Asperger's/PDD

he was 18 years old and half way through his senior year of high school. The diagnosis was Asperger's, which sadly no longer exists. It, Asperger's, is a very useful diagnosis.

My son was different from the day he was born, although it took years to figure that out. All of us parents, especially us moms, know that our children are uniquely different from each other. We accept that. We embrace that. We don't fret about those differences. Because most of the time they are relatively trivial. Except when it involves a child on the spectrum.

I always knew he was different. In the early years, I just accepted that as normal differences between children. Over time, it became clear that he was different far beyond the normal childhood differences. I recall having conversations with other mothers about our kids, and knowing that my son really and truly was not like theirs.

One thing that helped me and my son a lot was that I gave a lot of serious thought about home schooling. Which I actually think more parents should do. Even if home schooling is absolutely wrong for you, thinking seriously about it helps you to figure out what you actually want for your child. But I digress. I did semi home schooling things with my son. Those things helped me to see that he was different from his peers. I also enrolled him in lots of summer and after school programs, which helped. I recall one, a swimming program, where the instructor pointed out something he did that wasn't quite normal. At the time, neither of us thought it was anything other than odd/interesting, but looking back it was part of the whole Asperger's thing.

My son is now 40 years old, in a PhD program in astronomy at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va. He's happy, well adjusted, loves what he does. I do think that the man who brought him into that program understood quite clearly what my son was, but I've never met or spoken to him.

Here's a light-hearted ending. I have a cat who does not like being touched. My son, no surprise, likewise does not like being touched. I keep on telling my son I'll send the cat to him, and that they would get along quite well. In reality, I love my cat. She has gotten more affectionate over time, and my son would not at all want to have a cat to be responsible for.