MOM…I have Asperger’s!!

I haven’t blogged in over a week. YIKES. Sorry!! It has been one doozy of a week at work, with cars in the shop, ex-husband drama, sick kids, sick Mommy etc. I just could not find the time (or inspiration) to blog. The one good thing about my slacking is that my last post ties right into this one. If you didn’t read it….go do that now. I can wait. ……

*hums to myself*


Ok. So, I was JUST saying how Lilly didn’t know that she has Asperger’s and we didn’t plan on telling her anytime soon…right??

Well, my super smart girl figured it out all on her own. A long time ago, I bought a book on Amazon called: “What it is to be me! An Asperger Kids book”. http://amzn.com/1593521995 I realized after buying it that it was written by a gal that I used to work with. I called her up and we chatted for a bit. She has 2 kids on the spectrum. Small world!

I bought this particular book because it is written in the perspective of a young kid with Asperger’s. It is simple but very informative. The Aspie boy describes some of the things he excels at and some of the things that are challenging for him. I also thought maybe Lilly would identify with the kid in the book. We have a lot of books in our house about different kinds of people with different abilities, personalities, disabilities, etc. So throwing this book into the mix and educating her about Autism/Asperger’s without telling her she has it was my brilliant plan. *wink*
We have read this book before and I could see the wheels kinda turning in her head the last time we read it. Last night, with each page we read…she would say, “Mom, I do that too” or “I don’t like loud noises either”. She also started talking about the movie Temple Grandin. She saw about the first 20 mins or so of it and told me that she also saw how things worked in her head and how she traces the outlines of things she sees and how new things make her feel scared.

She looked at me and excitedly said, “MOM…I have Asperger’s!! I am unique, different and smart too!!”

I had not planned to have this talk with her but all of a sudden…here we were. I told her that yes, she does have Asperger’s and what that meant. I explained about Autism and the spectrum. She understands that she is considered “high functioning” and how some people with autism have more severe issues and have difficulty communicating. She almost seemed excited to know that there were others like her. She asked if having Asperger’s was a bad thing and I told her it was not. She is “different, but not less than”…(to use the quote I keep seeing on Twitter)

I am so immensely proud of my smart, quirky little girl.

And to think, earlier that day we had a HORRIBLE, drama filled morning. When I dropped her off at school she was grumpy and gave me an ugly “stink face” and told me she was going to have a horrible day. Now, we shared this enlightening moment together and she seemed perfectly happy.

Since that talk, I have been able to discuss things more openly with her and she understands some of her behaviors and meltdowns a little bit more.

She even told me last night during dinner that she thinks her little brother has Asperger’s. Funny kid. (I think he might too…but I didn’t tell her that yet.)


Shelley