Because AS is relatively new in the US, most of our current understanding comes from children diagnosed with it. However, there is a generation of adults with AS and probable AS. There are few professionals competent to recognize AS in adults in this country. However, Tony Attwood has joked that universities are like ‘sheltered workshops’ for adult ‘Aspies’. There is intense speculation that Albert Einstein and Glen Gould (composer) had AS.
For a viewpoint on what life is like as an adult ‘aspie’, I highly recommend “Pretending to Be Normal” by Liane Holiday Willey. She is an articulate and talented writer and speaker. She and her daughter have AS.
There is growing evidence that individuals with AS process the world in fundamentally different ways than do ‘neurotypicals’. It is my contention that this way represents a needed perspective for our externally focused, peer-pressured, consumer-driven society. It is my hope that my son will grow up in a world that values his perspective and the contributions that he will make to it.
