It’s been a ‘on your back’ sort of day.

Not just for the pets.

First we played football in the garden. Son wasn’t keen on using his boots so I dug out mine as well. As a I put my boots on I warned son that they would be hard to walk with on the pavement. He was fine but I perfectly demonstrated the point by going ‘arse over tit’.

About an hour later I was again on my back. This time I made the mistake of trying to walk on our bathroom floor with just socks on. Sheet ice is easier to walk on.

While I was on my back I spotted a sheet of paper under a sideboard. It was a photocopy of a checklist school had given us years ago. A checklist about Aspergers. Son was keen to see how he compared to the bullet points.

Social interaction
Children with Asperger’s disorder might:

  • start interactions with others but have difficulty keeping a conversation going – rarely now
  • interact with people if they need something or want to talk about something that interests them, but not because they’re genuinely interested in other people – never
  • interact in an awkward and stilted way – for example, they might avoid eye contact while speaking or interpret things literally – sometimes
  • interact more easily with adults than with children – rarely now
  • not show emotion or empathy. – rarely

Communication and language
Children with Asperger’s disorder might:

  • be very verbal – for example, they might label everything in a room – sometimes
  • join words together at the usual developmental stage (around two years) – sometimes
  • communicate with others about their own interests –sometimes
  • use a flat or monotone voice – rarely now
  • answer questions, but not ask questions if the topic doesn’t interest them. – sometimes

Repetitive or persistent behaviours
Children with Asperger’s disorder might:

  • have restricted or obsessive interests that make them seem like ‘walking encyclopaedias’ about particular topics – definitely BUT his range of interests is much wider than mine.
  • prefer routines and rules – 100% Definitely
  • not respond well to change. – 100% Definitely

As you can see the checklist was a bit mixed in comparison to our son. All kids (and adults) are different with their own specific traits. And these traits change over time. Also it is common that Aspergers will not just be the only diagnosis – frequently it interacts with other medical and psychological conditions. I’ve not seen a checklist yet which completely ties in with our son. Probably never will.

Maybe one day we will have a go at a specific one for our son. One that takes account of Aspergers, Dyslexia, ADHD, Dyspraxia. But not today – back and buttocks are too bruised for that. But off the top of my head (or from the centre of my bruised posterior) maybe the above checklist could have added:

  • Clumsy
  • Takes language literally
  • Likes lining items up in straight lines
  • Struggles socially when ‘new faces’ are in the room
  • Can be socially anxious
  • Flapping hands
  • Poor fine motor skills
  • Difficulty understanding the concept of time
  • Can become distressed in locations with excessive sensory levels. Noise, bright colours, wall patterns
  • When sensory overload is encountered can go into meltdown

I will leave it at that. Let’s not assume all people with Autism and Aspergers are the same with identical traits. It’s not just stereotyping round Rainman. Equally it’s not just about stereotyping around being geniuses like Einstein. Everyone is unique.

Now it’s time to lie down on my front and rest my battered back…

47 thoughts on “Get on your back..”

  5. Very good. All humans are unique. Some more than others. My home is very stoic. I don’t won’t pictures on the wall and very little furniture. I like privacy and dislike clutter. Even at 80, I have not changed. 🙂

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  6. I gave my first reading of a book I’m writing at a local hotel today. As I approached the lectern, I tripped, fell down and broke my big toe!! Today was not our day. No ice to blame here, just cobblestones. Yes, I did do the reading.

    I always enjoy reading your posts.

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      1. I exercised in the pool with my toes taped together last night and it gave me no pain. Guess I should untape it and see if it is indeed the break it felt like yesterday or just a really bad bruise. Hmm. the entire end of the toe is purple from the bottom of the nail up, but it doesn’t really hurt unless I touch the tip of it, so I think it is a bad bruise and I’ll probably lose the nail but the bone feels okay. Don’t by any means want to stub it again, though. But looks like it was a false bid for sympathy!!!

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  11. Well, at least we now know where he gets ‘Clumsy’ from! 😉 😀

    I think you may have missed one from your list?
    Vastly prefers it when things make SENSE! (Or behave the same way in the same situation)
    This can result in conflict with our real world which largely does not.

    Sorry ’bout the dented derriere. 😦

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  15. Oopsie! Twice x oopsie! Did son laugh? The Aspergers list … a few of the things on that list, I think, apply to a majority of people in this world. Two that jumped out at me were “prefer routines and rules, and not respond well to change. I cannot function if my routine is thrown off course, and neither do I respond well to change. I think the majority of people would fit into those categories. Very informative list, though.

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