Greetings, ya'll!

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Hello,

My name's Kurt, and my wife and I are going to a counselor (Ph.D) tomorrow to learn the results of tests she's run on our 14 year old, just (barely, via homebound learning) finished 8th grade daughter, who was extensively tested and diagnosed last year with major depression, and who was hospitalized two months.

The counselor thinks our daughter has undiagnosed Asperger's.

From reading all the symptoms, I may have it, too. What's interesting is (and though I'm new to this I've seen some similar stories) how my outlook has changed, and how I may have grown out of, or at least am now the owner of and am no longer owned by, this condition.

I'm having a fascinating time reading these forums, and I'm going to let my daughter see them too if she is indeed diagnosed with this. Parents, friends here on the board...do you see this to be a safe place for a child her age?

Thanks and God bless.

If chris is safe here, so is your son.....


Oh and as a new member, 1 Offical Groar.

GROAAAAAAAAR!

It's our daughter (her brother's an interesting guy, but I don't think he has this...if so he's a heckuva adaptable fellow).

Thanks!

Hi, Kurt. Welcome!

I would like you to know that we are a very good group of people on this forum, and we treat each other equally. Others who don't know us should look past the Asperger's Syndrome.

My daughter would appreciate that, I think, if she's diagnosed as such.

Interesting thing...I'm as much as an evangelical conservative Christian as, say, Dr. James Dobson. (In fact, I think it's my relationship with God that's helped me overcome this...He's bigger than any problem I have.)

My daughter, in turn, is struggling with what to believe. She's got a problem with "religion" because she'd see kids that identified as "Christian" who'd be nice to her at church then at school tell her they wish she'd commit suicide. (FWIW, there's a lot of true Christians I've met who are just as bothered by the behavior of those hypocritical kids as she is.)

However, the other day we were returning from an Illinois family reunion and a preacher was talking about abortion, selective genetics in humans, etc. I asked my daughter: "Victoria, if before you were born doctors had told us: "Mr. and Mrs. -, your daughter's genetic patterns indicate she'd be born with Asperger's. But we can fix that...otherwise she'll endure a lot of pain in life."

My daughter said: "No...I would have wanted to be born just as I was." (Indicating something good will come from her struggle with whatever this is.)

I think she could have some interesting discussions here...but I'll wait and see what the diagnosis is tomorrow.

Hello and welcome to the boards!! I think this is a perfectly safe place for your daughter! The "mature AS related issues" you may prefer she stay away from, maybe not...it's down near the bottom of the page if you want to check it out. There are a few younger members...Chris is one, and Soma.
Now that that's out of the way, I am THRILLED to find some more aspie christians!! And a girl, too! Aspie christians are a rather rare breed Welcome again, and enjoy yourself!

What a great perspective!
I'm a self-diagnosed aspie. My 11yo son is, too. (He has been homeschooled from the start.)

<---another female aspie Christian here.

Ohhhh...Cindy, do I wish (in some ways) we'd homeschooled her.

She's overweight, and very large chested (40something DDD bra...I didn't want to know that but she proudly announced it to me driving back last year from Grandma's...my Mom took her to a bra shop). We've come to learn that, before she was hospitalized, boys in her 7th and 8th grade classes would stop and stare at her bosom, and occasionally touch them. (As a Christian Dad, stories like that from my daughter are true forgiveness-testers.)

She's frustrated because she likes boys but, with her possible AS, seemed to have no clue how to relate to them in a completely (emotionally) healthy way, though she does want to remain pure until she's married. That foolish behavior described above (obviously) hurt her deeply. That wouldn't have happened with home schooling.

BTW, thanks, Mockingbird...unfortunately, my daughter doesn't identify as Christian due to the taunting she received. Last night, she and I came to an agreement, though...I told her: "Don't make permanent vows to yourself to solve a temporary problem." I said she may have AS, but that she will learn (IMO) if she's willing that she can indeed own it, and not vice versa.

She's an incredible artist, and very intelligent. There's some wondrous things out there for her if she'll allow herself to see them. (And I know that's the big hurdle for apparently many with AS.)

Last edited by VictoriasPetTuraco on 26 Jun 2005, 7:14 pm, edited 2 times in total.

YAY!! !

BTW, my poor wife's had to live with BOTH of us (father and daughter) who may has AS...wonder if she can get a medal for that somewhere?

Do you mind if I pray for her?

Poor kid! (Believe me, I completely understand about the, er, "busting out all over" problem and the accompanying stares. )

Even homeschooled, my son still has to learn to deal with the losers who live in our neighborhood and who seem to get a kick out of mocking/harrassing him at the community playground, but at least that stress isn't interfering with his education on a daily basis. I am grateful that I have the opportunity to teach him social skills and coping mechanisms (frequently from my own experience!) that won't draw even more attention to his already "weird" reputation. The bullies hate him; the girls love him, because he defends them from the loser boys and treats them with respect. And he keeps going back to the playground (around the corner from our house) even when the losers try to chase him away!

{{{{{hugs}}}}} to your daughter.

Cindy...thanks. My son has defended a girl at his school and my heart filled with joy that he was strong enough to stand up for what was right. You're raising your boy right.

Mockingbird...please do. God bless you for that...I feel I ought to ask you what you want prayers for in return.

Ladies, if you get a chance, look at the thread "Children who tease - their need to feed their pride" I started on the "religion" board. (I'm a posting fool right now.) I'd be curious to read your thoughts on that.

Thanks again for all the kind words.

My husband and NT kids should each get one, too!

I was raised Christian and had a lot of the same kind of questions when I was 14-15. I thought I must not be Christian because I questioned a lot instead of blindly agreeing with every rule in the Bible (as I assumed every other religious person did). I was also going to a traditional Catholic girls' high school. The gulf between the professed beliefs of both students and teachers, and their actions, was huge. I think it's important to make sure the faith is clearly separate from the people. She may find that she believes in Christian ideals but wants little to do with the practitioners.

Better yet, let her come here herself and start a debate in her own words. I feel like I'm talking down to her by relaying a message through you - and that's not what I intend at all.

In the end I became agnostic, but that was years later and the decision had nothing to do with "Christian" hypocrites.