Paper on Aspergers/autism

[Guest guest]

This is a paper my sister wrote for her college class,about my

son,Logan. I thought ya'll might find it intersting. It is a little

long.

Not Always Silent

A little boy is sitting on the floor staring out the window

with a blank look on his face. His fingers are fluttering close to

his eyes, which appear empty and unfocused. He has been sitting alone

in the same spot, doing the same thing almost all day. All around

him, other children are happily playing with each other. The boy's

mother walks into the room and bends down to speak to him; the boy

just continues staring into nothingness, his fingers still

fluttering. He neither acknowledges his mother's presence nor

responds to her voice.

This boy's intention is not to be rude or disrespectful or to

ignore his mother's attempts to reach out to him. This particular

little boy is physically unable to respond to anyone because he is

the victim of a terrible disorder called autism. He is locked inside

himself, unable to reach out to the world around him. He lives in a

silent, lonely world that others cannot enter.

Autism is a neurological disorder that affects brain

development in the areas of social interaction and communication

skills. Because of the disorder, a person with autism is unable to

communicate with others the way most people do. They have difficulty

relating to other people and cannot adequately express themselves.

There are many misconceptions concerning autism. The most

common is that all autistic people do not speak and none of them ever

make eye contact. Another is that they do not like close contact and,

if spoken to or approached too closely, a person with autism will

become agitated and begin screaming and running around. Many even

believe that autistic people are retarded and are not teachable.

However, just as " normal " people are different, so are autistic

people. While some autistic people may never speak a word their

entire lives, there are others who can carry on a conversation and

will even look you in the eye.

I used to be among those who thought all autistic people were

the same. I didn't think children with autism should be mainstreamed

into a classroom because they wouldn't be able to learn anything and

would be a big distraction to the other students. I also thought they

couldn't talk and wanted no physical contact. My thoughts about

autism changed when my nephew was diagnosed as a high functioning

autistic child.

Logan had always reached developmental milestones at a later

time than most children his age. He couldn't hold his head up when

most babies could. He rolled over later, sat up later and even talked

later. Everything seemed to be delayed a few months. When Logan

started going to daycare at the age of three, it became apparent that

he was not developing socially and was further behind than his mother

had suspected. After numerous doctor visits, including many

specialists, Logan was diagnosed with Asperger's Disorder which is a

form of autism. This was all new and scary territory for our family.

It seemed like the end of dreams for a happy childhood and successful

adult life. Our hearts were filled with fear of the unknown.

My sister immediately began researching autism and Asperger's

Disorder. She discovered that Asperger's Disorder is on the high end

of the autism spectrum. Logan would be able to function at a higher

level than children with severe autism; however, since all children

are different, it was still unclear to us how Logan would progress.

Would he withdraw into himself, not allowing others to get close to

him? For a time it seemed that this would be the case. There was a

time when Logan barely made eye contact, refusing to acknowledge

those around him. If someone did speak to him, he would become very

agitated and scream out, " I cannot talk to you! "

In September 2000, Logan began going to Early Childhood

classes, which is a Pre-Kindergarten for children with special needs.

Going to this class was difficult at first for Logan because he still

did not want people to talk to him and was trying to withdraw from

those around him. Early Childhood helped Logan because his teacher

required the children to speak instead of point and to participate in

classroom activities. At first, Logan had a hard time letting others

talk to him, but as time went by, he became more comfortable with his

classmates. He interacted more and was excited about going to school.

Logan is now in a regular education Kindergarten class and is

doing well academically. Intelligence testing has shown that he is

above average on many things and average on others. Logan's goal in

life is to be a paleontologist, policeman, fireman, and everything

else, proving that he does have ambitions. Socially, Logan is still

behind. He has friends at school, but they are mostly girls who tend

to mother him. He doesn't like playing with the boys because he says

they are mean to him.

Because there is no cure for autism, Logan will never outgrow

some of his autistic behaviors. He may always have difficulty when

faced with a new situation, and he may be on the outskirts of most

groups because of his lack of social interaction. Life for Logan may

always be difficult and challenging but this is something he doesn't

even realize. Logan is a very happy child who, at this time, doesn't

see himself as different. Whatever Logan's future is, I am happy to

be a part of his present. He has brought so much joy to my life and a

new respect for people with special needs.

Kim mom to ~~Meaghan-13~~Katelyn 10,Bipolar,OCD~~Logan 5

Aspergers/PDD,SID,Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis~~Ethan 3,,,100% BOY