Matt doesn't always seem like he has Asperger's. But then sometimes he does. In an attempt to thwart off any maniacal gunmen who might want to shoot up the children of our town, our local board of ed put locks and buzzers on all the school doors. (Because you and I both know that this is a fool proof way to keep our children out of harm's way, don't we? I mean, if I were a homicidal gun toting sicko on a death mission a buzzer would stop me cold.) Matt used to just march right in to school each morning, but now he has to ring a bell, announce himself to the office and wait for them to buzz the door open. Matt finds this maddeningly annoying. Recently he told me that when he rings the bell he merely says "Let me in" I suggested he say something friendlier, but he insisted that this works for him and that the ladies in the office already know it is him anyway. I let him slide on this because I want the ladies in the office to know that this new and utterly uselss system is troublesome for my kid. I figure I might be able to use the buzzer and Matt's hostile response to it later on.
On the other hand, when it comes to being with friends and family Matt seems so confident and at ease. Sometimes I look at him laughing with his buddy or trying to convince his cousin she should let him pick him up, and I think it just doesn't look like he has a problem! He is such a good study that I forget that what the rest of us do naturally he has to learn how to do. Tonight he forgot to bring home his vocabulary words to study for a test tomorrow. He really wanted to do well on that test and was upset, so I suggested he call someone from the class and find out what the vocabulary words are. Matt thought of the guy he'd feel comfortable calling, picked up the phone, prepared to dial, and asked "Wait. Do I say 'Who is this?' or "This is me' first?".
I am sure the ladies in the office don't want to be the gatekeepers all day either - it is not their decision to add this super high level of security!
Posted by: pov-z | March 27, 2007 at 07:24 AM
I'm sure they don't, especially the one who oozes attitude and dresses like a hooker.
I offer that story up as an example of how someone with Asperger's thinks.
Matt thinks it is obvious that it is him at the door. He comes in at the same late time every day.
Matt also doesn't understand why he has to answer essay questions with actual essays,
he prefers single sentences, since the teacher already knows the very obvious answers.
Why would she want to hear it again?
Posted by: clickmom | March 27, 2007 at 08:15 AM