Class awareness of AS?

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I was being teased a bit when I was in Year 7 and once I tried to hurt a girl in my class for making fun of me, but I got in trouble and my dad had a go at my form tutor on the phone, and she let me do a presentation about Asperger's Syndrome to my class. After the presentation on 5th May 2004, people asked some sensible questions and nobody made fun of me for a long while.

But as time passed people started making fun of me possibly because they'd forgot that I had AS, could not accept the way I behave, or maybe just jealous that I took part in Hard Spell (Did anyone see it?). That was in year 8.

Then year 9 came, and not long ago someone said to me "You're not a boffin because you're not good at sport", which is an extremely horrible thing to say to someone with AS because they cannot help being not very good at sport. Other teasing got to me and so I emailed someone who ran this autistic/AS activity club I went to, and asked them if I should do another one. I haven't recieved a reply yet, but I'm still waiting...

You're not a boffin because you're not good at sport? Since when did sport have anything to do with being a boffin?! As far as I could tell, being crap at sport was a pre-requisite for being a boffin, bod, bodrick, nerd, or any other similar expression! At least it was at my school )

You were on Hard Spell? Cool! I watched last year's and this year's. It looked nerve wracking. I would have pooped myself, even having to spell in front of a class full of people, let alone half the country.

Um...what is a boffin? Enlighten the poor American teenager, please.

I had the same problem in seventh grade and sixth grade, but my method of handling it was to quietly deal with it until I snapped and screamed at the main troublemaker for about half an hour, including grabbing her arm because she tried to run for it and I wasn't finished. Since several of the teachers knew me and knew that I don't ever start things, I didn't get in trouble over it, and I got a reputation for being someone you don't want to mess with.

I did give a presentation on AS in seventh grade, but my class (except for a few highly trusted friends) didn't know that I had been diagnosed with it. The presentation was my choice of illness for a Mental Health Fair my school had the seventh graders do, and I was delighted with the idea I could give a presentation of mine.

Possibly dated term for a scientist, one engaged in research incomprehensible to outsiders. The cliché version will have glasses, a white lab-coat and a clip-board.

It's really WW2 vintage. See also "back room boys"

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"Egghead" would cover the same sort of ground.

Boffin / Bod = some one who is clever, like a scientist.

The you'r not a boffin because you are not good at spot statement is just pure rubbish. It makes no sense, just ignore it.

Not sure what to say to help you. If you are finding it hard talk to a teacher / prefect / librarian that you trust is probably best to be able to sort it out with you. However it is fun visiting where my parents live now i have a really good job and degree from a world class uni and seeing people from school working in a petrol stations and in supermarkets.

I'm not too bothered about being called a boffin or a geek or something like that because I am actually proud of being one. Whenever someone calls me a boffin I take it as a compliment.

There's only a few people, other than my teachers, who knew about my Asperger's. One was one who I met in middle school and she and I are real good friends to this day. The other two people that know are two people who I went to high school with. I told them because I thought that if they wanted to be my friends then they should know that I have this condition and if it bothered them, then they could leave if they wanted to.

Also, I gave a speech on Autism back in my Health Class my junior year of high school. Two years later, I got enought courage for myself to go ahead and give a speech on Asperger's. In both speeches, I never mentioned the fact that I had it.

Besides my teachers, and the three people that I told, I have kept the information that I had Asperger's to myself. I don't know what would've happened if I told more people.

Also in May and July, I did two persentations about AS. One was at a secondary school to about 100 teachers, and the other was at a primary school to a class of about 12 children.

I think I should do one to the teachers at my school and another one to my class. If any bullying happens after the presentation, then I will report them to a member of Learning Support and make sure they get a real shouting at. Or I might get them to bring the pupil's/s' parents in if it is very insulting.