This is Asperger Syndrome

- I Like to wear the same clothes every day, both summer and wintertan pants, an aqua-colored T-shirt, white socks and sandals. Kids at school say I'm strange. Mom says I'm eccentric.

- I usually begin my school day by copying the daily schedule from the chalkboard. I carry the schedule in my pocket so I can refer to it when I need to. Most of the time the days at school are the same, but sometimes we have an early dismissal. I don't mind as long as I know what is going on, and my schedule helps keep me on the track.

- We have a substitute teacher today. I hate substitutes because they never know what to do. At 9.00, she told us to get out our math books. Everyone knows that 9.00 clock is spelling time so I refused to get out my math book.

- It seems to me that people are always laughing for no reason. Peple laugh while watching TV, at the movie theater, at school, and at restaurant.I try to laugh when other people laugh but the kids at school say : "shut up, you laugh too loud"

- I'm always alone - recess, lunch time, after school. Dad saysI'm a loner. Even when there are lots of people around, I still feel alone. I want to have friends but I don't know how.

- I sometimes try to play with other kids but get upset when they don't play by the rules. They laugh at me or run away. Sometimes this makes me so mad that I hit or kick them.

- My teacher says I'm rude. I think I'm honest. I don't understand why I can't tell someone that they have bad breath, ugly hair,or to go away because I'm busy.

- Twice a week I go to social akills training with some of the other student. I work on getting along with people and some of the kids work on being more patient. We are all learning how to listen to our friends when they talk and how to treat other people the way we want to be treated.

- When I walk into the lunch room, the kids always say "what's up!" and so I look up. I have a great sense of humor but people seldom get my jokes.

- I don't like yhe lunch lady. Today I asked her for more ice cream. She replied, "you need more ice cream about as much as you need a hole in your head". I got really scared because I thought she wanted to put a hole in my head with a drill.

- After I broke the pencil, I went to see the school counselor because I felt bad. She had a great idea! The next time a noise is driving me crazy, I will ask to leave the room and go to my safe place. I have special permission to sit there until I am ready to rejoin the class.

- Sometimes when I am angry I can feel my heart beating quickly and I pace back and forth. Sometimes I yell. I don't understand why things have to change all the time.

- After school I like to play the piano. My Dad said, "Can you bang those keys a little harder?" and so I did. I was in big trouble but I'm not sure why

- I have a great memory for numbers and facts. When Mom forgets a phone number, she asks me what it is and I always seem to remember. I kno I could win lots of money on Jeopardy or Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?

- My Aunt came over this afternoon. She is always hugging me. I try to stay away from her because she squeezes too hard and smells like coffee. Last week I told her to leave me alone and when she didn't, I elbowed her right in the stomach. Mom says I hurt her feelings but I don't care as long as she stops touching me.

-I like to visit the appliance department. Washers and dryers are my favorite and I Think I know more about them than any kid in the world. I also check out the appliances in every house I visit, and I love to talk about appliances. It's a fascinating topic but no one ever wants to listen to me talk about them for very long. I don't understand why everyone isn't interested in appliances.

- When my neighbour's dryer wouldn't work, he asked me to take a look at it. He was so impressed when I told him exactly what part he needed in order to fix it. It just took a few minutes to fix it once we had the part, and now it works as good as new.

- We went out to dinner the other nights. When we walked into the restaurant, the first thing I saw was a sign that said "No shirt, No Shoes, No Service". So I was glad I was wearing shoes and a shirt. There was a barefoot kid next to us eating in a high chair. I told my family and the waitress that the kid needed to wear shoes. When they didn't do anything about it, I yelled for the manager. I was furious when he laughed at me. So I yelled louder. We were finally asked to leave the restaurant. It wasn't fair because we all had on shoes and shirt.

- Why do I have to bathe and brush my teeth every day? I hate baing wet and I hate the taste of toothpaste. Mom says, "Quit complaining and just do it!"It's easy for her to say because she likes baths and toothpaste.

- It's finally time to bed. I always eat two cookies and drink one cup of milk at bed time. Before I go to bed, I clear everything out of my room and make sure that there are no wrinkles in the covers. Maybe tomorrow won't be so confusing.

- What about tomorrow? I know many things and I want to share what I know with other people. Sometimes I look at things a little differently, but once we find things we have in common we can get along and become good friends.