FEAT: Scholar Offers Poignant First-Person Account Of Overcoming Autism * Why a Dash Of Autism May Be Key To Success * Reader's Posts

[Guest guest]

Scholar Offers Poignant First-Person Account Of Overcoming

Autism * Why a Dash Of Autism May Be Key To Success * Reader's Posts

FEAT DAILY NEWSLETTER Sacramento, California http://www.feat.org

" Healing Autism: No Finer a Cause on the Planet "

______________________________________________________

December 6, 2001 News Morgue Search www.feat.org/search/news.asp

AWARENESS

* Scholar Offers Poignant First-Person Account Of Overcoming Autism

* Why a Dash Of Autism May Be Key To Success

* Reader's Posts

Scholar Offers Poignant First-Person Account Of Overcoming Autism

[by Hope Green in the Boston University Bridge.]

http://www.bu.edu/bridge/archive/2001/11-30/shore.htm

Shore has spent his life confounding other people's

expectations. When he was a toddler, a psychologist recommended that he be

institutionalized after diagnosing him as " psychotic with autistic

tendencies. " Fortunately Shore's mother disregarded the advice, and his

condition improved under her care.

In elementary school Shore lagged far behind his classmates

academically, and his second-grade teacher said he'd never learn to read.

Yet a few years later he caught up in his subjects and began to excel in

school. Today he's pursuing a Ph.D. He once had trouble getting along

socially. Now, at 40, he has a wide circle of friends and has been married

for 11 years.

Shore (SFA'92, SED'02) works with autistic children and adults at the

School of Education, where he expects to complete a doctorate in special

education by next May. He's on the board of the Asperger Syndrome

Association of New England.

Although he used to hide his disability, he's now eager to share his

life story, hoping it will inspire others with autistic disorders to achieve

their potential.

His first book, Beyond the Wall: Personal Experiences with Autism and

Asperger Syndrome (Autism Asperger Publishing Co., 2001) weaves personal

narrative with practical advice for educators and parents of autistic

children, as well as for autistic adults.

" My goal in writing this book, " he says, " was to present the

auto-biography of a person diagnosed with autism and at the same time put it

in the context of the current literature. "

While knowledge about autism has improved dramatically since Shore's

1960s childhood in Newton, Mass., much of the public still has a distorted

notion of the condition. For many people it conjures either the image of a

small child rocking in a corner, or Babbitt, the autistic savant in

the 1988 film Rain Man, who solved complex mathematical problems in his head

but was so lost in his eccentric, private world that he couldn't function on

his own.

Yet autism is not one narrow diagnosis, but a wide array of

developmental disorders ranging from severe autism to Asperger syndrome. The

latter was named for pediatrician Hans Asperger, who identified the

condition in the 1940s.

" Currently, Asperger syndrome is considered to be at the

high-functioning end of the autism spectrum, " Shore explains. " People with

the syndrome tend to be quite verbal, and with help, they're able to

navigate the challenges of education, employment, and relationships and lead

a fulfilling life. "

Even so, Asperger syndrome does overlap with certain characteristics

of autism, in particular a misinterpretation of sensory input to the brain.

" The information we receive through the senses comes through distorted, like

a mistuned radio, " Shore says. " We often don't pick up the environmental

cues that we need in order to develop typically. "

At 18 months old Shore was hit with what he now calls the " autism

bomb. " Until then a fairly typical baby, suddenly he became withdrawn, had

extraordinarily frequent tantrums, and developed habits such as banging his

head on his bedroom wall and spinning around with a finger in one ear. He

also stopped speaking and would not eat solid food again until the age of

four. With his nervous system on overdrive, he found haircuts excruciatingly

painful and often recoiled from touch -- phenomena he later outgrew.

His mother learned what she could about autism from consulting with

psychologists, and worked with him at home using music therapy and

cognitive-development exercises. She also sent him to a therapeutic nursery

school in Boston, which helped him regain his verbal skills. Gradually he

moved toward the less severe end of the autism spectrum, more closely

fitting into the Asperger category.

But elementary school, Shore recalls, " was a social and academic

disaster. " He was bullied in kindergarten, where he felt compelled to make

strange repetitive sounds in an attempt to communicate with his peers

instead of using the words he uttered at home. In second grade, instead of

watching the teacher at the blackboard, he would sit at his desk and read

astronomy books.

" They didn't take the books away because they didn't know what to do

with me, " Shore says. " They left me to my own devices. I remember thinking

that second grade was an awful lot of empty space and that I was spending a

lot of time reading these astronomy books and copying diagrams. I wondered,

'Shouldn't I be learning math or reading or something else?' I didn't talk

about it with anybody. "

Special interests are common for children with Asperger syndrome.

Besides astronomy, Shore was fascinated with watches, and at an early age

could take them apart and put all the gears back together again in working

order.

Bicycles were another fixation: he could take one look at a bike as a

stranger rode by and recite the names of every one of its components, how

much the bicycle weighed, how much it cost, and in what country it was

manufactured.

" One day I was doing one of these data dumps to my parents, " he

recalls, " and my mother said, 'You know, you should really concentrate on

the person who's on the bicycle.' "

In retrospect, Shore believes his teachers could have used his special

interests to teach him to read and do arithmetic. In his work at SED, he

uses music as a tool for teaching communication skills. Sometimes he will

even sing questions to students, and they will sing back their answers. " We

see a lot of children with Asperger syndrome who have special interests --

it might be math, it might be computers, it might be chess, but all of these

provide pathways by which to educate a child. "

Shore's grades improved in middle and high school, where he also

learned to play several musical instruments. He thrived in college, double

majoring in business and music education at UMass-Amherst, where he found

friends who shared some of his many interests.

His early attempts at a career were a letdown, however. He took a job

at an accounting firm, but found that he couldn't fit into a corporate

atmosphere. Office politics, hidden agendas, and disingenuous

conversation -- mere annoyances to most people -- made him anxious. " People

on the spectrum usually sense there's something there, but that's about as

far as it goes, " he explains. " That can be somewhat of a scary feeling,

because you don't know whether to believe what you sense when it clashes

with what you see or hear. "

Shore's self-knowledge comes only in retrospect: by the time he went

to college, he figured he had completely outgrown autism, and while he

sensed that he might still have some cognitive problems, he ignored them.

But in the early 1990s, he was ready to take another look. While studying

for a doctoral degree in music at the School for the Arts, he was having

trouble with a portion of a qualifying exam, and his mental block vexed him.

" It came to the point where I wondered if something was haunting me from the

past, " he says.

Sufficiently curious, Shore went for a neuropsychological test and

received a diagnosis of a " learning disorder not otherwise specified with

characteristics consistent with childhood autism. " His interest in autism

deepened, leading him to consult with Arnold , a prominent

developmental psychologist who works with autistic children at a school in

Jamaica Plain. encouraged him to write a book, and with the

manuscript in hand, Shore switched from the music program to SED.

In the course of his research, Shore began to recognize his own

residual Asperger traits. To this day he is disturbed by distracting noises,

has difficulty remembering faces, and rides his bicycle to avoid the sensory

overload of the subway. At parties, where unstructured mingling troubles

him, he engages in a specific activity such as playing the piano.

His disorder is not obvious to others, but if necessary he will reveal

it to a new acquaintance or employer. The issue of whether and when to

disclose that one is " on the spectrum " is something Shore addresses in his

book, and it's likely he will address the subject in more depth in future

publications.

Spreading a greater understanding of the autism spectrum, helping parents

find the right help for their children, and helping adults cope with its

residual effects are among Shore's chief goals. Experts in the field have

high praise for his efforts thus far. In a review of Beyond the Wall,

Cottle, an SED professor of education, writes, " The combination of pure

storytelling and thoughtful insight makes this book a major contribution to

our understanding and appreciation of these disorders.

Beyond the Wall humbles us and urges us to once again rethink the

power of the human brain and the human spirit. "

_______________________________________________________

>> DO SOMETHING ABOUT AUTISM NOW <<

Subscribe, Read, then Forward the FEAT Daily Newsletter.

To Subscribe go to www.feat.org/FEATnews No Cost!

_______________________________________________________

* * *

Why a Dash Of Autism May Be Key To Success

[by Nigel Hawkes. Is Santa Claus an Asperger type? Leon Trotsky?

Winnie the Pooh? How many ways can you find to trivialize the autism

disability known as Asperger Syndrome? Here is an article filled with

examples. -LS]

http://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/0,,2-2001561337,00.html

Many highly successful people owe their eminence to a small dose of

autism, experts in the condition believe.

Autism is a disabling and alienating disorder, cutting sufferers off

from normal human contact, but milder forms have probably helped successful

scientists and artists to achieve the isolation they need to do their best

work.

Hans Asperger, the Austrian doctor who first described what he called

autistic psychopathy of childhood, said: “It seems that for success in

science or art a dash of autism is essential.” He was describing a set of

peculiarities, now named after him, that set apart some children.

Asperger’s patients were all boys, who often had relations with

similar quirks. They were intelligent, original and good at abstract

thinking, but ploughed their own furrow to the detriment of schoolwork.

They spoke “like little adults”, but were poor listeners, making

little conversational effort. Asperger wondered if the condition he was

observing might be “an extreme variant of male intelligence, of the male

character”.

Since his work became widely known, psychiatrists have enjoyed

retrospectively diagnosing figures from the past as having Asperger’s

Syndrome.

Among the earliest, says the psychiatrist Lorna Wing, who played a

leading part in making Asperger’s work known, was Brother Juniper, a

follower of St Francis of Assisi. He displayed the literalness of mind often

seen in autism.

Urged to give up his earthly goods to the poor, he stripped and handed

over all his clothes.

A classic Asperger’s sufferer was Henry Cavendish, an 18th-century

aristocrat and scientist, who gave his name to the Cavendish Laboratory at

Cambridge.

His most important discovery was hydrogen.

He was such a perfectionist that he published only those results that

satisfied him completely, and was so reluctant to make contact with others

that he built his library four miles from his home.

His female servants were told to keep out of sight on pain of

dismissal. To avoid talking to them, he ordered his dinner by means of a

note placed on the hall table.

The philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein did not speak until he was four.

He hated school, and did poorly there. He said that his inability to

recognise another’s humanity was exactly like somebody listening to a

foreign language he did not understand.

Yet Wittgenstein had a towering intellect which enabled him to write

his philosophical work Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus while serving with the

Austrian Army in the First World War. His relations with others were often

strained. On a visit to the United States he was offered rye bread and

cheese for his first lunch. He ate the same thing during his entire stay.

To Dr Wing, such examples emphasise how the isolating effects of

Asperger’s Syndrome can be turned to advantage by those who also have the

intelligence for intellectual pursuits. Other candidates for retrospective

diagnosis, she suggests, include Albert Einstein and the composer

Satie. Others have nominated the Canadian pianist Glenn Gould, a genius of

the keyboard, who retired from the concert stage at 31 and thereafter played

only in the recording studio. He used the telephone as a lifeline, talking

on it to people for hours at a time, enabling him to carry on relationships

without having to meet people. The artist Andy Warhol, described by some who

knew him as “socially inept”, also hated change, a common feature of

autistic people.

Some have seen in his repeated images the obsessive preoccupations

found in people with Asperger’s Syndrome.

Copyright 2001 Times Newspapers Ltd.

* * *

Reader's Posts

Hi, I live in Pa. and I'm trying to find a Doctor who's familiar with

mercury chelation. I'm willing to go to another state. Any suggestions

please email me. ruth [jimmy@...]

******

Does anybody know about " Christian life academy for special student, INC. "

in Houston? It's a private school for children with autism. The phone

number on the Web site didn't work. Please give me a tip if you know

anything about this school or other ABA school with inclusion program for a

8 year old boy with moderate to mild autism. Thanks Jung-ho Yoon

[j.h.yoon@...]

******

We are looking for a personable, compassionate, respite caregiver for our

seven year old daughter who has autism. Santa Clarita, CA. Please contact

Pam at

******

We `re looking for a child neurologist in the central NY state area. Someone

with experience in autism, perhaps does research? Also has anyone tried a

Prednizone treatment for their child? I would also appreciate hearing any

experiences with resperidol, or depakote Gowland

[jgowland@...]

******

Would be very interested to hear of anyones experience of the Edelson Centre

and autism. RIGBY451@...

******

I am an ABA therapist/tutor moving to either New Orleans, LA or Mobile, AL.

I will be moving to either area depending on where I can find work. I have

a B.A. in Psychology and have been working in ABA programs for the past two

years. contact Susie susiec33@...

******

Long Island (Nassau County) area family needs after school (4-6pm) teachers

for home program for a 6 year old autistic boy. School district has

approved 14 hours per week. Parent trainers, para-professionals and

supervisor needed. Please contact me at Sdeclara@...

******

FREE READER’S POSTS

For Individuals, organizations, non-commercial and commercial

>> Send your posting, only 60 words please, posting@... no charge <<

_____________________________________________________________

TO HELP SAVE A CHILD’S LIFETIME

Autism Needs A Loud Voice For

• Advocacy,

• Awareness,

• Research,

• Education,

• Treatment and Care

• . . . and Hope

The FEAT Newsletter Threads the Autism

Community Together into a Strong,

Undeniable Voice for Change

Day After Day.

Support one of Our Most Effective

Assets in This Compelling Cause

By Your Donation through United Way

BECOME AN AUTISM ANGEL

Send your United Way Contributions to

FEAT: Put 16106 on your workplace donor

form for FEAT. Or send a check to:

FEAT PO Box 255722 Sacramento CA 95865

501 ©(3) tax exempt number: 68-028725

_______________________________________________________

Lenny Schafer, Editor@... • CALENDAR EVENTS@... Guppy

PhD • Ron Sleith • Kay Stammers • Decelie

UNSUBSCRIBE: FEATNews-signoff-request@...