ReferencesCopley, Jennifer. "Positive Traits of Aperger's
Syndrome." Suite101. Suite101, 15 Aug2008. Web. 29 Nov 2010. .
"DSM-IV & DSM-IV-TR: Asperger's Disorder (AD)." BehaveNet
ClinicalCapsule. BehaveNet, 2010. Web. 29 Nov 2010.. Haddon, M.
(2003). The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time. New
York,NewYork: Random House, Inc. Karanaskhawicz, Y. (2001-2006).
Cogito, Ergo Sum.Retrieved from
http://www.aspergerssyndrome.net/AutobioIntro.shtml Miranda, De
Pencier (Producer), & Mayer, Max (Director). (7August 2009).
Adam [Motion picture]. United States: Olympus Pictures. Page, T.
(2007, August 20). Parallel play. The New Yorker, Retrieved from
http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2007/08/20/070820fa_
fact_pagecurrentPage=all.
Hello! Im ej, Our multiple perspective project is on Aspergers
Syndrome. This exceptionality on the Autistic spectrum is defined
by the 4th DSM as having anImpairment in social interactions.Which
can manifest itself as difficulty reading social cues, appearing
rude or inconsiderate on purpose when its not, taking things for
their literal meaning, and simply needing to be taught appropriate
social behaviors that neuro-typicals internalize far easier. They
might also talk at an inappropriate noise level and have issues
giving other people a change to talk. They also have Repetitive and
stereotyped patterns of behavior, interests, and activities.No
delay in language &No significant delay in cognitive
development or in the development of age-appropriate self-help
skills, adaptive behavior, and curiosity about the environment in
childhood.Some of the positive traits granted to people with
Aspergers are that they are often Trustworthy and reliable, free of
prejudice, have high integrity, extreme endurance, are intelligent,
and talented.Tim Page - first hand account of Asperger's SyndromeA
word Tim uses to describe himself isunconventionalHe was told he
had a supposed ability to think outside the box But it was a
struggle as he describes it to perceive just what these boxes
wereAware of his own strangeness and incomfortablepersonality the
second quote on the slide speaks to hisunconventional way of
thinking2) Pages first special interest was music, claiming to love
its resistance to change" and "perpetual return. As a child he
memorized the 1961 encyclopedia and still holds on to the
obituaries he collected. Yearning for routine, patterns, and
cherished subjects, he was so preoccupied with inner imperatives
that the outer world may overwhelm and confuse, still to this day
horrified by over-stimulation3) Pages emotions were hard-won. He
said "The fact that my understanding of affection, comradeship, and
human empathy has been hard-won rather than being wired in from the
start does not make these feelings less genuine." And, I made love
like the Tin Man until I was well into adulthood. However, caring
for inanimate objects did come easily.deeper emotions reduce me to
aching silence, especially when I feared that I would be exposed,
misunderstood, or ridiculed.4) He had an obvious tension with
society and his school peers. He questioned his genius label
asking, Were other geniuses so oblivious that they couldn't easily
tell right from left and idly wet their pants into
adolescence?Unfortunately Pagenoted that "I cannot pretend that
Asperger's had not made much of my existence miserable and
isolatedhowever he felts that with age he has learned how to better
cope.I don't need to summarize the movie Adam too extensively
because i know we watched it already as a class but..real quick,
Adam is the story of a young man with Asperger's who, after living
with his father most of his life (his mom is dead) he finds himself
suddenly alone when his Dad passes away. He lives in an apartment
in the city and works as an electronic engineer for a toy company,
until he gets fired and realizes that he can't afford to live in
such a big house anymore. Also, he meets Beth who moves into the
building and wants to be friends..or more..with Adam.
Adam, as a film, does a pretty good job of depicting someone
with Asperger's.
Adam is very afraid of change..he eats mac and cheese for dinner
every single night..and when Beth ropes him into going out to
dinner he ends up being very excited when she orders him penne and
alfredo (mac and cheese). He gets very upset when he finds out he
is supposed to sell his house and also when he gets fired because
he doesn't know what to do next.
Adam has a very specific interest, characteristic of someone
with Asperger's..he is obsessed with space and can ramble on about
it for a long time.
He also displays many realistic social interaction problems that
people with Asperger's have..he has trouble not taking things
literally..when Beth tries to explain to him that her ex boyfriend
cheated on her, Adam doesn't understand when she says that he had
been sleeping with other women while they were together..and also
when she says "well I guess I'll be hauling these enormous bags of
groceries upstairs now..." he says, okay..
And an important point to make is the way this movie, as a
second hand account, deals with the ending. Adam ends up getting a
job offer in California and he really wants Beth to come with
him..Beth's father gets furious with the idea and tells Beth that
there is no way she should limit herself in that way by being with
someone like Adam..and Beth has her own concerns. She is worried
because he has never told her that he loves her..and they will
never look into each other's eyes and just be able to KNOW what the
other is feeling.. and she ends up asking him why he wants her to
come..and that's why she ends up not going. *CLIP*..so the fact
that he needs her ends up making her feel like he doesn't actually
love her. And this is a negative way of portraying a potential
relationship of someone with Asperger's. And then at the end Beth
writes a children's book and sends it to Adam and it's about the
raccoons living in central park and it's kind of demeaning in a
way.The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time1) TCIDN is
told from the point of view of school aged boy with Aspergers,
Christopher BooneHe has very high intelligence especially in math
related fields, hes very emotionallyunintelligent, and extremely
literal. He likes prime numbers, he doesn't lie, he has "Memory
like a film," he doesnt like it when people grab him, and he has
echolalia traits. I made the background red because he loves red,
and hates yellow and brown.3) This picture and quote from the book
speak to lack of emotional intelligence and ability toempathize. He
said, I find people confusing.The first main reason is that people
do a lot of talking without using any words and talk using
metaphorswhich he thinks should just be called lies.2) Christopher
thinks himself similar to Sherlock Holmes. He saidI see everything
and he can detach his mind at will.4) Christopher is easily
over-stimulated, throwing tantrums at department stores, becoming
so overwhelmed at the subway that he sat on a bench for 5 hours. He
describes over-stimulation as such: I didnt like all the people
being near me and all the noise because it was too much information
in my head and it made it hard to think, like there was shouting in
my head. In his fantasy end of the world dream, he is happiest when
he can just sit in the corner of the room and rub a L1 coin back
and forward over the ripple shapes on the surface of the
radiator.5) He also has extreme difficulty adapting to new settings
and circumstances, and runs away from many challenges. First hand-
both said they have no control over their wandering mind- it's not
by choice or will. Christopher said he could detach his mind at
will
-Ignorance is bliss...tantrum and then fine..Adam is able to
look at a picture of space and feel okay about things immediately *
Ithink one ofthe main reasons for the differences in the way things
are portrayed isthat in both of our first hand accounts, theauthor
is writing as an adult after a lifeof not knowing why they were the
way they were..Adam is very aware of the aspects of his Aspergers
and maybe he is less miserable because of this... we can definitely
add some more to this..I feel kind of stuck at the moment
though
I think it is also that there is a huge gap between what seems /
appears to be going on / felt, and what actually is. The first hand
accounts portray what really is going on inside, while adam is
viewed from an external perspectiveChristopher boone is sort of in
the middle- it's a personal perspective, but he's a kid and hasn't
developed as much thought about his Asperger's if he even knows
that's what he has.
awareness of my own strangeness 2==ignorance is bliss- might
seem better to portray them as not struggling from it?WorkBecame a
"music critic and culture writer" 2- just another way to make
adam's life miserable?Myths and Stereotypes Emotionless- As I
explained with Tim Page, people with Aspergers are completely
capable of feeling emotion. In actuality, they are often intensely
sensitive, yet do not have the skills required to express them.
Unable to have successful careers- As was the case with both of our
first hand accounts, if someone with Aspergers is able to find a
career path that utilizes a special skill, they can be very
successful. Only an issue of awkward social interaction- There are
many other symptoms and comorbid disorders, such as obsessive
compulsive impulses, anxiety, behavioral problems, or bed wetting.
Rude, self-centered, unconcerned with etiquette, arrogant- People
with Aspergers often just dont know how to control these outbursts.
Its really a genuine lack of understanding regarding conversation
and listening. Thought to be unable to form relationships, when in
fact friendship and spouse relations are not a rarity. Often time,
they are seen and treated as children, however, the truth is rather
opposite. Children with Aspergers suffer adult worries at a very
age. They never get to fully experience the carefree fun of being a
kid. They are not necessarily great in school. They might have
specific areas in which they excel, but this usually means they
struggle significantly in others.Tim Page said, "if we are not
very, very good at something we tend to do it very poorly. Little
in life comes naturally- except for our random, inexplicable, and
often uncontrollable gifts"UnderstandingQuote for explicit
explanations:When she tells me to do somethingShe tells me exactly
what it is that I am not allowed to do. And I like this referring
to instructions from Siobhan 29 CIDN-Can also use example from
Parallel Play: "Oddly, the book that helped pull me into the human
race was Emily Post's "Etiquette," which I had picked up......the
book offered clearly stated reasons for courtesy, gentility and
scrupulousness-reasons that I could respect, understand and
implement. It suggested ways to inaugurate conversations without
launching into a lecture, reminded me of the importance of
listening as well as speaking, and convinced me that manners,
properly understood, existed to make other people feel comfortable
rather than (as I had suspected) to demonstrate the practitioner's
social superiority" (pages 5 and 6)
It's part of who they are, not a "problem" to be fixed
Note to parents from Cogito
AccommodatingCogitoexisting basis for education does not tend to
suit children with Aspergers Syndrome 16
