“I struggled with connecting
emotionally with my mom or kids at
school,” says Robert who, today, is a
marine biologist currently applying
for a PhD programme. “It was only
after I was formally diagnosed with
Asperger’s syndrome as an adult that
I was able to resolve a lifelong identity
crisis.”
Asperger’s syndrome (AS) falls
at the high-functioning end of the
autism spectrum and affects how
a person makes sense of the world,
processes information and relates
to other people. While there are
similarities with autism, people
with AS have fewer problems with
speaking and are often of average or
above-average intelligence. Asperger’s
can go unnoticed in the early years
because there is no delay in cognitive
or language development. AS is
characterised by struggles with social
syndrome
Asperger’s
Living with
While you might be daunted by a diagnosis of
Asperger’s syndrome in your child, there’s no
reason to lose hope, writes
Aquin Dennison-Mathew
.
O
n his first day at
kindergarten, Robert
Tomasetti remembers
walking straight into
the classroom without as much as
a glance at his mother while other
kids cried and clung to their parents.
He preferred it that way; he hated
being hugged or kissed. At school, he
barely spoke at all and struggled with
making friends, finding them “stupid”
and uninteresting. By the time his
tenth birthday rolled around, he had
memorised more than 2,000 scientific
fish names and it was the only subject
he wanted to discuss. At 13, Robert
moved into his parents’ basement,
preferring the solitude and comfort
of his books and fish magazines. One
summer break, in what he describes
as a “midlife crisis”, he rarely stepped
out of the basement despite his mum’s
pleas to go out and play.
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Playtimes
