My Brother Timothy: The Reason I Have a Page About AS

My youngest brother, Timothy, is sixteen years old and has Asperger's Syndrome. He attends eleventh grade at a regular school, where he is mainstreamed into all subjects and receives additional support in the form of speech therapy and activities to prepare him and one other student for changes in the classroom environment (such as changing units of study, and different gym activities). He is a happy, healthy child, who enjoys soccer, reading, riding his bike, and playing video games.

Tim, despite his struggles with Asperger's, is amazing. Since he was three, he's had a facination with anything electronic, such as hand-held video games, various applicances including the family VCR, and computers. He started playing Mario Brothers on our Nintendo (back when there was only the regular Nintendo) when he was 3 1/2.

Tim has always liked music, especially classical. His favorite music, it seems, is the soundtrack from the movie Fantasia, and he especially likes "The Nutcracker Suite."

He also has an incredible aptitude for math. By age 9, he could not only add and subtract, but also multiply, divide, use a number line (including negative numbers), square a number and take the square root of a number. He has done some basic algebra using variables, and has studied basic geometry, including diameters, circumferences, etc.

Tim's problems lie in his communication skills. He is easily confused by directions, such as "Go across the room," because his mind can't process the word "across" - in his mind, he visualizes "a cross," and the command doesn't make sense to him. When he gets disoriented and confused, he becomes frustrated, even angry, and can be quite difficult to handle.

My mom has an email account so that she can communicate with parents of children with AS. PLEASE - if you *think* your child *may* have AS, do not email her for advice! She's only interested in hearing from parents whose children have been diagnosed with AS! Her email address is mplack17@comcast.net.

Photos: TOP, Tim's third grade photo, taken in April, 1998; MIDDLE: Tim at age 8, his second grade picture (my personal favorite photo ever taken of him); BOTTOM: Tim at age 6, taken at home.