Thursday, October 26, 2006
To be Asperger or to be NT?
Dear Darren,
Looking back, I can see that in the early years after your diagnosis of Asperger Syndrome, we spent a lot of time trying to teach you to be like those who are NT, or neurotypical, which is what most people call normal. I don’t want to regret our hard work. We live in an NT world. And in order to succeed, it is usually best to learn to speak the prevalent language, the NT language.
Like any parent, I want you to be happy, and I believe that happiness is partially created by a sense of accomplishment. I want you to do well in this NT world, so I teach you about this NT world. But I hope that you did not think that you were supposed to become an NT. You have Asperger and we are proud of who you are.
Love,
Mom
Looking back, I can see that in the early years after your diagnosis of Asperger Syndrome, we spent a lot of time trying to teach you to be like those who are NT, or neurotypical, which is what most people call normal. I don’t want to regret our hard work. We live in an NT world. And in order to succeed, it is usually best to learn to speak the prevalent language, the NT language.
Like any parent, I want you to be happy, and I believe that happiness is partially created by a sense of accomplishment. I want you to do well in this NT world, so I teach you about this NT world. But I hope that you did not think that you were supposed to become an NT. You have Asperger and we are proud of who you are.
Love,
Mom
