Today is International Asperger’s Day, a day to celebrate and show support for people with Asperger Syndrome and their families and carers.
I’ve been blogging about Asperger’s Syndrome for the past few days and today, the 18th February is the day.
Here is a wonderful video of the amazing surfer Clay Marzo who has Asperger Syndrome. Tony Attwood is in the video discussing Asperger Syndrome and how the condition has helped Clay Marzo to excel in the waves.
Autism Heroes
Many people on the Autism spectrum (which includes Asperger’s Syndrome) have reached dizzy heights in their chosen career or creative endeavour.
There is a wonderful book for children (aged 8-12) on the autism spectrum called Different like me: my book of autism heroes by Jennifer Elder. It is very inspiring.
The book describes the lives of famous/inspirational people who had/have autism or who probably would have been diagnosed with autism if they had lived in this day and age. These people excelled in the world of science, art, literature, maths, comedy and philosophy. They all had great difficulty fitting in, but still managed to achieve great things.
It is beautifully illustrated by Marc Thomas and Jennifer Elder.
The book outlines the lives of:
Albert Einstein
Dian Fossey
Andy Warhol
Benjamin Banneker
Andy Kaufman
Wassily Kandinsky
Julia Bowman Robinson
Piat Mondrian
Alan Turing
Sophie Germain
Lewis Carroll
Isaac Newton
Nikola Tesla
Paul Erdos
Glenn Gould
Immanual Kant
Barbara McClintock
Joseph Cornell
Hans Christian Andersen
Temple Grandin
The biographies include some of their autistic characteristics. For instance, Albert Einstein didn’t speak until 3 and didn’t speak well until at least 9. He was not considered very smart by his teachers and got thrown out of one school. But he had an intense interest in all things physics and went on to develop his famous theories of space and time.
Temple Grandin says ‘this book will help inspire kids who are different and show them that they too can succeed’ .
I would recommend this book for all children, but particularly those with autism, as well as a terrific resource for teachers, parents/carers, siblings.
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Note: This is a repost for tomorrow’s International Asperger Day 🙂
My son who has high functioning autism or asperger syndrome has spent the last 3 days on a school camp – a huge achievement for him, so that makes him my autism hero – can’t wait to pick him up this afternoon and give him the biggest hug ever (not in front of his friends of course, that would be too embarrassing for any boy – haha).
Aspie’s Rock
People with Asperger Syndrome often call themselves aspies.
Aspies mostly call people who are not on the autism spectrum – neurotypicals. I nearly choked on my Weet-Bix when I heard that expression for the first time ;).
There is a theory (promulgated by aspies I should think) that people with Asperger’s Syndrome are higher up the evolutionary ladder than the rest of us. I don’t know about the scientific basis for that theory 🙂 but there are certainly many wonderful things about aspies.
Including the following:
Lateral thinkers (the inventors of the world)
Loyal
Enthusiastic
Focused
Genuinely goodhearted
Inventive
Original
Reliable
Unique sense of humour
Persistent (they will solve the problems of the world)
Determined (they will keep going when others give up)
Creative (some have outstanding artistic, musical and other talents)
Great attention to detail and can spot mistakes others may not notice (make great editors)
Super senses (wine connoisseurs and perfume makers of the world )
Strong sense of social justice (make good policemen, judges)
Direct, honest and speak their mind
Strive for perfection
Can list large amounts of factual information
Strong desire to seek knowledge (great on game shows and trivia nights)
Extremely knowledgeable on topics of interest (the trainspotters, collectors of the world)
Visual thinkers (make great surveyors, architects and engineers)
Exceptional long-term memory
Logical thinkers (the computer programmers of the world)
Great desire for fairness
Great respect for rules
Dedicated to special interests (many aspies reach the top of their chosen career because of their single minded dedication to an area of interest)
Unique
Endless potential
and the list goes on …
I know and love quite a few aspies and I think they rock!
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Note: This is a celebration of International Asperger Day 2012
Gabe Feathers McGee 
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