Asperger's Diary

In the second or third grade, I remember being asked about friends.  "Oh, I have lots of friends," I said, reciting a list that included all my teachers, day care providers, school janitors,  and most of the kids I knew.  Everyone was nice...at least I thought.  I didn't understand the true nature of friendship - until I was bullied. Read More

In his most recent post, John Elder Robison asks why many people on the spectrum reject religion. Personally, my relationship with religion has always been highly complex. When I was young, my challenges drove me to a study of people and the human condition. What makes human beings tick? What were the rules for living successfully as a human being? Where do you go to get those answers? Read More

For many of us on the autistic spectrum, speech is just the beginning. It can take many years of hard knocks to learn what most know instinctively: communication is much more than just talking. And sometimes, language can stand in the way of true communication. Read More

A few years ago, after I learned of my stepfather's death, I popped out to Google - hoping, at minimum,  for a glance his obituary.  Clicking on one of the links, I was surprised to find myself  reading a deeply empathetic condolence letter, written to a woman grieving the sudden death of her spouse.  A letter written by my stepfather. A letter which, according to common stereotypes of people with Asperger's, he should not have been capable of writing.  Reading what he had written crystallized a feeling that had been forming in me for some time prior to his death...I had been very, very wrong about him. Read More