Friday 25 July 2014

Book Review: Freaks, Geeks and Asperger Syndrome



Freaks, Geeks & Asperger Syndrome:
A User Guide to Adolescence
Luke Jackson
2002, Jessica Kingsley
ISBN-13: 978 1 84310 098 0

Freaks, Geeks and Asperger Syndrome


Luke Jackson’s account of adolescence with Asperger Syndrome, which he wrote at the age of thirteen, is lively and informal in style.  He is self-aware and writes with a considerable amount of humour about his own condition and the associated conditions which affect various members of his family.  He presents a positive but realistic picture of Asperger Syndrome: having said that he views it as a gift rather than a disability; he also acknowledges some of the more challenging aspects which can be experienced by those with Asperger Syndrome. However, I feel that the book often concentrates on earlier childhood rather than adolescence, so the sub-title ‘A User Guide to Adolescence’ might seem a bit misleading in certain chapters.  Many of the issues discussed, however, are important in both childhood and adolescence.

Luke starts off by talking about Asperger Syndrome, where it fits within the Autism Spectrum and about diagnosis as a label versus a signpost. I think, in many ways these first few chapters are the most significant in the book as far as awareness is concerned. He makes the important point that many young people (or even older people) with Asperger Syndrome would rather know why they are different to others as this helps them to develop strategies for addressing the challenges of life and to understand themselves better.  He also has an excellent discussion about whether young people are likely to exaggerate their symptoms to fit their diagnosis, which he felt was often a fallacious argument; something with which I would agree from my own experience.

In the fourth and fifth chapter, Luke provides excellent discussions of fixations and sensory sensitivity, both of which seem to me to be balanced and well researched.  He generally tries to take into account that others may have different experiences to him within Asperger Syndrome, but sometimes the tendency to think that everyone is like him or can be helped by the same strategies which have helped him comes out (he is not unique in this – many books written by authors who are not on the Autism Spectrum have a similar tendency).  Chapter six, where he discusses physiological differences, is a case in point: he majors on allergy induced autism and the gluten-free and casein-free diet which has helped his family so much, but it is unclear how common this form of Autistic Spectrum condition is in reality. (I suspect that if it was very common, the gluten-free, casein-free diet would now be much more widespread among people with Asperger Syndrome than it appears to be, but I don’t have good scientific evidence for or against this so would need to do more research.)

The latter part of the book tends to focus on topics which are more closely associated with school, and provides some interesting suggestions for insights and strategies to assist Asperger students to get the best out of their school life. Many of these can also be extended into other areas of life with a bit of thought or adaptation although this is not explicitly addressed in the book.  Some of the suggestions may seem a bit extreme to teachers and other adults who are trying to assist but in general the solutions suggested are interesting and reasonable, and those which seem more extreme give an insight into the way that the brain of (this particular) person with Asperger Syndrome works.  For example, Luke is very strongly against homework and cannot see the point in it as he has a very black and white divide between school and home.  He extends this strong dislike to all students with Asperger Syndrome, which in my experience is not the case. Also he does not fully engage with arguments for homework such as developing independent working.

The book closes with a glossary of idioms, which Luke uses consciously throughout the book, partly to help his Asperger readers to appreciate idiom more easily, and a useful appendix of resources.

The book as a whole is an easy, fluid read and would be suitable for both young people and adults; it should do much to raise awareness of the gifts and challenges of Asperger Syndrome.  It is enhanced by pertinent drawings contributed by Luke’s siblings.  Although Luke tries to take into account others’ differing experiences, and to a large extent succeeds in this, the book is very much a personal account so it is worthwhile reading other accounts of Asperger Syndrome and Autism Spectrum Conditions to gain a fuller picture. Several suitable books are listed in the resources section at the back of the book.


Saturday 5 July 2014

On the Importance of the Eucharist

At the end of May, I went to Coventry for the installation of one of my friends as Canon of the Cathedral. It was a beautiful weekend in many ways: meeting lots of lovely tweeps, conversation, laughter, food and last but definitely not least: the eucharist.  I was once again overwhelmed by the presence of God in the Eucharist, so I thought I would like to draw together some of my thoughts in this area.

It all started at my confirmation.  I was baptised and confirmed into the Church of England as an adult and unusually had a gap of six months between baptism and confirmations.  Although it is common for those baptised as an adult to take communion before their confirmation, I did not do so.  I didn't know what to expect at my first communion but having come from a background which was memorialist in outlook and did not place a great deal of emphasis on the eucharist, or the Lord's Supper as they would call it, I certainly did not expect the overwhelming sense of the real presence of God which I experienced on receiving communion at my confirmation.  It was one of the most amazing, enlightening and transforming experiences of my life to date.  It is difficult to describe the sense of the love and presence of God which I felt: there are no words which are adequate to describe it.  ever since that day, the mystery of the eucharist has been a key place of encounter with the presence of God and a place of being fed and strengthened.

This might seem strange, especially from the outside, as God is everywhere at all times and the eucharist 'only' a ritual when looked at from a literal point of view.  Certainly, God's presence is also felt elsewehre in nature, in others, often in surprising places and situations.   However, for me, and for many others in my experience, the eucharist is not just a ritual.  It is a mystery where the presence of God and God's awesome love are made manifest through the humble medium of bread and wine. This awesome sense of God's love  has been conveyed through these humble symbols throughout the centuries since Jesus' Last Supper with his disciples and are a continual expression of Christ's incarnation and passion.

This is the amazing mystery of which St. Francis of Assisi writes so movingly in his Letter to the Entire Order:

O sublime humility! 
O humble sublimity!
The Lord of the universe,
God and the Son of God,
so humbles himself
that for our salvation
he hides himself
under an ordinary piece of bread!

From 'A Letter to the Entire Order' by St Francis, reproduced in A Sense of the Divine: A Franciscan Reader for the Christian Year, European Province of the Society of St Francis 2001. 

 




Welcome - First Post

Welcome to the Wanderings of WobblyGoose: a random walk (or sometimes crawl) through the journey of life. I have followed various people's blogs for several years and been much inspired, but never had the courage to write myself until now.  This blog is an attempt to formulate some of my thoughts, reflections and ideas and have somewhere to respond to the inspiration I have received from others' blogs.

WobblyGoose has a wide range of interests, from science through social sciences, history and theology. The main focuses of this blog are likely to be around Christian Spirituality and disability.  However, things may develop in other directions as the random walk progresses!

I hope you enjoy the blog.  All opinions are my own unless otherwise attributed.

Thank you.

Wobbly Goose