PARENTING AUTISM & ASPERGER’S NEWSLETTER
VOLUME 27       
January 2009        

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

Inside this edition you will find:

1. Hot Topic of Discussion – Balancing the Asperger’s Discussion

2. In the News – Ten Year Old Diagnoses Herself with Asperger’s Syndrome

3. Prominent People Linked with ASD – David Bellamy, UK Botanist

Thanks

Dave
————————————————————
1. Hot Topic of Discussion – Balancing the Asperger’s Discussion by Don Tennant
October 22, 2008

Don Tennant recently wrote two columns about Asperger’s Syndrome that many readers did not like.  In the columns, “Asperger’s Oxymoron” and “Elusiveness of Joy,” he said that the inward focus and isolation that are often part of the disorder are detrimental to those with Asperger’s and keep them from getting joy out of life.  His readers did not agree and called him arrogant.  Basically, his readers disagreed with his view, saying that people who suffer from Asperger’s do not have to interact with others in ways that Tennant feels are appropriate in order to find joy and meaning in life.

Tennant tried to balance the discussion by quoting some readers who agree with him.  Those readers stated that people with Asperger’s do suffer social rejection and have great difficulty finding help in dealing with the syndrome, leading to impaired social relationships.
Tennant believes that the discussion is valuable one and he hopes it will continue.
To read the full article, go to: http://blogs.computerworld.com/balancing_the_aspergers_discussion

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

————————————————————-
2.  In the News – Ten Year Old Diagnoses Herself with Asperger’s Syndrome
A ten-year-old girl in the UK has diagnosed herself with Asperger’s Syndrome.  She came to the conclusion that she has Asperger’s while reading a book on autism to understand her brother’s condition.  Rosie King, whose brother Lenny is autistic, was reading The Little Rain Man.
Her mother said, “When it came to a section on Asperger’s, Rosie blurted out, ‘I think this might be me’.  We couldn’t believe it.”  Rosie was formally diagnosed with Asperger’s over the course of a year.
To read the full article, go to:
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2008/11/18/girl-of-10-diagnoses-self-with-asperger-s-syndrome-115875-20904054/

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

————————————————————

3. Prominent People Linked with ASD – David Bellamy, Botanist

David Bellamy was born January 18, 1933 in London.  He is an English botanist, professor, broadcaster, environmentalist, and author.  He is best known as the enthusiastic host of nature documentaries such as “Botanic Man.”  As a child he enjoyed reading Encyclopaedia Britannica, once asked for Baillier’s Medical Dictionary as a Christmas present, and threw a tantrum beside a Diplodocus when it was closing time at the end of a visit to a natural history museum.

Bellamy and his wife Rosemary have five children.  He has written and hosted more than 400 television programmes on botany, ecology, and the environment.  He has written over 80 scientific papers and books.  He ran against the incumbent Prime Minister, John Major, for the Referendum Party, but lost.  Bellamy believes this campaign caused a decline in his career as a popular television personality, stating in 2002. David said that in his autobiography that he believes that he has a form of autism – but this is undiagnosed.

To see the full text of the article go to:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Bellamy

People mentioned above may have Asperger’s Syndrome, but were never formally diagnosed.
————————————————————-

I hope this month’s newsletter finds you enjoying the New Year.

The next edition of the newsletter is due in February, 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:

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

We will publish as many as we can.

Until next month………

Best Wishes

Dave Angel

http://www.parentingaspergers.com.

P.S. The new website is still coming on nicely. Latest updates include a number of tasty gluten free recipes and a section for sharing inspirational and helpful parenting stories.