Those of us who are parents of children who have Asperger’s Syndrome, a variant of autism, have lots of worries. We worry about their social life and fret about their friendships. We worry about their education (boy do worry about their education!) We worry about the various therapies that are available and whether we have made the right choices. Parents of children who have special needs of any type worry a lot. And that’s on top of all the normal worries that any parent has about their children.
Most of all we worry about how they are going to make their way in the world once we are gone. We want them to be financially secure, fulfilled in their work, and happy. We worry about what they are going to do.
We hear that various historical figures may have had Asperger’s Syndrome like Ludwig van Beethoven, Albert Einstein, Thomas Jefferson, and Jonathan Swift. That lifts us up but how does fascination with Bakugan and Sponge Bob Square Pants translate into being the next Albert Einstein? Most of us don’t expect Einstein we just want them to have a job and be self supporting. A spouse would be great, kids would be wonderful.
Some of us parents hunger for stories of those that have made their way. Tim Page is one of those guys. He is in his mid 50’s and he didn’t get diagnosed until a few years ago. Tim is a Pulitzer Prize winning music critic. He has written a book that talks about his life from early childhood until he got out of college.
He had it kind of rough. He had no social skills or instincts at all. He never felt connected to his peers or his family. He didn’t do that well in school in fact he got thrown out of one. He made it though. It wasn’t pretty. He consumed lots of acohol, smoked dope, dropped acid but he still made it. He had an intense interest in music.
He started by playing his parents records over and over and learning all about them. And it went from there. He also made home made films as a child. He had a creative spark and drive and he never gave up.
This book is great. It is not a “pretty” story about how overcame his disability by hard work and help from teachers, pastors, sunday school classes, the Bible, boy scouts, sports, and a paper route. It is about a bewildered kid trying to figure out why he didn’t fit in and who had a passion for music and pursued it. He had loving but also bewildered parents. He had various adults take an interest in him but Tim Page made it on his own.
How much better can we do now that we know how to diagnose and treat youngsgters with Asperger’s Syndrome? A bunch I hope.
This is a great book. If you want to read the story of somebody who has Asperger’s Syndrome this is good. He doesn’t provide any great insights into therapies or advance any theories he just tells his story. The book is well written and compelling. It is short. I read it in two days. Sweetie is reading it now.
I’ve been meaning to buy that one. Can I borrow yours someday? Thanks for the review!
the book you have mention seems to be very interesting..sometimes good books are written by ordinary people. thanks for sharing!
Yes, those of us who love special children worry and gobble books that might show us a way.
I’m going through all those worries with my daughter. This is a difficult problem to deal with.
Great review – just finished this tonight (my son has Asperger’s) and I completely agree with all you wrote.
Looking forward to checking out more of your blog soon.