questions about autism

Without being able to read the story, I can't say. I have two sons, each with one of their classifications as being Aspergers, but totally different. My younger son, when little, thought it was Ass Burgers too, like your character's sister. He hated being told he had Ass Burgers. Both sons are hyper-sensitive to different things. One hates crowds, the other hates certain smells, etc.

Write the entire story. You say you're close to someone with Aspergers, so you might already have a feeling for what will be okay and what won't. Have someone else read it through--maybe a special ed teacher or someone who works with Aspergers kids.

All of that sounds fine to me. The misunderstood character with AS has been done plenty of times. If it's about his sister and how she sees the world, that's cool. On the other hand, if the boy plays a major role as a secondary character, let him have a moment to shine for himself. Not necessarily explaining himself, but "showing not telling" if you know what I mean. Like, the MS sees him as spoiled, or she thinks he's weird, or she can't understand him at first...but then she has a moment where she 'gets' him or empathizes with him, and the audience sees him somewhat as he really is.

I went to check out your chapter in SYW. It looked great to me. The kid's antics made me laugh. The one thing I didn't get is why the kid insisted he could talk about whatever he wanted, and the parent agreed with him. I don't know any parents who let kids say whatever they want, particularly while learning the important life skill of having a civilized meal (Including many parents of kids with autism and AS).

Kitty Pryde said:

I went to check out your chapter in SYW. It looked great to me. The kid's antics made me laugh. The one thing I didn't get is why the kid insisted he could talk about whatever he wanted, and the parent agreed with him. I don't know any parents who let kids say whatever they want, particularly while learning the important life skill of having a civilized meal (Including many parents of kids with autism and AS).

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You'd be surprised how many parents (especially moms and especially right after diagnosis) do just that. Suddenly, the boundaries come off and every behavior is painted as part of the "disorder" and therefore uncontrollable and not to be mentioned or corrected. Anyone who says different becomes "insensitive" or worse. (Usually the case when a parent feels guilty because they think they did something to cause their child's special needs.)

I have a student this year who is struggling a LOT with that issue--what you can and cannot talk about when you're out in public--or in the classroom. Trying to explain to him why it's not okay to observe out loud that nobody likes one girl because she pushes people and sucks her thumb... And that you can't tell your teacher you want to erase her when she makes you erase a mistake on your math page...

I think you can get away with a whole lot in your story as long as you stay true to a particular character. Neurological diversity is as much a part of the human experience as any other condition, and it's fair game for the artist to explore.

JudScotKev said:

Trying to explain to him why it's not okay to observe out loud that nobody likes one girl because she pushes people and sucks her thumb... And that you can't tell your teacher you want to erase her when she makes you erase a mistake on your math page...

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And that "Can I take your clothes off?" isn't the same as "Can I take your coat?"

Leaving a mental note for myself to check out the story later. I agree with the earlier comment that you should give the Asperger's character a moment to shine. The misunderstanding might offend some, but it sounds common enough for it to be realistic. If you tell off the character who said it or explain to them what they did wrong, it's probably completely going to slide by most readers.

I have mild Asperger's syndrome. I have a blog where I write about my experiences. I think you can get a relatively realistic portrayl from reading my site.

http://touchedbyanalien.blogspot.com/

I might avoid the slang ass-burger's just because some editors may see it as cussing, even though it is a commonly used slur against those with AS.

I'll check out your chapter.

sissybaby said:

In my present work, I have a character based on someone I know quite well. He's not the MC, but he does have a fairly major roll in the story.

He's a young boy with Asperger's syndrome, a type of autism. I think I'm making him a believable character, with some of his peculiar traits, but I'm not making him into a victim or someone to pity.

As the MC learns about him, she makes a few mistakes. She thinks him spoiled to begin with, and she mistakes the term Asperger's for ass burgers, and laughs about it because she thinks someone is messing with her.

I don't want anything I write to come off as offensive or insensitive. I don't dwell on the autism, but the descriptions of his condition come from a twelve-year-old sister, who doesn't quite understand the whole situation.

Does that sound okay? I'd appreciate feedback.

Thanks so much,

Sissy

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My oldest son is autistic. If you have any questions, feel free to message me. It is often that people mistake autism for a kid with no discipline. It can be very embarrassing in public for the parent too, especially knowing many people are judging you and thinking you somehow screwed up in the area of discipline. It's especially difficult when you don't follow mainstream forms of parenting - my mother, for example, thinks that if only I would spank my children then my oldest wouldn't have autism. She's crazy though. It helps that I have two typical children as well, just saying that is sometimes a layer that helps. Some people didn't realize it wasn't a discipline issue with my son until they met my other two children.

On a side, while Aspergers sounds like ass burgers (i hate that) i have never met anyone to "mistake" the term. I've only seen that used in mocking.