Open Theism Discussion Board
  HomeLog InRegisterSearch the ForumHelp
   
Open Theism Discussion Board > Public Forums > General Chat > (No Subject)
 
Forum Quick Jump
 
New Topic Post Reply Printable Version
[ << Previous Thread | Next Thread >> | Show Newest Post First ]

Tigress
Registered Member


Date Joined Feb 2003
Total Posts : 1252
 
   Posted 12/2/2003 10:21 AM (GMT -6)    Quote This PostAlert An Admin About This Post.
Hi All!
I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! I, my parents and my brother got to talking about how they might have to sell their house soon and how my brother is really depressed and stressed out about the possibility that he might have to live independently. He was tested for Asperger's Syndrome and he has it in spades, apparently. About 98% of Aspergians cannot live independently. My brother believes he's one of those who can't. He e-mailed me this test to measure Autism/Asperger's Quotient or AQ and those who score 32 or higher usually have some form of Asperger's or Autism. While my mom scored only 9, I scored a whopping 29. I sort of figured I was a lot like my brother, though, because I can relate to a lot of what he describes about his condition. Anyway, here's the test for you all to take if you want to: http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/9.12/aqtest.html

I'd be curious to hear about the results. I KNOW DLW has got to be pretty close to Aspergian/Autistic!Big Smile


Tigress Tigress

"Name a shrub after me. Preferably one that's prickly and difficult to eradicate."

-Captain Jack Aubrey
"Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World"

Back to Top
 

honorman
Registered Member


Date Joined Oct 2002
Total Posts : 1137
 
   Posted 12/2/2003 10:34 AM (GMT -6)    Quote This PostAlert An Admin About This Post.
We thought our son had it, and my wife, being nurse practioner, has read up quite a bit on it. But we had him tested and just found out he is simply very highly intelligent. Do you believe your brother has it? Has he seen anyone for it, or has he only taken the test?
Back to Top
 

Alan Rhoda
Registered Member




Date Joined May 2002
Total Posts : 680
 
   Posted 12/2/2003 10:38 AM (GMT -6)    Quote This PostAlert An Admin About This Post.
Wow! I scored a 31. Barely missed the cut.

Alan
Back to Top
 

Tigress
Registered Member


Date Joined Feb 2003
Total Posts : 1252
 
   Posted 12/2/2003 11:23 AM (GMT -6)    Quote This PostAlert An Admin About This Post.
quote:
Originally posted by honorman

We thought our son had it, and my wife, being nurse practioner, has read up quite a bit on it. But we had him tested and just found out he is simply very highly intelligent. Do you believe your brother has it? Has he seen anyone for it, or has he only taken the test?



I asked him if he was tested for it and he said yes, that he definitely has it. He's been seeing a counselor for at least 10 years now and it reached a point when she said that she wouldn't be able to help him any further until she could conclude whether or not he has it. And she, in fact, was able to diagnose him as having it within the last year, through whatever means she as a counselor had to use in order to confirm this.

That news really discouraged me because I don't want to get stuck taking care of him after our parents are gone. I'm not the most nurturing person in the world and I do all I can to simplify my life as much as possible, but the idea of taking care of my brother or my parents absolutely paralyzes me. My mom asked my brother what he'd do if both she and our dad passed away in an accident or something, and my brother said, "You don't want to know." That's how serious his condition is, and how unable he feels to live independently. He has attemted suicide many times in the past, and we worry that he might try it again, if life gets too stressful for him - like if he can't handle living on his own.

I really don't know what to do. He corresponds on a chatroom with other Aspergians and he's researched about it, and there are no assisted living facilities available specifically for Aspergians. He said he liked college dorm life because of the structure. He could go to the cafeteria and just pick out what food he wanted to eat and most everything else was taken care of for him. He says something like grocery shopping is completely overwhelming to him because looking at the shelves full of all sorts of different brands of foods looks like a big jumble to him. It's like sensory overload for him.

If any of you feel led to pray for him and my parents and me, I'd really appreciate it. Asperger's is not something that can be fixed or cured with medication or anything as it's caused by the actual structure of the organ of the brain. His brain is shaped differently than those without Asperger's, so there's nothing that can be done to get rid of the Syndrome, short of God working a miracle.


Tigress Tigress

"Name a shrub after me. Preferably one that's prickly and difficult to eradicate."

-Captain Jack Aubrey
"Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World"

Back to Top
 

Laplace
Registered Member


Date Joined Apr 2003
Total Posts : 138
 
   Posted 12/2/2003 1:09 PM (GMT -6)    Quote This PostAlert An Admin About This Post.
Tigress,

Asperger's is a relatively recent development only added officially in the latest version of DSM (1994). It is still debated among psychiatrists whether it is a form of autism or something unique.

In addition, I will say that there are many people who DO have autistic tendancies but are not necessarily autistic (maybe they have PDD, or Asperger's or just have a different personality). It has been theorized that Einstein and Newton may have had Asperger's because they displayed a lot of the classical symptoms.

I mention them because I want to say that even if one has Asperger's that does not mean it will restrict them from development into a productive, independent person in society.

My main fear is that those diagnosed with Asperger's, ADHD, or any milder form of Autism may feel that they are "destined" for not living a normal life, and that is just not the case. True, they certainly may have difficulties, and yes, medications that can aleviate the mental distress should be used. However, I disagree that proper social skills cannot be learned.

What gives me the right to say this? Well, given my childhood and the testing I went through, there is a good chance I may have had Asperger's. Still, despite the unknown handicap with my parent's help (and God's of course) I was able to assimilate into society and learn coping skills to handle the emotional turmoil which can take place within. Trust me, it isn't easy, but it can be done.

And your brother. He's already lived on his own at college, and recognizes what he has. With the right medication, the right habits, and coping skills, I believe that he can learn to live a life that is fulfilling.


"I say we blast the meatbag, Master" -HK-47, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic

Back to Top
 

DLW
Registered Member


Date Joined Apr 2003
Total Posts : 2457
 
   Posted 12/2/2003 2:07 PM (GMT -6)    Quote This PostAlert An Admin About This Post.
Only got a 14.

Looks like we got next to nada en commun.

BanditdlwEight Ball
Back to Top
 

streetpreacher
Registered Member


Date Joined Dec 2001
Total Posts : 16
 
   Posted 12/2/2003 5:22 PM (GMT -6)    Quote This PostAlert An Admin About This Post.
Got a 26! I always score in the middle on these crazy tests.


Today Lucifer is probably surveying the church just as Bonaparte did China. One can almost behold the fear in his eyes as he thinks of the Church's unmeasured potential and growls, "Let the Church sleep! If she wakes, she will shake the world." Is not the Church the sleeping giant of today?.... - Leonard Ravenhill

Back to Top
 

selah
Registered Member




Date Joined Oct 2001
Total Posts : 1210
 
   Posted 12/2/2003 9:13 PM (GMT -6)    Quote This PostAlert An Admin About This Post.
Well, I scored a 32...someone tell me this is contextual...

off to the doctor,
love
selah


"When we acknowledge that all of life is sacred and that each act is an act of choice and therefore sacred, then life is a sacred dance lived consciously each moment. When we live at this level, we participate in the creation of a better world."

Scout Cloud Lee

Back to Top
 

Tom
Registered Member




Date Joined Jul 2001
Total Posts : 10353
 
   Posted 12/3/2003 1:45 AM (GMT -6)    Quote This PostAlert An Admin About This Post.
I scored a 03. What exactly does that mean again?

Tom Bandit
Back to Top
 

chestertonian
Registered Member


Date Joined Nov 2003
Total Posts : 31
 
   Posted 12/3/2003 2:16 AM (GMT -6)    Quote This PostAlert An Admin About This Post.
I got thirty five. Do I win?
Do you think left-handedness makes a difference (sorry to bring it up again)? I read somewhere that it does. (he says vaguely, remembering that he may just have dreamt it. His dreams are quite banal these days, and could easily involve reading the BPJ).
Back to Top
 

Tigress
Registered Member


Date Joined Feb 2003
Total Posts : 1252
 
   Posted 12/3/2003 4:11 AM (GMT -6)    Quote This PostAlert An Admin About This Post.
quote:
Originally posted by chestertonian

I got thirty five. Do I win?
Do you think left-handedness makes a difference (sorry to bring it up again)? I read somewhere that it does. (he says vaguely, remembering that he may just have dreamt it. His dreams are quite banal these days, and could easily involve reading the BPJ).



YES! Or at least in my case it does because I'm a lefty. My brother is not, though.


Tigress Tigress

"Name a shrub after me. Preferably one that's prickly and difficult to eradicate."

-Captain Jack Aubrey
"Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World"

Back to Top
 

Tigress
Registered Member


Date Joined Feb 2003
Total Posts : 1252
 
   Posted 12/3/2003 4:18 AM (GMT -6)    Quote This PostAlert An Admin About This Post.
quote:
Originally posted by DLW

Only got a 14.

Looks like we got next to nada en commun.

BanditdlwEight Ball



Man, you show a lot of the classic signs of an Aspergian, so I really gotta wonder if you did the test correctly.....Bandit


Tigress Tigress

"Name a shrub after me. Preferably one that's prickly and difficult to eradicate."

-Captain Jack Aubrey
"Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World"

Back to Top
 

DLW
Registered Member


Date Joined Apr 2003
Total Posts : 2457
 
   Posted 12/3/2003 4:38 AM (GMT -6)    Quote This PostAlert An Admin About This Post.
Whatever....

dlwEvil Tongue


Niebuhr thought that sustained moral energy in politics depended on religion's power to mobilize reason along with self-transcending love. The prophetic tradition, meanwhile, gave Jews and Christians some protection against the temptation to identify their social causes with God's will. Lincoln's second inaugural address expressed the prophetic insight, "The almighty has His own purposes."

Back to Top
 

Tigress
Registered Member


Date Joined Feb 2003
Total Posts : 1252
 
   Posted 12/3/2003 5:14 AM (GMT -6)    Quote This PostAlert An Admin About This Post.
quote:
Originally posted by DLW

Whatever....

dlwEvil Tongue



KissesI missed you dah-ling!Gorgeous


Tigress Tigress

"Name a shrub after me. Preferably one that's prickly and difficult to eradicate."

-Captain Jack Aubrey
"Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World"

Back to Top
 
New Topic Post Reply Printable Version
   
Forum Information
Currently it is Monday, November 09, 2026 1:23 PM (GMT -6)
There are a total of 97,718 posts in 6,040 threads.
In the last 3 days there were 0 new threads and 0 reply posts. View Active Threads