AASPIRE

[Guest guest]

Greetings:

No the subject line is not a typo. It stands for Academic Autistic Spectrum Partnership In Research and Education (AASPIRE). They are based out of Oregon, USA. Their website is http://aaspireproject.org/index.html They have 2 slide shows on past presentations @ http://aaspireproject.org/publications.html I noticed they make a BIG point that has been made on this board by some at that is not all behavior is autistic and no 2 are alike. They say in one slide Donna has an IQ of 50?????????

I saw an email on an adult board from one on the members with AS which brought me to their website. The Autism Society of Oregon is asking for feedback on their website on how they are doing and what they can improve on. One on the ASPIES on this board was asking that people write and tell them they need an adult or adults with autism on their board of which they have refused to do for years although there is no mention of this on their website probably for political reasons. {Sigh}.

I will leave U on a better note. When my AS son was in school, friendships was a BIGGIE at the IEP table and we tried a zillion things to facilitate this for him. I always knew he had a group of kids he hung out with in Jr. & High school, but never knew who outside of they were a good group of kids and they were not in SPED. I would see him with them and he always seemed to fit in but he left those relationships at the door when he left school {sigh}. It turns out I have been working with one of those kids for a year. Lol He just recognized Cass's picture at my desk. He is a great young man like Cass. A geek with social skills when needed. The paradox of some with AS. Likeable, loveable but relationships don't come easy to them. My sons email is lonerwolf@....... The more I think about it I can see why they were friends. If I had to choose a friend for him whom I could not, it would have been X. They are different but both have common interest for different reasons. I said, "Hey geeks are in now! Look at all the wannabe geeks and in a tech company YOU are the majority lol" It is funny as we have been very close and he has a great sense of humor like Cass. The quiet type U love and try to pull out of their shells which is an NT trait. X is well loved like my son but they are lonely as they just cannot make the connection work.

It is a small world. One of our young trainers went to the 4th grade with {my eldest daughter} and a co-worker my age use to hang out in the bar Larry me ex-self dx spouse worked at for years. lol