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lilolady123
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25 Oct 2011, 12:21 am

My son Ronald is 11 and was diagnosed with aspergers. He is the middle child and he feels like an alian in our family. How can I help him find his passion? I try to teach him how to cook. He's not interested. He asks me hypothetical questions about a zombie apocolyps and I lose interest. I made him learn how to ride a bike and tie his shoes but I want to help him learn to do something he can be passionate about, that will help him find his place in this world. I'm trying everything I can think of and he's not interested.



The_Perfect_Storm
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25 Oct 2011, 4:11 am

lilolady123 wrote:
My son Ronald is 11 and was diagnosed with aspergers. He is the middle child and he feels like an alian in our family. How can I help him find his passion? I try to teach him how to cook. He's not interested. He asks me hypothetical questions about a zombie apocolyps and I lose interest. I made him learn how to ride a bike and tie his shoes but I want to help him learn to do something he can be passionate about, that will help him find his place in this world. I'm trying everything I can think of and he's not interested.


Sounds like he's passionate about zombies.



annotated_alice
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25 Oct 2011, 9:40 am

If he's interested in zombie apocalypse type things that could translate into interests in:
-survivalist techniques
-orienteering
-hunting
-camping
-self defence (martial arts?)
-writing
-movie making
-special effects and makeup
-theatre
etc.

Most major centres have yearly zombie walks, this might be something he would enjoy. I've seen some really interesting looking zombie apocalypse "how to" type books (not sure about age appropriateness). I say support him in exploring his interests, and then see if you can help to broaden his interest into something related, but that has skill building potential.



MomtoJoeJoe
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25 Oct 2011, 6:27 pm

that is so funny, my son (6) is always asking me about zombies!! I don't really have answers for questions like "what if we all turn into zombies?" I usually tell him that is just in the movies and books. Now he is starting to ask me how ghosts walk around. I think now that it is getting close to Halloween they must be reading books at school because he never used to ask questions about zombies!! ! Does your son like Star Wars? Mine loves it and its actually pretty fun to get into.



DW_a_mom
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25 Oct 2011, 7:14 pm

I like Annotated Alice's list :)

OK, my son has never taken to Zombies, but he thinks science, computer programming, and Shakespeare are fun. He also likes to act. And he LOVES camping.

He plays games like Warhammer and has been able to find friends who like the same.

He took like a fish to water when someone introduced him to GameMaker software.

He used to get really frustrated that I just couldn't get into any of his interests, and the truth is I just can't. But I have supported him in those interests, and in finding friends that share them, so I guess it works out OK. I know its hard to drum up interest in something like Zombies, but even that can lead to other things you'll find more productive and interesting, so the trick is building on it more than redirecting it.

Other than going to Boy Scouts and summer camp, my son's stock response to almost anything I suggest is, "I don't care." He has a big need for downtime so over-scheduling is off the list. He likes being inside his head with his interests - - and he's really creative, easily taking those interests to new levels inventing his own games (paper, 3D, or programmed) and whole worlds in his head (I've encouraged him to use vacations to turn one of them into a full book).

With Zombies, I can see modeling, art, make up, and acting as possible tangents. Or make cool creepy cakes like the food network's Halloween Wars.


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Mom to an amazing young adult AS son, plus an also amazing non-AS daughter. Most likely part of the "Broader Autism Phenotype" (some traits).