Re: CHAT: OT CHAT: Asperger's syndrome

bjm10@CORNELL.EDU wrote:

"The cardinal virtue for proles/drones in an industrial society: Be like all
the other proles/drones. The mortal sin for proles/drones in an industrial
society: Differ from the other proles/drones. Ordinary school
administrators now feel themselves qualified to prescribe mind-altering
drugs as a means of controlling children in the USA."

 Please give "ordinary school administrators" the benefit of the doubt. My
mother is such an administrator and, based on her experience, it is usually the
*parents* of such children who feel qualified to prescribe mind-altering
medications, not the administrators.

 However, my mother would agree that sometimes parents and educators alike see
mind-altering medication as "the easy way out." Let me give a brief example
involving someone with an over-active imagination who was singled out for
"assimilation."

 I know such a person who was singled out at a very early age for learning
disabilities. At first he was identified for being socially maladjusted, but it
became a problem when he started spinning his yarns. This sort of activity can
land you in a heap of trouble. First came the stories about his sister, whom he
claimed to be the spawn of the Jersey Devil, switched at birth with his true
sibling. On another occasion, the child came to school weeping, claiming that
"she was too young to die." After some prying the teacher discovered that the
child was referring to his mother, who was of course perfectly healthy at the
time. Then, and this is my favorite one, the child started telling stories
about the Barbary Pirates, who were hiding in his refrigerator and thirsting
for the blood of Thomas Jefferson.

 At this point it is not surprising that the teacher lost her patience. She
suspected that the child had no grip on reality and sent him to an LDTC
(learning disabilities teacher-consultant) to be tested. As it turns out, the
child tested at an adult level, demonstrating a firm grip on reality.
Nevertheless (wouldn't you know it?) several other learning disabilities were
revealed through rigorous testing (of the sort that have been described here -
obssessive rituals, "short attention span," "social maladjustment," fill in the
blank... ) and it was decided that he would be transferred into the SPED
program (SPED = special education).

 My mother, also an LDTC and a teacher of disabled children acted fast and
nixed the transfer. She pulled some strings and the results of the test were
quietly buried. This child continued to act like he was from Mars, but at least
he didn't have to worry about having his fine imagination beaten out of him.
From what I hear, the same child ended earning his PhD at some fancy east-coast
university, and having the last laugh in the matter.

-Chollie



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