video about his own medical condition 06:26 PM CDT on

> Thursday, April 8, 2004

>

> By SHERRY JACOBSON / The Dallas Morning News

>

>

>

> When Boy Scouts decide to tackle the challenge of becoming an Eagle Scout,

> most turn to their communities to find qualifying projects, such as a park

> that needs picnic tables or a cemetery that needs cleaning up.

>

> Nick Irwin, an 18-year-old Plano Scout, decided to focus his Eagle Scout

> project on himself. He wanted to share his experience of coping with a mild

form

> of autism called Asperger syndrome.

>

> " I was hoping to show people what Asperger syndrome is about and to help the

> people who have it, " he says. " We're the same as everyone else but with some

> differences. "

>

> Children with Asperger's have serious problems reading people's facial

> expressions in conversations. Despite having normal and even above-normal

> intelligence, people with Asperger's often shy away from social situations and

have a

> hard time making friends.

>

> " He's the kid sitting alone in the cafeteria or watching from the sidelines

> as other kids play basketball in the street, " says Nick, whose condition was

> diagnosed when he was 13 years old. Nick is home-schooled with his two

> younger brothers, who also have been diagnosed with Asperger's.

>

> With the help of about 120 volunteers, including his family and fellow

> Scouts, Nick produced a 40-minute video called Asperger's Syndrome – An

Eagle

> Eye's View. It dramatizes social situations that cause problems for youngsters

> with Asperger's, or " Aspies, " as Nick calls them.

>

> The video, which took about 350 hours and three years to finish, was written

> and performed by volunteers based mainly on experiences shared by Asperger

> sufferers from as far away as the United Kingdom and New Zealand.

>

> " We used the Internet to find Aspies who could tell us what happened to

> them, " Nick says. " A girl in New Zealand told us she went to a funeral and

asked

> people if they were having a good day. That was really the wrong thing to

> say. "

>

> In another vignette, an Aspie joins a group discussion but manages only to

> change the topic and hog the conversation. Another scene shows an Aspie trying

> to play a game in which he insists that the other participants must play by

> his rules and allow him to go first.

>

> Each vignette is followed by a " social autopsy, " a term that Nick and his

> family use to describe what went wrong and how the problem could be remedied.

> " You have to look at the situation and discuss how to do the right thing, "

> Nick says.

>

> For medical and scientific information, Nick relied on a book, Asperger's

> Syndrome: A Guide for Parents and Professionals by Tony Attwood, an Australian

> psychologist who specializes in treating people with the syndrome.

>

> Mr. Attwood viewed the video last summer and endorsed it as an educational

> tool. " I am sure that hundreds, if not thousands, of other people would like

> to see the video, " he wrote in an e-mail message to Nick in August.

>

> The video also was well-received by Nick's Scout troop, says nne

> Paccioni, who validates Scouting projects for Troop 225 in Windermere, Fla.,

where

> the Irwin family lived before moving to Plano about 2 ½ years ago. Nick

> received his Eagle badge, the highest award a Scout can achieve, in late

February

> in Florida.

>

> " He had started working on the project with these boys, and they were

> committed to helping him finish it, " says Ms. Paccioni. " It's unusual for a

Boy

> Scout to do a research-based project like this, but it was fantastic that Nick

> could share himself with people the way he did. "

>

> Nick, who plans to study computers in college, says it did not bother him to

> focus attention on his disorder because he felt certain it would help

> others. Besides, he says, it gave him a chance to tell people " the good part "

about

> having Asperger syndrome.

>

> " I love to read, " notes Nick, whose family recalls that he once took an

> encyclopedia to read at the dentist's office. He also has been known to thumb

the

> dictionary for casual reading.

>

> Kids with Asperger's often develop intense interests in subjects such as

> astronomy or science fiction at a young age, and Nick was no different. He has

> been fascinated with Star Trek since he was 8 years old, he says, often

> watching videos of the 1960s shows and reading books about it – sometimes

> simultaneously.

>

> " An interest gives an Aspie comfort, a sense of order, " explains Nedra

> Irwin, Nick's mother. " But they have to learn to do these things in

moderation,

> such as watching one episode of a TV show instead of nonstop episodes. "

>

> A local support group called DANISH – Dallas Asperger Network for

> Information, Support and Help – is distributing Nick's video as a public

service.

> Copies can be purchased on the group's Web site (at aspergerinfo.org) for $10

to

> cover duplication and mailing costs.

>

> " It's not really a professional-quality movie, " notes Mandell, who

> founded the support group. " But it really helps the patients we work with. We

> think Nick did a great job. "

>

> Nick says that through his video project, he learned there's a lot more to

> Asperger's than he ever realized. He's also learning to cope with social

> situations that he once would avoid. Last December, he went alone to a

Christmas

> party and surprised himself by actually enjoying it. " I talked to people and I

> had a pretty good time, " he says.

>

> E-mail sjacobson@...

>

> WHAT IS ASPERGER SYNDROME?

>

>

>

> Asperger syndrome is a developmental disorder that causes major difficulties

> in social interactions.

>

> It takes its name from Dr. Hans Asperger, an Austrian pediatrician, who in

> 1944 described a group of young boys who had problems with social interaction

> and communication.

>

> Research has shown that children with Asperger's may need to be taught how

> to:

>

> Express their feelings

>

> Give and accept praise

>

> Apologize

>

> Take turns in a conversation.

>

>

>

> For more information on the disorder and area support groups, visit

> www.aspergerinfo.org or www.asperger.org.A SCENE FROM NICK'S VIDEO

>

> Narrator: A person with Asperger syndrome, or an Aspie, needs to work on

> repairing a conversation, coping with the

>

> unknown, screening out irrelevant comments and not interrupting. Practicing

> with family can help develop these skills.

>

>

>

> The scene: A family is in the kitchen getting a meal ready. Brothers and

> sister are talking to Aspie about Yu-

>

> Gi-Oh. Aspie completely changes the topic.

>

> Mom: Wait a minute, they were talking about Yu-Gi-Oh. What did you talk

> about?

>

> Aspie: Well I said that monks made pretzels.

>

> Mom: What do you think they wanted to talk about, or how could you make that

>

>

> smoother?

>

> Aspie: (pause) Well ... um ... I guess I could have said something about

> Yu-Gi-Oh and

>

> talk about pretzels later.

>

> Mom: That is great.

>

>

>

>

>