Stories

My Son

My son is 17 and starting his senior year of high school. He was never "formally" diagnosed with Aspergers or NLD, but I suspect he has a bit of both. We used to tell people he had "an alphabet soup of diagnosis", now, we make it simple and tell them he has Austism Spectrum Disorder. Since kindergarten, our son has been mainstreamed. He has had a one on one aid all through his school life, but, he has shown with the correct help, that he can succeed and has succeeded in the mainstream classroom. He is the "classic" teen with no real friendships, doesn't really miss them but wonders at times why he has none. He hangs out with acquaintances at school who are great to him but once off campus, the interaction does not continue. He spends alot of time alone and likes it that way, is not interested in "playing" sports, but, could talk and read about them all day and night. He would rather be in a bookstore or library than a toy store or game store. He would be perfectly content in life with a computer, XBOX, CD player, and VCR/DVD player and would spend all his hours going between them all. Recently, he began to feel things and express his concerns or questions about "why" he was feeling out of place, "why" things felt funny or different for him. This past summer, his father and I told him about Autism Spectrum Disorder. We explained that it is NOT a disability, but a part of him that makes him unique and different. He is trying to cope with all the information and questions he has about what ASD really is. He has handled it well so far and my husband and I like to think that in some small way we have empowered him. I love this website and will encourage him to go on it and read the stories and hopefully he will write one of his own. I like "wierd not stupid". It really defines it, doesn't it?! Thanks for being out there and letting everyone know they are not alone. We are trying to tell our son that there are SO many others that think and feel the way he does. This will help. Thank You! P.S.: Our son will graduate next June. He will complete all required classes and has passed the state exit exam so he can receive a full diploma. We do not know what the future holds after high school, but I know there is much hope as he has already shown us he can accomplish so much.