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domingo, julho 05, 2009

The curious incident of the straight-A student

Uma interessante reportagem do Guardian sobre um caso de sindroma de Asperger:
Asperger's is an autistic spectrum disorder, and while children with the syndrome often have strong cognitive development, they can be socially inhibited, have trouble empathising and display unusual obsessions and verbal tics - repeating catchphrases or jokes, for instance.

"I don't think I've got a disability. I like being me."
The diagnosis of Asperger's felt, he says, "like a label. I felt like a jam jar." You can see what he means, for the word conjures images of The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time, Mark Haddon's bestselling novel about a boy with Asperger's that has come, for most people, to represent the definitive account of the condition. But when Jan shows me Alex's Facebook page, I'm amazed; on screen is someone almost unrecognisable - witty, acute, confident. "I like it on Facebook," Alex says simply. "It's removed, it's detached. It's just me talking to one other person at a time, so I'm OK."

"As soon as you say Asperger's, people think he's going to have glasses - which I do - he's going to be pretty intelligent and he's not going to talk much," he pauses one beat before setting up his punchline: "And he's going to play chess."
Does he play chess? "No, I play guitar."

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