My son thinks he's a cartoon...

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Trying to learn as much as I can about Aspergers, and see if my son really fits the dx. Most of what I've read describes aspies as being shy, withdrawn, uncomfortable in public/social situations...

Anybody who spent 10 minutes with my son would laugh at those descriptions.

On the contrary, he tends to approach social situations with the same skills as an overgrown puppydog. I have to tell him not to "Dino" our guests (in reference to the Flintstone's pet). He LOVES to be in the spotlight (his is always the first hand up to volunteer for anything) and takes every opportunity to showcase his humor/antics. He talks in mimic, putting on accents and quoting lines from television, commercials, movies... whatever. (He will actually correct others if they get the line wrong!) He is very smart, and can be very funny -- often making sophisticated jokes that even adults will crack up at. (In the right situation, he can charm the pants off most unwitting adults.)

Anyone else? I'd like to know if this is common for Aspies, or if it doesn't fit. He's 12 right now, and I think he's using this to try and "fit in". But I wonder, how will this cartoonish approach to life serve him later on...

Can't wait to hear your stories...

Karen

Many of the things you describe fit my 12yo Aspie son as well. He has a very dry, sarcastic wit and is obsessed with quoting lines from movies, tv shows etc. He actually can't help himself with those ... if he starts the quote he has to finish it even if I already know it and yes, I'm in trouble if I get it wrong!

He doesn't do the Dino thing as much although when he is seeking attention (not very often) then he does love the spotlight. I find that if it's something he's very good at then he will hog the attention - doesn't like to participate in anything where he won't be number one.

Mimicry is perfect - every voice, every character sounds exactly like the original.

Hilariously funny - particularly adult humour (as in sophisticated, not 'rude') and has perfect delivery. Also has a way of finding the achilles heel of someone or a situation and nailing the humour behind it perfectly.

He isn't so much shy as simply chooses not to socialise with people he doesn't like or he believes are beneath him. He won't even try and 'be nice' to someone if he has already decided that they fit into one of those two categories.

But once he does like them, he is loyal to the end and is very attentive, funny, interesting, loving and adorable.

Nerddette

My older son dx AS, was very mature in his speech from a very young age. He impressed adults at every turn. However his speech tends to be "at" people rather than "with" people. So you see, performance mode kind of fits that.
Joe is very happy with himself most of the time. It's not like he doesn't like people, he often just doesn't notice them. He does much better 1:1 than in a group. He also doesn't recognize when he is feeling lonely. He can go for weeks without social contact and all of a sudden he is sad and doesn't know why. When he was younger I would then encourage him to call a friend and get together with them. He usually has only 1 or 2 friends at a time. He always did much better with adults than with his peers. When he got older he got a part time job and enjoyed going to work because he could talk with 1 or 2 friends there. He is now in college and things are about the same. He had trouble with his first roommate but now has a different one and they get along fine. He continues to depend on family for social contacts. Everybody knows he has AS and is supportive.
And he is a great kid. He has been aware of his diagnosis right away and he accepts it. I have always stressed that he is different but just as good as anybody else. He knows what to expect of his diagnosis, and has enough insight to ask if something doesn't work for him. He's really smart, AS is by definition high functioning and most AS people I know of are really smart. Hope this helps.

Karen~

Our 7 yr. old AS son is a lot like yours. He's very social, funny, loves attention, etc. He was initially dx'd with ADHD. In fact, when our counselor found out we thought he might have AS, he got down a book from his shelf and showed us the criteria which didn't seem to totally fit our son. However, we knew that our son was struggling due to lack of social skills that most children had already developed by his age as well as his odd way of communicating with us. Once an 8-10 hour evaluation was done of him and we were interviewed by the "professionals", we came away with an AS dx. I think with AS, just like with any other disorder/syndrome, there are variations and degrees specific and unique to the individual. One of the things I've seen consistently in AS children is their lack of social skills according to the "norms" of our society. They can display extremes of socially "odd" behavior varying from total withdraw to over-the-top.

Our son wants so badly to make friends with his peers but because of his socially "odd" behavior and communication style (he's very blunt and honest), he does much better with children younger or older than himself. Also, he's such a concrete thinker that he often has challenges understanding sarcasim, figures of speech, etc. After working with him (his ST at school, his Dad and I at home), he can now identify sarcasim when someone is using it and has to point it out every time by saying, "You're being sarcastic right now, aren't you?!" He has trouble with abstract theories like tact. He doesn't understand the concept of tact and so we have to practice it with him thru role playing and behavior mods so that he doesn't go around blurting out every thought that pops into his head, whether appropriate on inappropriate. Our son's idea of a joke is not really a "joke" so much as it is something he finds funny and it's not necessarily what he's saying so much as how he's saying it that makes us laugh. Also, his rote memory is amazing! He'll remember some obscure detail or line from a movie or show he hasn't seen in two years or longer and be able to describe the action exactly or quote the line verbatim...it's wild! Also, our son has this bizarre, keen sense of smell that can make life challenging for him at times (and sometimes led to meltdowns). For instance, his Dad and I can both be drinking the same exact soda and he'll come up and smell the mouth of each can and be able to tell us which one is mine and which one is his Dad's!! !! He doesn't like the smell of my breath at all and can tell by sniffing the cups/cans/bottles whose is who's! When he went to meet his mainstream Kindergarten teacher for the first time, he walked into her classroom and said, "Your room smells weird!" What an ice breaker! Our son also never liked to be rocked and held as a baby and continued to have challenges with his oversensitivity to touch right up until this past year. He once turned around and punched his Grammy in the stomach when she came up behind him uannounced and touched his shoulder! He is now finally beginning to initiate hugging and allowing others to hug him too...it's GREAT!

If you've noticed that your son seems to be overly loud, very theatrical or dramatic, takes figures of speech literally (Mom: Do you have to go to the bathroom? Son: Yes! Mom: Is it an emergency? Son: No! You don't have to call 911 or anything...I just really need to go to the bathroom! This is a real example of an incident our son had at school one day), fixates on topics (and sometimes people) of interest to the point of excluding normal give and take conversation, overly sensitive (or under sensitive) sense of smell, touch, taste, etc. so that things that normally wouldn't bother you he finds overwhelming, you may be looking at AS.

Something I read sometime ago that I found interesting about the difference between High Functioning Autism and AS is that HFA children have trouble with verbal language but understand non-verbal language fine. With AS children it's the opposite. They seem to be like "little professors" with a mastery of verbal language, but have challenges understanding non-verbal language. They can't seem to read someone elses body language, facial expressions, etc. to know whether they are interested in the converstaion or when they have something to say, etc. You can understand how this lack of non-verbal language skill may lead to misunderstandings between your son and others and even make him appear egocentric altho he's not.

Having said all of this, I would like to add that our son is a blessing and a joy to our family and others! His unique perspective is awesome and a real eye-opener for us! His lack of tact is something to be envied at times in that he's just saying what everyone else is thinking. He's smart, interesting, funny and just a neat kid! I wouldn't have him any other way. When the meltdowns (which don't happen as often now) occur or when we have challenges helping him understand certain social "norms" and abstract "rules" we just say a prayer and thank God for giving us such a creative, awesome child! He is fearfully and wonderfully made!

Above all, Karen, you know your son better than anyone. Trust your instincts. If you feel like there may be something a little different about him, investigate. Keep in mind that AS as a disorder has a wide spectrum of ranges from mild to severe and a wide variation of behaviors.

God bless you guys!

I'm female, 15. Your son is 12, male.
Other than that...he could almost be me.

ever since i started watching south park when i was 11. (since series 1) ive loved quoting lines from it and even using lines in life!! telling others to Respect Mah AuTHORITY!! or saying screw you guys in going home, when i left school to go home

I think I'm a Routemaster, half the time. Especially on the days that I'm constantly walking around.