Long time readers will surely remember Matt who used to regularly entertain us with his comments and rhymes on A.B. We also had a link to his very funny (now discontinued) political blog Cerulean Blue. Well, Matt has not visited us for a long time. During his absence, he and I have touched base a few times via email.
Quite some time ago Matt had shared with me the information that he has Asperger’s Syndrome – a very mild and highly functional form of autism. Yesterday I learnt that Matt now writes a new blog, very different from his previous one. He explained to me why he chose to do so:
..I’m frustrated by the fact that there are very few stories about adults with mild autism…it’s almost all kid-related stories…which is understandable, but it’s an imbalance in need of a remedy. So, I’m just wanting to focus on Asperger’s, describe what it can look like in adulthood, at least from one perspective.
I am very pleased that Matt has given me permission to share his blog information with our readers (The Incipient Turvy is now on our blog roll). Yesterday I posted a couple of stories on adults who have made the adjustment of understanding their severely autistic children. Matt’s point of view will shed light on the other end of the spectrum – functional adults who are learning to understand and live with mild forms of the condition. I am happy to welcome Matt back to A.B. We hope to see him here more often.
Accidental Blogger 
5 responses to “Understanding Matt”
I wondered what happened to Matt– welcome back!
Minor correction, courtesy of the DSM-IV-TR.
Both are “pervasive developmental disabilities,” and Asperger’s used to be considered a subset of Autism, but the most recent version of the diagnostic and statistical manual categorizes them as distinct conditions. DSM-TR-IV: “Asperger’s Disorder can be distinguished from Autistic Disorder by the lack of delay or deviance in early language disorder.”
A diagnosis of Autism requires delays or abnormal functioning with onset prior to age 3, in one or more of the following: 1) social interaction, 2) language as udes in social communication, or 3) symbolic or imaginitive play.
If you demonstrate such delays, but the condition is mild, and/or cognitive function is not impaired, the condition is Autism (high functioning).
A diagnosis of Asperger’s requires that there is no clinically significant general delay in language, and that there is no clinically significant delay in cognitive development or the development of age-appropriate self-help skills, adaptive behavior, and curiosity about the environment in childhood.
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Welcome back, Matt. :o)
(or, you know, whatever makes sense and means the right thing in this context– where a blog isn’t really a place.)
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Anna, thank you for the clarification. Here is the wikipedia link with the basic stuff: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asperger%27s. Because it is wikipedia, it may change from second to second, so I generally try not to blink while I’m reading it.
Joe…I second your emoticon. And reciprocate. :o)
Thank you for the post, Ruchira. I’m not suggesting that you run as Vice President…but an Obama/Paul bumper sticker on my car would look very stylish.
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Welcome back, Matt. I hope to see more of your little poems when you get back to writing them. What happened with the earlier book that you had planned for?
I also loved reading your blog and have it bookmarked. Is it alright with you if I add it to the blogroll at my blog Fluff ‘n’ Stuff ?
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“What happened with the earlier book that you had planned for?”
I’m still trying to get enough together for a collection. I’ve been lazy about it, I think, need to just sit down and really focus on it.
If you link me, I would purr. Hopefully I can get back into a blog-reading habit so that I can comment, keep up with you guys. Hope you are well!
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