The boy is hilarious.
Throughout his life he has always had a different view on life, he loved off the wall type stories such as Bob, Man on the Moon and would express the most surreal of statements. He has been recently keeping the teenagers amused at the home education group. I have seen the girls in peels of laughter as he sits there, in all seriousness telling them that NASA plan to launch their rockets using fart power. He maintains its a true story.
When I tell him how funny he is, he will often reply that he doesn't mean to be funny. He is just being himself. I remark then that if he doesn't make it in his chosen career of working in IT then comedy will always be there. The comedian Mark Watson reminds us a lot of the boy. There's quite a few of them about.
Tony Attwood wrote an article about the discovery of Aspie criteria. This is meant to view Aspergers as an enhanced skill rather than a deficit in social skills. Many great people such as Winston Churchill and Einstein have been attributed as being on the spectrum. Attwood discusses how the skill for noticing detail, the loyalty and always being honest makes for someone who is dependable and also highly employable too. Attwood concludes that :
"The discovery of aspies brings into focus valuable, endangered opportunities that have repeatedly marched past without adequate notice of their potential. There is the opportunity to make new friends; a chance to consider those who may seem comparatively awkward, but decidedly more honest and genuine. In addition to discovering new friendships, there is the opportunity to utilize unique perspectives and talents to tackle problems. There’s work to do in the following century – diseases to cure, environments to save, freedoms to preserve. Fortunately, there are people with minds capable of the challenge, with the ability to focus and persevere. They possess perspectives and talents unique enough to solve the biggest of problems, or enhance the most challenging projects. They are Aspies. They are living proof that the best places to play will always be those that are discovered."
There have been articles in the press recently about how companies will actively seek out people with Dyspraxia and Aspergers. The boy is particularly interested in working for intelligence and apparently one organisation has a whole Dyspraxic community based in their team.
The boy when I tell him this, will remark that the office has desks with soft corners so that they can't bump into them and special transport to get there so they do not forget tickets or where they have parked the car. Its a whole world out there and as Attwood states there is so much work to be done. Another mother of a dyspraxic adult told me how her son applied for a job and based his presentation on the skills that Dyspraxic people have and why he should be employed. He got the job.
There are times when I am willing the boy to remain quiet as he is sometimes a little lacking in tact and just marches forwards in giving his opinions. And he just loves to drop me in it sometimes too. He did this recently at the group and announced that I was very pro a recent public health initiative that had been heavily contested. As I sat there squirming, trying to wrestle myself out of the embarrassing hole that he had put me in, I suddenly remembered that I was always telling my two children to be honest and not be afraid to give their thoughts on an argument so what kind of role model was I being? Sometimes that boy is just too clever by halves.
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