PERSONAL NARRATIVE
My Asperger’s,
My Family, and Me
By Alex MANNERS
My name is Alex Manners, and I live in a town called Solihull in England. I was diagnosed
with Asperger’s syndrome when I was 10 years old, and while it has brought along
many challenges that I have had to face, I feel that it makes me the person that I am.
I consequently view my Asperger’s as something I feel lucky to have.
I
live at home with my two parents and two sisters,
and not only have I had to cope with many issues
and challenging situations, but so have they. I am
lucky to have a large family that includes 17 cous-
ins, 8 uncles, and 6 aunts, and they have helped
me a lot throughout the years and have always
given me somewhere to go when I am stressed or
if things become a little heated at home. A number
of my friends who have Asperger’s don’t have a large
family like myself and don’t have that extra support
that I have found invaluable. Even to this day, if I ever
become stressed, I can always go to my Grandad’s
or my uncle’s place or just give them a call. When I
was younger, I was always on the phone with one of
my uncles when I got stressed—which, back then,
was quite frequent, maybe about once every two or
three days.
When I was first told that I had Asperger’s, my dad
told me others in the family had it as well, we were
very fortunate, and it made us positively different
from everyone else. My Grandad is very eccentric
Autism Parenting Magazine | Issue 65 |
35