My Friend Needs Your Help!

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An acquaintance of mine at school (NT) asked me if all of you could give her some advice. Here's the problem:

Her parents have been nagging her about her younger sister. They sort of seem to make her resposible for her sister. When my acquaintance was explaining what her sister's problems and difficulties were, I realised that it sounded a lot like AS (she actually didn't know what AS was). So she asked me for advice. I told her about AS.

The next day at school, I brought her one of my many books about AS. She thinks that it is quite possible that her sister may have it. So she took the book home to show her parents. Her parents refused to believe that her sister might have it. They claimed it was due to the sister's reaction to divorce. The problem is my acquaintance says her sister was like that before the divorce.

Whether or not her sister has AS, we both think it has something to do with a psychological/emotional/neurological problem. She also said that her family sees seeking the help of a psychologist or therapist as a weakness because everyone in her family has to be 'normal'. She also can't talk to the counselors at school because they are incompetent.

My acquaintance feels like she is stuck. She really wants to help her sister, her parents want her to help her sister, but they refuse to hear that she may not be 'normal'. I can't think of any ways to help her.

My acquaintance asked me for your advice, thoughts, and comments. If you can think of any way to help her out, it would be greatly appreciated.

I would explain the concept of Asperger's Syndrome to the younger sister and see what her thoughts on the subject are. Where I would go from there would depend upon her reaction.

grrrr...some people. Anyhow, i dont know how to have her sister checked out, but AS-like symptons do not occur from divorce. Overall, and i mean this with no offense, the parents may be the bigger problem here. If seeing a shrink makes me weaker, so be it.
A

Thank you so much for replying! I'll tell her this. I'd like to hear some more ideas too.

I agree with JayShaw that it may be best to speak with the younger sister. Could be that you are there too. I would discourage approaching her in a concerned manner or overly excited either. If the older sister can remain nuteraul yet understanding while talking to her sister it may help it not to be overwhelming.

ElfMan

I want to be a Blue Jay forever!

Thank you for your help, ElfMan.

She went to the right person, I guess!

An unofficial diagnosis is really almost as good as an official one. If she clearly has AS, you should tell her and explain the symptoms. As long as she knows why she's different, things ought to be a lot easier. And for the parents, there really isn't much you can do. If they really love their daughter they'll do what needs to be done.

Don't forget to tell your friend about the cooler aspects of being an aspie. And ditto to what Ghotistix wrote.

This is about, and for - the sister, mostly. She doesn't need a dx, she just needs to know herself. It will give her a lot of confidence, and a more realistic veiw of things.