Hi this is Dave Angel.  Welcome to the twenty-ninth edition of “The Parenting Autism & Asperger’s Newsletter”

Inside this edition you will find:

1. Parenting Aspergers Community – 1 day left on the current special offer and Paypal update

2. Hot Topic of Discussion – Homeschooling a Child with Asperger’s

3. In the News – In Both Art and Life, Working Outside the Lines

4. Prominent People Linked with ASD – Vincent Van Gogh, Artist
Thanks

Dave

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1. Parenting Aspergers Community

Just to let you know that there is just 1 day left on the current special offer to join The Parenting Aspergers Community so head on there NOW if you don’t want to miss out – http://www.parentingaspergerscommunity.com/public/10.cfm

Also to let you know I am likely to be able to take PAYPAL payments next week for thsoe who don’t have credit cards as I have finally worked out the technology to do this!

And American Express cards should also be able to be used next week too!

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2. Hot Topic of Discussion –

Homeschooling a Child with Asperger’s

This article is the first in a series about a parent who will begin homeschooling her six-year-old son, who has Asperger’s Syndrome.  She is doing this because her son does not fit into the mainstream in public school.  The school sees her son’s challenges, but not his strengths and she does not want this to destroy his love of learning or self-esteem.  She has also joined a local homeschooling group to provide social activities for her son.  This parent sees great value in having her son meet other children of various ages, as well as having flexibility in scheduling lessons and planning instruction to meet her son’s needs and areas of interest.  She is hoping for gains in academics, improved social skills, more self-confidence, and a continuation of her son’s love of learning.

To read the full article, go to:  http://www.blog.lifewithoutschool.info/2008/02/homeschooling-a.html

People mentioned as having Asperger’s Syndrome may or may not have actually have been diagnosed with it.

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3.  In the News – In Both Art and Life, Working Outside the Lines

In Danvers, Maine, USA, there was an art show held recently that showcased the works of artists who have Asperger’s Syndrome.  The art included a diversity of genres, from charcoal drawings of nature, to psychedelic mindscapes, to a collage of General William Tecumseh Sherman.  People with Asperger’s can often be drawn to art.  Dania Jekel, the executive director of the Asperger’s Association of New England, states, “I don’t know if it’s more than the general population or not.  I think it might be, because some of them are very visual.  Their visual or perceptual sense is heightened in some way, so they do see things in a way that is different from more typical people.”  She goes on, “The main point is, people with Asperger’s Syndrome are extraordinarily different from one another. Some are more detail-oriented, some have more trouble with communication, some are much blinder to faces . . . so it’s not unusual that their art looks very different.” ArcWorks is a program that promotes the work of artists with disabilities.

“For many people with Asperger’s syndrome, the social realm is very difficult; it’s energy-consuming and it’s difficult, the interaction with other people. So doing art and painting is something they can do to express themselves that doesn’t involve interaction with other people,” states Jekel.  “For some people it is therapeutic. It does give them a way to be perhaps a little bit calmer, to sort of express themselves in a way that’s not verbal, it’s visual.”

To read the full article, go to: http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2008/11/27/in_both_art_and_life_working_outside_the_lines/
People mentioned as having Asperger’s Syndrome may or may not have actually have been diagnosed with it.

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4. Prominent People Linked with ASD – Vincent Van Gogh, Artist

Vincent van Gogh (1853–1890) was a Dutch Post-Impressionist painter who was posthumously diagnosed by over 150 psychiatrists with many different medical and mental conditions, including temporal lobe epilepsy and, possibly, Asperger’s Syndrome (AS).  Vincent van Gogh committed suicide, possibly caused by depression which occasionally occurs along with Asperger’s and can lead to thoughts, talk of, or suicide attempts.

People with AS may have specific gifts in mathematics, literature, or the arts.  There is strong evidence that Vincent Van Gogh had Asperger’s Syndrome.  There are many adults with AS who are successful teachers, lawyers, doctors, artists, and authors.  For this reason, many consider AS a difference rather than a disability.  The brains of people with AS apparently process information and sensory stimuli differently than the brains of neurotypical (NT) people.  People with AS differ greatly from one other. Everyone with AS has a common set of traits, but the intensity of each varies, creating a continuum. As a result, AS shapes individual lives in many different ways.

To see the full text of the article go to:  http://www.aane.org/about_asperger_syndrome/what_is_asperger_syndrome.html

The person mentioned above may or may not have Asperger’s Syndrome.
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I hope this month’s newsletter captures your interest and encourages you to read more about Asperger’s Syndrome.

The next edition of the newsletter is due in April, 2009.      

And as ever … please send in any inspirational stories that you know of, any questions that you would like our team of experts to answer, any topics that you wish to be discussed, and news stories that you want to share VIA THE BLOG at

http://parentingaspergers.com/blog/parenting-tips-wanted/

We will publish as many as we can.

And don’t forget to get over to http://www.parentingaspergerscommunity.com/public/10.cfm if you want to get in on the special offer before it’s gone.

Until next month………

Best Wishes

Dave Angel

http://www.parentingaspergers.com.

P.S. Please feel free to forward this newsletter to your friends.