Asperger Syndrome

A couple of weeks ago, Madelle’s therapist brought us in to discuss a thought he had been having for a while.  He showed us all the behavior girls have that point to the old diagnosis of Asperger syndrome.  Part of me was overwhelmed with yet another thing to study and process.  The other part of me was thinking, this fits, but I am not seeing a problem.  I have some of the tendencies!

The counselor talked about the syndrome as more of a list of personality traits that don’t fit with our modern society.  This is the reason they don’t diagnose any more.  He said she wouldn’t be diagnosed with it, but he was going to talk with the psychiatrist about the syndrome.  He also said there was no pill to fix it.  Well, right, a lot of the traits are the things I love about my daughter.  He also leant us the book “Aspiegirls” for Jerry and I to read.  For those of you who know me well, I went out and bought the book to be able to highlight.  And I have been highlighting!!!

My daughter is an aspiegirl.  She will not be diagnosed, because there is nothing to fix.  She is an outside of the box thinker, who speaks the truth, has a unique sensitive side, and is absolutely amazing.  We have to work on how she reacts to issues.  Her meltdowns need a way to be released in a less volatile manner.  She needs to learn how she is different and why others struggle with those differences.  I just wish we could teach the rest of the world along with us!

So, this will be a project for the summer through her therapist and me, with us discussing what we do with Jerry.  It will be a family endeavor.  I am actually kind of excited by it all.  Of course, my poor daughter at the moment doesn’t have any friends that understand her.  She is stuck with us.  Her depression is gone and she longs for a buddy.  She will be going to a two week band camp in town, but that is all for a social outlet. 

We do have some fun things planned.  During our down weeks when we aren’t traveling, I have set up a painted pot day, movie day, water (lake or creek) day, and a trip day.  We want to see Garnet Ghost Town and some other things around the area.  We want to do more training with Leo, the beagle.  She wants to learn how create more in-depth computer programming and work on harder math.  I want to garden, paint, and write.  We are going to be busy.

Along the way, I am going to let my readers also learn.  I will write about the progress we make and the discussions we have.  I will also post pictures of the fun things we do.  I may not be able to teach the world, but I can teach a few people.  I hope a lot of you will come along for the ride.