Asperger's and My Brother

My brother Drew was diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome when he was younger. Recently my brother joined a school play and he had an incident with another student that was also in the play.  When the incident was addressed I calmly explained that my brother was on the spectrum and that he had Asperger's syndrome and the director told me that it was no excuse that he should know the difference between right and wrong and that if there was another issue with my brother that he would be out of the play.  This spiked my interest in Asperger's syndrome more than it had before because I knew that these directors had to have specific training to work with kiddos. I googled Asperger's syndrome and found an article that I liked and thought was interestng. My brother is a very literal perosn and asks questions to find out the answer.  He is such a sweet little man but he can be semi awkward in some social situations. Sometimes he doesn't make eye contact when he talks to people. Drew sometimes twirls and spins around in a room if it is too loud in a room and generally tries to be louder than the noise already going on in the room. When he spins and twirls he seems like he is really clumsy and uncoordinated  He is so set in his ways that I wasn't shocked to see something about routines and rituals that they refuse to change and if they change can deeply upset them. He has to do things the same way when he does them every time he does them because he likes the repitition. He also owns more orange and more tie dye tee shirts than any eight year old I know and he wears them repeatedly.  Drew really likes Transformers and Switch and Go Dinos. Everytime we are at the store he drags me down to the toy section and we see if there are any new ones. It is so cool to see the fascination he has with them. He is really musically talented. When we were cleaning up the yard once I was playing music and he fell in love with the song "Ho Hey" by the Lumineers.  We are always singing it when he asks to sing it and I find it adorable that he is learning the notes and words! Drew's teacher told me one day that he had asked to sing a song in class and she started humming it to me.  Turns out Drew stood up and sang my solo from District Music Festival last year.  He had only heard me sing it once and that was at Districts and he remembered it.  He asks to sing this along with "Ho Hey" now. Drew is very energetic and loves his hamster.  He is a joy and a laugh every single day and I love him.

Drew goes to occupational therapy every Friday morning. One of the many routines that he follows weekly. I found it interesting that Asperger's syndrome has only recently been recognized as its own disorder and that it is actually becoming more common than autism itself. I also found it interesting that it is four times more likely to occur in males than females. Children are normally diagnosed between the ages of two and six.  Children if they have Asperger's are also likely to be linked to other conditions like ADHD, depression, and others.  There isn't a prevention for Asperger's nor is there a set way to treat it. Some children, like Drew, go to occupational therapy and social skills therapy. And like any child support of the positive behavior can help reduce the negative. I have seen all of the therapies first hand and I know that my family is extremely thankful for all of the support that Drew gets from all the people around him. I am so proud of the person Drew is and who he is becoming. Drew has touched my heart and I know that the transition from high school to college will be difficult on both of us. I know that I will have to call and talk to him all of the time and that we will have to Skype twice a week!

Running Barefoot

I recently read an article in the New York Times that was all about barefoot running and its benefits.  A man was told after his surgery not to run because he would make his condition worse.  The man couldn’t do that so he sought out ways to run that wouldn’t be harmful to his body.  This same man did research on shoes and what I got out of it is that less shoe is more. He quit wearing shoes and his injuries ceased and he went on to win many marathons as he got older and older.  When humans first starting running way back when we didn’t have shoes and we didn’t run for sport or profession.  Humans ran barefoot and time has evolved us to believe that shoes are the only way to run better and to prevent injury.  In the seventies shoes were lighter and not ‘supportive’ this made people have to depend solely on their bodies natural shock absorption. Injuries were also less in this time. Since shoes have evolved and are made for specific types of feet and how the foot specifically strikes the ground.  If shoes are a problem take them off. 

Is there really one way to run? People run in so many different forms and in so many different shoes.  Running fast is all about mechanics.  How your arms are in relation to your body, how much you swing your arms, how your body is leaning, and how your foot strikes the ground.  For some it isn’t even about running fast but about running efficiently.  There is so much that goes into making your body move forward and it is fascinating to think that shoes could be something that causes your body harm rather than helps it.  Shoes, those things that you put on your feet every morning to wear because it is socially unacceptable to be barefoot and they protect your feet from harm. I would have never thought that shoes could be a problem and cause possible injury.  As a runner, I am curious to see the further development about barefoot running.  If I am feeling up to it, I may even try it but for now I am going to stick to my handy Sauconys and Nikes.