Asperger's Education

My son Christopher sees a psychiatrist to help him gain social skills because he has Asperger's Syndrome. This same lovely psychiatrist has a social skills group with half a dozen boys. Christopher attended his first group this week.

All of these boys have Asperger's. Boy did I get an education! I heard about the latest video games, the predictions of Nostradamus, the end of the world, the mountains of Nepal, the Napoleonic Wars, and the sacking of Rome; all in the space of about eight minutes while we waited for the Doctor. These were not conversations, really, but rather several different monologues; so it got quite loud because, of course, each boy wanted HIS monologue heard.

Christopher's pet subjects (NASCAR, tornadoes, airplanes, or ships) were not in that list because he sat in a corner with his hands over his ears. When I asked him later how Group went, he simply said, "LOUD!" They made valentines during Group to give to their mothers. Mine had a large red heart in the middle with a NASCAR race along the bottom. I love it!

This child has given me an education in many ways: he is my first child. He came ten weeks early and was painfully tiny. Because he was born early, he was born the same year in which we married and so continues to be a lesson in humility for me. He's unbelievably bright; and teaches me constantly in his narrow fields of interest. But I am most grateful to God for sharing with me the sheer joy and delight of this boy. He is a treasure.