My god, this guy is mind boggling!!!

[Nuclear Vampire]

That was fucking cool. Strange how autism allows some folks like this guy to do amazing shit like that, but some people can't even speak or function on anything more than a basic level.

[zeegler]

My son has an autism spectrum disorder called Aspergers Syndrome. Like all forms of autism, it ranges from barely noticeable to pretty much non-functional. My son is on the good end of the spectrum, and is extremely intelligent, and is surprisingly outgoing socially. He's not shy at all, quite the opposite in fact. You would probably never guess that he had this if you met him.

Anyway, my point is, he remembers EVERYTHING. He's 8 years old, and recounts events from our vacation in Cuba 5 years ago, as if they happened yesterday.

I was talking to my wife about something we did last year, and we were trying to remember when it was, and he pipes up "that was the first week of June". He was right. I wish I could do that!

[Axewielder]

Amazing! I'm sure he's also an excellent driver.

[dg]

I saw a piece on him on 60 Minutes a few years ago, but this was way more impressive. It also sounds like he's speaking & interacting a little better at the end here than he did in the 60 Minutes story, which is cool.

[Nuclear Vampire]

My son has an autism spectrum disorder called Aspergers Syndrome. Like all forms of autism, it ranges from barely noticeable to pretty much non-functional. My son is on the good end of the spectrum, and is extremely intelligent, and is surprisingly outgoing socially. He's not shy at all, quite the opposite in fact. You would probably never guess that he had this if you met him.

Anyway, my point is, he remembers EVERYTHING. He's 8 years old, and recounts events from our vacation in Cuba 5 years ago, as if they happened yesterday.

I was talking to my wife about something we did last year, and we were trying to remember when it was, and he pipes up "that was the first week of June". He was right. I wish I could do that!

So, autism really does run a full spectrum of symptoms, behaviours, and has various "severity levels" I guess. The blanket term "autism" isn't enough to explain it. I don't know anyone who has kids that have been diagnosed with any form of it, so I really don't know much about it.

[zeegler]

So, autism really does run a full spectrum of symptoms, behaviours, and has various "severity levels" I guess. The blanket term "autism" isn't enough to explain it. I don't know anyone who has kids that have been diagnosed with any form of it, so I really don't know much about it.

Yeah, actually there are lots of people who go undiagnosed because they seem "normal". Out of curiosity, I took one of the tests myself, and it turns out that I very likely have the same thing as my son. Many kids who would have been labeled "trouble makers" or "slow", or even "retarded" years ago, turn out to have some form of autism spectrum disorder. With very minor alterations to the way they are taught, they can become straight A students. My son's last report card was all As except for 2 Bs and a C in phys. ed. His best subjects are math and science, and he reads at a grade 8 level (he's in a grade 3/4 split class).

It's not all good though. He got banned from going swimming with his class because he was running naked around the change room calling old men faggots, and throwing his underwear at them. Twice in the last couple of weeks, he has taken off on his bike without telling anyone where he was. He showed up 3 hours later acting as if nothing had happened. On Friday, he knocked my motorcycle over in the driveway.

Remember the Simpsons episode where Bart is smashing ketchup packets with a hammer while singing Jingle Bells? That's my son!! :ROTF: