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Post by virgoscorpio on Jul 17, 2012 13:22:50 GMT -5
Sweet stories!
I shared this before a bit, but the autistic boy I used to babysit when *I* was 13 was really sweet too. I remember him signing "I love you" to me before he went to bed and that melted my heart (and also made the pooping-of-the-pants-and-smearing-it-on-shag-carpet seem insignificant).
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Post by zoar3 on Jul 17, 2012 17:43:47 GMT -5
Sarish, good to see you posting! Thank you for treating those boys like the kids they are. Go you! No wonder they "love you." Kids definitely know who truly cares for them. Oldhickory, I also read that story this morning. How very scary. I really wish we had gotten to read about Kristy visiting the classroom of the kids she saw in the auditorium. I think she would have been an awesome champion/peer friend for them, especially to the likes of Cokie and company. Virgo. I remember your sharing that. Of course, you were 13.
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Post by wenonah4th on Jul 21, 2012 9:37:53 GMT -5
My MIL has worked extensively w/ autistic kids & probably has every answer imaginable!
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Post by wiggir13 on Oct 6, 2012 12:23:12 GMT -5
A couple of fun things from this one: Charlie had a stupid yellow sign on his car that read babysitter on board! Who here thinks he would have gotten teases or beat up with that on his car that I supposed to impress! Also, and this ones for you Zoar,kristie says she learns how to stand up for what she believes in from dawn....really?
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starrynight
Sitting For The Kuhns
The Royal Diner of Pizza Express
Posts: 4,004
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Post by starrynight on Oct 6, 2012 13:41:51 GMT -5
^ I forgot about Charlie's sign...or maybe I never really paid attention in the first places. In the real world, he totally would have gotten teased at the very least. People probably would have thought he was advertising himself as a baby sitter, and we all know from reading the series that boy baby sitters are prime teasing targets. I never really thought that Kristy needed help learning to stand up for things. In some ways, she's much more of an individual than Dawn.
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Post by virgoscorpio on Oct 6, 2012 13:49:58 GMT -5
^ I agree. I think it was Ann and Scholastic trying to be cheeky and thinking they're funny. But, in reality, a teenage boy would get harassed by his peers for that. Endless jokes on that one!
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Post by zoar3 on Oct 6, 2012 17:50:29 GMT -5
If Dawn is an "individual" than MA must be, too. They both snipe and gripe over similar things though I am giving (more and more) the bigger nasty prize to MA. Lol, Wiggirl, I saw that. I think Kristy was the most "individual" of all the girls except for different reasons, Mal. The writers possibly thought K's interests that made her unique weren't as fascinating as the latest fads or constant boys.
I finished this last night and honestly it was so boring. The whole story just dragged on. Ann's "Inside Out" about a 3-4 year old boy who had autism was so much more interesting and endearing than this one. I would have much preferred at least one scene of James talking with his own family about Susan. Kristy, too, for that matter and with James. I think Mr. Felder was the only shining (attention holding) character in this.
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Post by sillybillygoogoo on Jan 22, 2013 17:40:32 GMT -5
I really like this book! It's actually one of my favorites, even though it's quite sad.
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Katie
New To Stoneybrook
Posts: 153
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Post by Katie on Feb 15, 2013 2:11:39 GMT -5
My son is suspected to be on the autism spectrum so I thought it would be hard rereading this book in the midst of waiting to see the developmental pediatrician for diagnosis but it really wasn't. I think understanding of autism has been increased a lot since those daysl Susan is very different than my son who is very attached to me possible due to his sensory issues. He craves deep pressure and loves being squeezed tight and held a lot. He struggles with back and forth conversations and loves parroting things or repeating phrases he likes. His favorite lately is "tuba tuba tuba saxophone saxophone". He does interact with us and we're told he is of normal intelligence but he has almost no eye contact and sometimes he does this scary zoning out thing where his eyes glaze over. And he is obsessed with cars and loves lining them up in perfect rows then rearranging them into a new row.
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supprazz
Sitting For The Newtons
Posts: 2,106
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Post by supprazz on Feb 18, 2013 16:03:51 GMT -5
Sometimes I believe I have undiagnosed Aspergers and no one ever picked up on it.
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Post by sillybillygoogoo on Feb 18, 2013 18:31:11 GMT -5
Sometimes I believe I have undiagnosed Aspergers and no one ever picked up on it. Same here.
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supprazz
Sitting For The Newtons
Posts: 2,106
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Post by supprazz on Feb 20, 2013 8:48:04 GMT -5
I would develop little obsessions, fixations and still do, was always "dreaming" and in my own world, take things literally sometimes, not get jokes or talk in class without being socially awkward and barely talking or knowing how (it wasn't a language barrier), would get overstimulated by certain images, words and ideas, would make lists all the time which I think calmed me down without me realizing and I'd make sounds during them, got just a little aggressive if anything disturbed me. Those are just a few examples, and maybe most people already have those traits and are not autistic. And I wanted to do certain creative activities but was put in things I didn't want, cause some of the adults in my life (not all) were very selfish and unattentive and tv, books and music practically raised me, cause none of them were yelling at me for doing things wrong. I had talent in piano too, read early which I maintained, and played alone in class for which I was judged so by the time I tried to break out of that, I found myself letting others take advantage of me and finding myself in trouble and not knowing boundaries or developing trust issues as a result.
I was scared of every little thing too as a kid, more than most and had problems with eating properly until I was 7 or 8. I was okay when spoonfed, but eating by myself and looking at unfamiliar food or food of certain colours or textures did not help me unless I was eating my favourite ones and reading at the same time looking at visuals or words that made me comfortable. I actually forgot about all this.
I didn't really do this as a kid, but as an adult, when I'm alone, I am aggressive sometimes and punching and screaming if I can't express how I feel cause it's too much to handle and have to take anti depressants to calm down.
Looking people in the eye is really hard a lot of times for me, but I think it depends on my comfort level too, though I remember being scolded for it sometimes when younger.
I don't know if this all makes me autistic but it makes sense. And I can't believe I was not diagnosed, but scolded all the time. Till this day, I get told I had such a victim mentality as a kid.
I think I remember taking some test at school and another before going to private school for a short time, but I did excellent in them, so my iq must have been really good. Maybe I just needed guidance and direction from the right people to excel though I ended up being a good student some years and just okay in others. But I developed a complex about not feeling good enough or getting validation without having marks attached to my name and as a result I missed out on so many good things socially and could not relate to all the positives that I did have, cause there was not enough positive reinforcement around it, and I may have had the numbers, but had no self-respect at all in the sense that I keep setting myself up and never allowed myself to let go and have fun, and as a result missed out on some really special things that I can never get back now.
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Post by wenonah4th on Feb 20, 2013 12:46:02 GMT -5
So many more children are recognized as ASD in some form now. Of course, it's my MIL's specialtya s far as her profession (special ed) goes, so she always sees Asperger's in people!
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supprazz
Sitting For The Newtons
Posts: 2,106
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Post by supprazz on Feb 20, 2013 14:09:22 GMT -5
I wonder if she would see it in me based on what I wrote, though sometimes I think it could be over-thinking as well though I would seriously feel lost a lot as well and be slow even if smart. I think all the criticism and not being heard/understood overtime dumbed me down a great deal.
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Post by sparklymouse on Feb 20, 2013 16:41:25 GMT -5
So many more children are recognized as ASD in some form now. Of course, it's my MIL's specialtya s far as her profession (special ed) goes, so she always sees Asperger's in people! I think it's over diagnosed these days. Like when every other kid in the US seemed to be prescribed ADD meds because they weren't obedient little angels. Now it seems like anyone who is introverted or the least bit socially awkward has to have a label.
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