Nu Vibez and Roleplay Guide Magazine - January 2014 | Page 56

Ar cle by Nani Xue
Imagery by SaraMae Xaris

Have you ever opened a puzzle, dumped the
pieces out on a table and just sat staring at it,
wishing the puzzle would put itself together?
Unfortunately, this is not how life's puzzles
work. We have to interact with the pieces and
bring the puzzle to life with a lot of care,
considera on and some mes hair-pulling.
Occasionally we even have to call in family and
friends to help us with our puzzle, but the end
result is usually more than worth it!
Asperger's Syndrome (or Disorder) is one of
the many pieces of the Au sm Spectrum
puzzle, yet when people hear the word
“Au sm,” because they do not know any
be er, they tend to think of Rain Man. Well,
that was a severe "full" Au sm case, not
EVERY case. The Au sm Spectrum is referred
to as such because there are a wide array of
"colors" – quali es, quan es and numbers
that go into sor ng out the specific symptoms,
allowing an effec ve diagnosis so that the right
level of help can be given.
There is a reason the Au sm ribbon is
composed of different colored puzzle pieces
and to try to help you understand them all
56 - Nu Vibez Magazine - January 2014

could take a life me. A good star ng point is to
focus on Asperger's, about which we tend to
hear a great deal of late. Asperger's has only
been recognized since the early 1980's – so, in
the grand scheme of life, it is rela vely new.
Asperger's is a disorder typically characterized
by social differences and difficul es, struggles
with communica on, as well as behavior
repe on pa erns to an almost obsessive
degree. Children and adults with Asperger's
tend to outwardly lack empathy toward peers
while leaning toward being clumsy and
awkward; to name just a few of the jigsaw
pieces in the larger puzzle of Asperger's.
Pa ents can demonstrate many other
developmental differences such as "ranking"
high on the A D H D scale or displaying
sociopathic tendencies. The list could go on
and on yet each case is different and how this
condi on touches each individual is as unique
as a puzzle piece.
As people with Asperger's age, they learn to
adapt which society o en looks upon as
“ge ng be er.” This is not a disease, however,
that can be cured or even easily diagnosed.