My Grandma is a good person, but like most people as they age, they become cranky. She is actually not as bad as most people her age. She still has a good head on her shoulders even though she had a stroke, she has her noodles. My grandma is more like a 55 year old woman than an 87 year old woman. She may seem cranky at times, but this is only to be expected of anybody her age. She is 87 years old and probably a person who sees fit to be a grandmother who everybody should have. She comes from a time growing up most of her life when Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) were not even recognized. I really would have liked to meet her brother who was a bacteriologist because the way my mom and grandma described him to me. He sounds very similar to how I am. Although he was a bacteriologist and I am in to the Circulatory System including and especially the heart, we have our similarities. I know no body can diagnose a person who died, but at least there are people alive who knew him well. I really know for sure Asperger Syndrome is a genetic disorder and I believe it runs on both sides of my family. Each generation of families with this Spectrum of disorders show different aspects of ASD, one generation did not show.
My grandma is a great person who still needs to learn so much and I hope she could learn more about ASD. I know she wants to achieve some lasting goals for her life. I would like her to consider one of these goals to learn more about Autism Spectrum Disorders especially since she can be able to understand the other family members who could have been diagnosed had there been recognition in the past. We all need to be patient with our lives. I know I am doing great and I will continue to do great though may be it doesn’t matter if my grandma learns or not. I have always felt the more somebody knows about a difference, the more they are understanding of that difference.
A life cycle of ASD within families shows different aspects of the Spectrum. Some may be more artsy, some may be more scientific, some may show more sensory issues, some may even show less social connection etc. People with ASD vary so much and every one needs to continue to show how they are willing to learn about the Spectrum from those who have it. Talking to people who have an ASD would be an important overwhelming necessary experience for any Neurotypical especially my Grandma.
I just need to remain patient with my grandma like how I am being patient with my career. I also need to remember she is 87 years old and most people her age are set in their ways. We all need to remember to love every one who cares about us in this world. Love goes farther than greed. My grandma is the type of person who strives at things she does even though I want her to learn new things still, I also need to remember to accept her as she is. May be I need to just leave her alone for now because she is too tired to learn. She will always be the Grandma who loves me for who I am.
Here is a statement I created using my parents names:
Rare Innovation Certainly is Key for Leaping Over Ingenious Senses for anybody. Interesting?!?!
posting later on,
OUT, J
BTW, I really loved the movie Vice Versa with Fred Savage and Judge Reinhold. This was a great movie which could show a bit of Asperger Syndrome. To remind everybody the movie was about how a father and a son switch bodies, but their minds stay the same. There is a similar movie called Like Father, Like Son with the late Dudley Moore and Kirk Cameron. Great films, go and see them. They are from the 1980’s.
Thanks for sharing about your grandmother. Mine is 104 – she is my son Charlie’s great-grandmother and only speaks Cantonese. My own parents have been very embracing of Charlie and have been trying to learn as much about autism as they can. Thank you again—
Kristina