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Is anyone familiar with this book by Thomas Sowell?
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No, but I do know that is commonly thought that Einstein had Asperger's syndrome. Maybe it's related???
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I just read the synopsis on the book on Amazon.com. It's about late-talkers. My child has Aspergers but was a very early talker.
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Not to seem ignorant, well maybe I am, but what is Aspergers? Is that a form of Autism? Just curious-I have heard of this before.
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Aspergers is on the autism spectrum, but it's the opposite of the way some look at autism. Aspergers kids are usually highly intelligent, often early and precocious talkers, enunciate clearly (except they tend to speak quickly) and can be like "little Professors" about subjects. For instance, at three, my son could tell you everything about dinosaurs, what they ate, their habitats, which period, how many million years ago, etc. He knew nothing about cars. He knew every Pokemon and now Bionicle. They have narrow interests, but are experts. Yet, their social skills are lacking - many are "nerds", "geeks", etc. because they have other things going on that affect their physical skills - many are clumsy. They have a problem with where they are in space. My son can walk right by you and not notice you are there. Yet, if he sees you and recognizes you, he goes haywire with happy excitement. He has sensory issues and tracking issues, making it hard to play sports. Playing sports helps make you cool, you see.
Aspergers is mostly described as the little professor syndrome with the social skills issue. But it is much more than that and covers wide areas. Plus, each Aspie is different. Try googling it and you will see what I mean. My first clues were that he couldn't read other people's faces. Most kids can tell when to back off doing something. They learn by observing others and a lot of social niceties come naturally. Not to Aspies. They go by the rules and will let you know when you're not doing the same! They have a hard time with lies (heaven forbid when he finds out about Santa!) and don't understand why people do it, thus social issues.. It's a huge subject, but those are just some of the issues and markers. Many of these kids are very, very sensitive, while others have the opposite problem and can be aggressive. As adults they can come off as aloof, arrogant, etc. They have to work hard to learn the social niceties that most know.
Hope that is a start! Being an Aspie is a challenge, but with good tools, education and effort, they can be very successful.
Answer:
Originally Posted by desertmom
I just read the synopsis on the book on Amazon.com. It's about late-talkers. My child has Aspergers but was a very early talker.
From what I've read the main difference between Aspergers and HFA (high functioning autism) is when they talk. Those with Asperger's do not have the speech delay, so Einstein could not have had Aspergers but quite possibly HFA.
To answer the original poster, I haven't read the book but I do know that some in the autism community have claimed (posthumously) that Einstein was on the spectrum. His lack of social skills and the intensity that he put into his work are often hallmarks of those on the spectrum. Whether or not this was true of Einstein it's hard to tell since a dx was never made public & he's no longer with us.
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Interesting discussion...this is exactly why I picked the book up at the library!
Not to ruin it for those of you who would like to actually read the book, but the book describes a group of children who speak late, but eventually catch up to their peers (but not until age 5 and older) and continue on to work in highly technical and or musical fields. Moreover, these children are often labeled with as having a form of autism/asperger's, but actually do not. It's a fascinating read for those of you who may have late talkers in your family.
Keep in mind, however, that the author very emphatically shares that children who follow this developmental pattern - or any other possible delays - should be evaluated to rule out any true developmental delays such as autism/asperger's or any of the varients. The book is more or less a description of a pattern of development that some kids follow. Like I said...it's an interesting read!