Hi, Perry!  Recently you wrote in a message to Ardith Hinton:

PS>  Dealing with autism is really a life-long committent.


         Yes, it's much the same in our case....  :-)



PS>  A book can be written on the differences between
PS>  the autistic child and the austistic adult


         I won't ask!  I'm still getting a handle on the basics.  But maybe
you could enlighten the rest of us a bit at a time....  ;-)



PS>  Everyone knows how an autistic child behaves (although
PS>  no two are the same)


         I've seen autism described as a syndrome... i.e. a cluster of
features which may also be found among the general population.  I
understand that (as in other syndromes) no one individual will have all of
these features.  But autism differs from many other syndromes in that there
is as yet no medical test which would verify its presence, so the diagnosis
is made on behavioural grounds.



PS>  they are dealing with social inadequacies.


         Apart from what I've read most of my experience has been with
teens... two in Nora's class, one with DS whose mother tells me he is also
autistic, and some of our friend's students whom Dallas & I met
briefly.  I see they're quite different from one another in many ways
although inability to deal with various social situations is apparently a
common factor.  I wonder how much of that has to do with sensitivity to
noise etc.  Nora showed similar difficulties when she was in the elementary
grades.  She needed to get away from the madding crowd at times, just as
autistic kids apparently do, because she was easily overwhelmed. And some
folks didn't understand her reluctance to speak up in class... (sigh).



PS>  The autistic adult on the other time is often viewed
PS>  as the odd-ball of society, the guy who appears to be
PS>  brilliant but who is unable to tied his own shoes, as
PS>  an example.


         We have a neighbour like that... he's about thirty & he lives
with his parents.  He makes a bit of money writing shareware or something,
but they tell us it's a struggle to get him out of the house for medical
appointments etc.  I met him only briefly when he got a job with a local
business, although Dallas & I have known his parents for some time. 
Evidently the job didn't last.  I have no idea why.  He wasn't diagnosed
until recently, I suspect in part because his father didn't want to know...
but it's not hard to see how such people can slip through the cracks.  Not
all of society's odd-balls are autistic.  :-)



PS>  He doesn't interview well as he cannot maintain eye-
PS>  contact and has problems expressing himself.  On the
PS>  phone or at the keyboard, he is a different individual.


         Hmm... sounds much like our neighbour!  Maybe what they both need
is a job where they don't have to see clients in person.  A lot of it has
to do with societal expectations, doesn't it?  In some cultures gazing
directly at another individual, particularly an authority figure, may be
considered impolite and/or aggressive whereas folks in our culture often
seem to think it indicates a lack of sincerity & whatever else they may
be looking for in a potential employee.

         Also regarding social expectations... I was interested in your
comment about being unable to tie one's own shoelaces.  To many people,
it's a metaphor representing what society takes for granted that any
six-year-old can do... and representing the practical details of everyday
living which a lot of people who may be geniuses in some arcane specialty
often seem unable to cope with.  To me it has a certain personal
significance which you'd probably understand....  :-)




--- timEd/386 1.10.y2k+