some things i'd like to learn more about

[maelorin]

[original post in reply to obsoletechild]

i'd like to learn more about this asperger syndrome thing i'm being. surely some way that it can work for me, and vice versa. i'm pretty happy with who i am - but i want more from life than i'm getting.

and learn more about giftedness. my son is extremely gifted. this would assist me relating to him, and to mine own childhood. and perhaps give me some further clues as to what-i-can-do-next™

i'd like to practice my cooking more.

i'd like to learn more about relationships. a practical example would be nice, but i'm gonna start with more achievable goals first. will help with son, and so forth.

i wouldn't mind learning more about the current state of play in basic science and also technology. ditto for media and culture generally. the what, how, who, and possible whys of the future fascinate me.

i probably should learn to type sometime

Comments

[ex-mother-ca391.livejournal.com]

How old is your son? Is he your only child?

[maelorin]

hans is five, and he's my only child. [no opportunities since. and very careful prior.]

he's been assessed as being in or above the 99.7th percentile of the population for his age. so he's a five year old with problem solving capacities around 10ish. others between six and nine.

his social skills are our main concern. those are our focus at the moment. [he'll have no problem catching up with 'academic' skills]

we have him mixing with other gifted kids through the gifted and talented childrens assn (so he can learn that he's not the only bright kid in town, and that's ok.). developing a specific curriculum for him with his school. exploring ways to teach him values and social skills. [some of that's nifty for me too.]

[ex-mother-ca391.livejournal.com]

Although not? Aspergers, he must have inherited your smart genes, and the social skills problems that go with Aspergers. Schools are getting better with that stuff too. My mum's been a Junior Primary School teacher for 40 years, and says these days it's part of their job to pick up on kids who are different and tailor the school-work to suit them. She's taught everything from 5 years old who had to be sent home because they were still in nappies to 5 year olds who've been doing year 8 maths.

[maelorin]

mum is sure he's not aspie. i'm not so sure. but gifted kids and aspie kids do share a lot of common behaviours as a consequence of their different world-views. we need to sort through the behaviours to be sure.

his reception teacher is clearly a soon-to-retireee, who's at work until she retires in a year or so. hans was much more than she was prepared for - at least, so things appear to us and the school. the school is examining options to address this.

part of my training last year for middle-school and high-school teaching was some of the indicators of difference - and the 'proper' chain-of-command to address them. [but the beaurocratic systems move far too slowly.]

we're not fussed about hans' academics at the moment. he'll pick those up. but we need to help him adjust socially - that can't wait.

[ex-mother-ca391.livejournal.com]

Is there just thing has being partially aspie? Autism is supposed to be a 'spectrum disorder' or so I've read?

[maelorin]

Indeed, Aspieness is not a fixed thing, and I am concerned that Hans may have some Aspie traits.

We need to determine which behaviours are a result of the isolation of being far brighter than any of his peers, and which may have other roots.

He is experiencing the kind of sensory overload - and exhibits the same kind of shutdown/over-stimulation responses - that I do to constant loud noise. He has sensitive hearing, which may explain it without putting him on the Spectrum. Hearing test awaits in the near future.

I do hope he's not ASD. But if he is, he'll get the best help available - whatever I (and his mother) have to do.