I
Am a Nerd
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The
way I see it, a huge mistake many teachers and parents make is to try to make
people with autism or Asperger's into something they are not - turn the geeky
nerd into an ungeek, for instance. That just won't work. Teaching them to be
socially functional is a worthy goal and one not to be overlooked. However, it
would be in everybody's best interest to remember that the world is made up of
all sorts of individuals, and that geeks, nerds, and people with mild
Asperger's are often one and the same thing. I can learn social rules, but I
will never have the undercurrent of social emotional relatedness that exists in
some people. The neural circuits that connect those parts of the brain just
aren't hard-wired in me.
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I
have heard sad stories where a mother took her teenager out of computer classes
that he truly enjoyed to place him in situations to make him more social. That
was a totally wrong thing to do for two reasons. First, it robs him of the
opportunity to develop a talent and interest that could lead to future
employment. Second, the teen's social experiences are going to more naturally
unfold and progress with the other computer students'-those with whom he has
shared interests. The happy geeks excel at their jobs and get to work in
Silicon Valley where they are appreciated for their brains. The unhappy geeks
end up without activities to keep them intellectually stimulated, and instead,
are forced into uncomfortable social situations that, more often than not, fail
to achieve the goal of making them more social. The people in the world who
think that social connectedness is the ultimate goal of life forget that
telephones, social networking websites, text messaging, and all the other
electronic vehicles that fuel their passion to socialize are made by people
with some degree of autism. Geeks swoon over the new technology they create; social
addicts swoon by communicating with the technology and showing it off as a
status symbol. Is one "better" than the other? I think not.
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Dr.
Nancy Minshew did a functional MRI brain scan on me that indicated that I was
innately more interested in looking at videos of things than videos of people.
When I did the scan, I had no idea of its purpose. A series of short video
clips of people and things such as bridges, buildings, and fruit were shown. I
immediately noticed that the videos were old and scratchy and looked like they
came from the 1970s, This triggered my mind into problem-solving mode to figure
out where the researchers had gotten these old tapes. The pictures of things
provided more clues to the origin of the videos than the pictures of people.
When the things flashed on the screen, I looked for cars because I wanted to
know how old the videos were. My brain reacted giving more neural activity to
pictures of things than people.
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There
is no right or wrong in the interests and ways of being among individuals with
HFA/AS - provided they can function reasonably well within society. If they
cannot, further social learning is clearly needed.
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When
all else is relatively equal, the way I see it, parents and educators should
respect the innate interests of the child and nurture their expression. Not
everyone in the world is highly social, and that's a good thing. It's the same
within the autism spectrum. In another case learned about, a boy with severe
autism was a great artist. His mother was so upset that he would never marry
(her dream for her son) she was hesitant to help him develop his artistic
ability. For thiskid, art was his life. Fortunately, she was persuaded to start
a business selling her son's art. He is content to draw all day, and this gives
his life meaning.
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The
autism/ Asperger's spectrum is broad. Many individuals are blessed with a
unique ability while others do not have any special skills. But each
individual, no matter what level of skills or IQ or social abilities, can
become a contributing member of the community. This is what will give meaning
to their lives. Our goal, therefore, is not to make these individuals find
meaning in our lives, but for us to help individuals with autism/ Asperger's
find meaning in their own.
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Temple
Grandin "The Way I See It: A Personal Look at Autism &
Asperger's" (2011)
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