Nerd Syndrome

[kingandy]

Some months back Ant successfully applied for a post with the disability department at the University. Somewhat disappointingly, it was on an "as needed" basis and until now they've not needed him. However they've apparently been in touch to see if he'd be interested in working with a student with Asperger's.

Naturally I've been reading all about it.

"Unlike those with autism, people with AS are not usually withdrawn around others; they approach others, even if awkwardly, for example by engaging in a one-sided, long-winded speech about a favorite topic while being oblivious to the listener's feelings or reactions, such as signs of boredom or haste to leave. ..... People with Asperger syndrome often display behavior, interests, and activities that are restricted and repetitive and are sometimes abnormally intense or focused."

Man, this shit describes half the people I know.

Comments

[ajon.livejournal.com]

I knew I was walking into that one. I'm sure Izzy said something about the spectrum being measured against extreme 'masculine' traits and extreme 'feminine' traits. I realise they're not necessarily opposites and you could get into a whole debate about what this means but think it's probably true at a 'Men are from Mars and women are from Venus' level of generalisation.

Diagnosing Aspergers is awkward anyway because the whole point is you find relating to people in social situations difficult. My bro won't see a doctor because he finds that sort of thing incredibly frightening/intimidating. It's a catch 22. But yeah, I'm sure there are lots of people who have undiagnosed autism.

It's one of those things that's only a problem if it's a problem, the rest of the time it's a different outlook on life - a nontypical brain I think they called it. Most people function just fine if a little differently, some people don't. I suspect he'd be fine if he got a little bit of help as he's managing to live independently, just not very happily.