My 13 year old said something so awesome I had to repeat it to you guys again

[Robyn66]

I told you all about this when it happened this summer, but I thought of it again this morning and it made me laugh so I figured some of you might enjoy hearing about it again.

My 13 year old daughter has Asperger's syndrome (a form of autism) and in spite of some social problems with her peers has a mind that works faster than most adults I know, has an amazing sense of humor and is as liberal as her mommy!

We were driving around coming from the coast of New Hampshire, in Dover as a matter of fact looking for a restaurant to have dinner at and we drove by this really sad run down house. There were a bunch of people having a cook out or something there and out in front was this BILLBOARD size home made McCain sign. Of course there is a red light in front of this house so my daughter leans out the window and shouts.

"That is an AWESOME SIGN, YOU MUST ALL BE MILLIONAIRES!!!!

Thankfully, the light turned green and we drove off !

[saltpoint]

1. LOL!

How 'bout them Bush tax cuts.

[Union Thug]

2. She gets it. If you are a Republican, you are either rich or stupid.

Nice job!

[patrice]

8. ROFLMAO!!!!

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

On edit:
I do know some nice Republicans, so I'll just footnote your words to make a distinction between Republicans and Re :puke: s!

[Lex]

38. There are 2 kinds of Repulicans---millionaires or suckers.

I think we know what category most fit in.

[zanne]

3. I love that kid! nt

[lisa58]

4. I love kids - just callin' them like they see them

[graywarrior]

5. Bwhahahahahah! I love her.

[patrice]

6. Saying the right thing at the right time is an awesome gift. Give her a hug from me!!! nt

[ThatsMyBarack]

Too funny!

:spray:

Hello to your daughter from a fellow "Aspie"! :hi:

[Robyn66]

14. Aspie's are some of my favorite kinds of people!!!

:bounce: :hi:

[japple]

7. Your daughter sounds like she's learned a lot from her mom!

That is hysterical, and very perceptive for a 15 yr. old. Wish I could have seen the looks on the faces of the McCain supporters. Thanks for posting.

[EastTennesseeDem]

9. Did they react?

Or did the light change too fast?

[Robyn66]

11. She got their attention and they looked at the car

I am not sure if they heard exactly what she said or if they just heard someone yelling. But they WEREN't SMILING!

[formercia]

10. Inbred republicans

I had a co-worker that came from Seabrook NH. He told me the reason for building the Nuclear plant there was that the then population had a significant congenital disability rate due to inbreeding and it would be impossible to determine any resulting cause and effect from radiation induced birth defects.

[NOLALady]

12. Is it OK if I share this story?

[Robyn66]

13. Sure, Sarah would love it!

[Celebrandil]

15. I would like to recommend a book...

... for your daugther, if you believe she's old enough for thrillers. The first book, in a series of three, is called "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo". The heroine is a hacker girl with Asperger's syndrome. Stieg Larsson, who died just after completing the last book, has without comparison been the most popular author here in Sweden for the last couple of years.

http://www.stieglarsson.com/

[Robyn66]

18. Thank you!

I will get that for her. She LOVES to read!

[NYC_SKP]

16. That house =our country under McCain. Great story!

recommended.

[SunsetDreams]

17. lmaooo Robyn

Thank you for sharing that. Give your daughter a big hug from DU :)

[npincus]

19. LOL.... she's a hoot!

:)

[BlooInBloo]

20. BWAHAHAHA!!!!!

[Rambis]

21. Joe the plumber buddies

[Robyn66]

22. LOL!!

OH and she is also PISSED that she shares the same first name with Failin!

[Papagoose]

23. My 13 year old daughter asked me how much I make

I gave her the honest answer and she was surprised how much less it is than she guessed. This sparked a discussion about income and she realized how much $250,000 a year actually is - given that our family lives fairly well on well less than a quarter of that.

Now she has taken to asking McCain supporters for loans.

[crispini]

24. LOL. That's awesome. nt

[janet118]

25. Wow!!! Your daughter should be a campaign consultant!

She can see through the crap and come up with a snappy comeback that is both amusing and cuts right to the reality of the situation. Brava!!! :applause:

[Robyn66]

29. I can see it now Sarah on KO

Actually she is a HUGE KO fan so she would love that. And I bet he would enjoy her perspective on things! LOL!

[SeaLyons]

26. hahahaha...

that's great. Your daughter sounds terrific.

[QueenOfCalifornia]

27. Love it!

I wish you would post a picture of your daughter! She is a smart one. People with a sense of humor like that are way ahead of the curve. Yes, I did see your original post with the story a while back...

I have an aspie kid too. He is very high functioning and is considered "gifted" He just turned 9 on the 10th of October. He set up all the computers at his school to network - they had brand new Macbook's and no one there had a clue how to set them up in a network - Ian told them that he could do it and he did... (he has an iMac and we are an Apple family.) After he did that he has been teaching the teachers how to use the various applications and they want him to teach them iMovie. He never brags about this stuff because as an asperger's kid, he is totally unaffected - He just thinks that everyone operates at his level. It is a joy to be with him. The down side is, when he runs into something that he thinks he can't do - he becomes so upset at himself - I have to remind him that he is a 9 year old kid and has a lot to learn. He wants to make an Obama sign to put in our window - I told him I would get the stuff for his sign - He is very excited about the election and wants to stay up late to watch the TV with us on election night - His sister wonders why any of us would want to watch boring politics! I know that you have lots more stories about how wonderful your daughter is. Please share them with us from time to time :)

Here's my son playing drums with the Rockband Tour Group:

[Robyn66]

28. Pics of my kids on my myspace page

Your son sounds AWESOME!!!!! These kids are just AMAZING arent they?

Here is my myspace page.

http://www.myspace.com/dedlynytshd

I have pictures of both kids posted there.
Havind a child with Aspergers is a unique gift and Sarah is a jewel. I wish her life could be easier though. I will definately relate more Sarah stories to you all in the future!!

[QueenOfCalifornia]

31. Sarah

will be fine. She sounds like she has a more moderate form of Asperger's - some of these kids never develop anything like a sense of humor. She is adorable BTW

Asperger's is really an unknown and it stuck in under the umbrella of Autism when it really has very little to do with Autism. I asked my sons psychologist about this and he concurred. He says it really is its own "animal."

Of course some Asperger's kids have it worse than others. I am fortunate in that my son is at the higher functioning end of the spectrum. He has been slow to mature socially and has zero filter from his brain to his mouth. He actually made some big leaps forward this summer - school is a big stressor for him and so being home through the summer relaxed him which is very good. He is learning how to not say everything he thinks that may be inappropriate or hurtful. He is gifted musically (a lot of these kids are.) and this helps relieve his stress. I have him playing the drums regularly and it has helped so much that I think of it as a form of therapy for the kid.

I see you watch Dexter. Another thing we have in common

Here he is on his way to a ball game at a trolley stop - Coronado Bridge in the background.

[Robyn66]

35. Dexter is an awesome show!!!

[QueenOfCalifornia]

40. I watched all

of season 2 last week - Bought the DVD set. Worth every penny.

[FLSurfer]

30. I don't know if you would be interested in it

But a surf film just came out Monday.
It's a documentary about 18 y/o Clay Marzo.
A kid that is about to turn Pro, he's an amazing surfer that has been diagnosed with
Asperger's syndrome.
The film maker discusses how he deals with surfing and life.

I saw it yesterday and it's very informative and inspirational.
Name of the movie is "Just Add Water" by Quiksilver.

If you want a copy and can't find it, let me know.

[QueenOfCalifornia]

32. I am interested.

Can I get in on the net?

[FLSurfer]

34. Quiksilver has it on their website

http://www.quiksilver.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3316415&cp=2981771.2981778.2981791&parentPage=category

If that link doesn't work start at www.quiksilver.com
navigate from their homepage. Surf---> DVD's and books.

[nuncvendetta]

33. Hats off to your daughter

I had Asperger's as a kid so I can relate pretty well. As a kid I didn't have a single friend in school because a) I expected them to converse about things I was interested in and wasn't interested in "playing"; and b) I expected the sort of friendship that adults would have - trust, companionship, making sacrifices - something my fellow peers at that age didn't understand. On the playground in elementary school, I would sit alone on a bench and memorize airline timetables, or look at cumulus clouds in the sky and calculate the dry adiabatic lapse rate based on their growth and movement. At one point I could have told you the flight schedule for any airline flying out of any city in this country down to the departure times and flight numbers. At the age of four I fixed my parents' box fan just by opening it up, staring at the components, and tinkering around. At the age of 10 I won a state violin competition against 17- and 18-year-olds, even though a musical career was not something I wanted to pursue; it was just fun. No one understood me and I didn't care. Over time I feared making friends and sometimes had disputes with my mom when she'd try to force me to socialize with random other kids. I got along very well with adults, because they spoke my language.

Over time I learned how to socialize the same way my love of learning allowed me to understand and focus intensely on things as a child. Around senior year of high school, I decided my next "project" would be learning how to socialize in a normal way. By this point, my peers had caught up with me more, so the gap between my expectation and theirs was less severe. In college I was a "normal" outgoing social individual and enjoyed it to a certain extent.

That said, I'm still a loner for the most part. I have a wonderful wife and a small group of extremely close friends. I'd give the world to them and they would do the same. The fact that I learned how to be social allows me to function normally in a professional capacity, while the intense focus that my Asperger's experience provides facilitated my academic and professional success.

Your child has a true gift.

[Robyn66]

36. I am so glad that you had success in college and moving forward

I hope my daughter can grow as you have. She is more impaired that she first appears. One of her dangerous problems is that she actually sees people as mostly good which makes her a target for all kinds of predators. She beleives people when they tell her anything. She is innocent and the world eats up innocents and spits them out. We are going to need ot find a way for her to go to college in a safe envrironment becuse she is brilliant and capable of great things but needs to be protected.

A great movie to see is Normal People Scare Me- Its about Autistic kid made BY an Autistic kid

[FKA MNChimpH8R]

43. You're very lucky

Though no one "gets over" Asperger's as it's an organic difference in the way people's brains are wired.

That said, I am DX'd Asperger's in my late 40s and grew up with a controlling and over-protective mother. I never really developed any social skills though I was gifted academically and musically. Dropped out of high school at 16 (I'd started school a year early and was accelerated a year after six weeks in first grade - Started 3d grade before I was 7) Bummed around a few years and decided to go to college when I was in my early twenties. Graduated summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa from the U of MN and from Harvard Law in the same class as Michelle Obama.

Flamed out spectacularly in the professional world as I have no ability to do small talk, look people in the eye or any of the neurotypical social things. People loved my work but were always intensely uncomfortable with me and I with them. Haven't had a real job in years, and have been unemployed for nearly three years. I am a godawful interview and people always wonder why someone with my education has such a horrible work record. If it weren't for friends, I'd have wound up homeless at the beginning of this year, and their patience for keeping me in an apartment is running out. I have slowly come to terms with the fact that I will never have a job that jibes with my education, a relationship, or what most people think of as a life. It's the hand I was dealt and there's nothing I can do about it. I cannot change what I am at this stage of my life.

At least the next generation of Aspie kids will be recognized as Aspie kids and resources will be available for them. In the 1960s I was just a weird kid, who was once diagnosed as paranoid schizophrenic.

It's good to know that you appreciate the life you have. Many of us on the spectrum never get a shot at it.

[Robyn66]

45. All I can say is God Bless you!

I know through my daughter how your life must have been especially the difficulties. There is help in schools now although it took getting into Middle School for my daughter to get the support she needed. I was met with a special needs staff when she was in elementary school who did not understand autism, aspergers or how do work with a child with these challenges. According to her doctor, Sarah has the widest disparity between social ability and intelligence he had ever seen when he diagnosed her. These people treated her horribly. She endured abusive teachers, aids and unspeakable bullying. In spite of reports from her doctors explaining that she had severe limits on her social abilities, she would be thrown to the wolves of the general school population to "learn" how to deal.

I am glad you have good friends to help you and support you. I hope you can find a way to do the great things you were created to do. I believe all ASpies are gifts that have been given to humanity and we need to enable them to shine because they are amazing people and will save man kind from its self!!!
Take care!

[grantcart]

37. she should be a standup comedian

[Bryn]

39. Jay Leno would love this!

Wow, your daughter is brilliant. I love it! I hope she knocked some senses into those mindless people who keep on voting against their best interest.

[AZBlue]

41. That's hysterical!

K&R for her

[FKA MNChimpH8R]

42. Big shout out to you and your daughter

from another Aspie! :hug:

[Chemical Bill]

44. You have a right to be proud.

:rofl: