Yes, I know that is it Sept 3rd and I am posting day 2. I am not behind - yet. You have to live the whole day to find out what new thing you learned that day, sillies! So my thirty day scrapbook/journal will actually end on Oct. 1st.
Last night Gary and I saw the movie "Adam." It is a sweet love story about an adult man living with Asperger's Syndrome. I have to say that Hugh Dancy's performance was spot on. He was able to capture the monotone speech patterns, absolute cluelessness in social situations, even the slightly stiff walk without seeming stupid or mentally slow or like Rainman or Forrest Gump. Of course, no one with Asperger's Syndrome has EVERY symptom of the disorder. But the character, Adam, shared many traits with my Cole. I think Gary and I found the story more funny and more sad than the average movie patron.
In the movie, when Adam opened his cupboard and revealed boxes and boxes of macaroni and cheese I burst out laughing. Seriously, that is the only thing Cole would ever eat if we let him. When we were leaving the theater, I heard another boy protesting to his mother that he eats other things besides macaroni and cheese.
So now I am wondering if a desire to eat only macaroni and cheese is on the list of symptoms that specialists look for when diagnosing Asperger's Syndrome. When I sat in the interview with the psychologists that were testing Cole, did I say the magic words "macaroni and cheese" and tell them that indeed, Cole has Asperger's Syndrome?
The movie itself was good and had a good positive ending, but I left the theater tears. I made it to the restroom and cried heaving sobs. Everything hit a little too close to home.
Go see Adam. There are so many adults who never get a diagnosis and somehow stumble through life. That "wierd" person you know might just have this disorder. With a little patience and understanding, you may get to know a spectacular person.
