Question 3 - Otis and Ava

[Diana S]

Are there ways in which Otis and Ava's having Asperger's syndrome is similar to the radiation experiment that Marylou experienced? How are the two situations different?

[Carol]

I know that there are several of you ladies in our group that study Asperger's, and my sister is teaching two students this year with it. So I've asked a couple of them about it, and I know some too. Many of them have fairly normal function, and others don't. I personally found Otis quite normal (such as he is), and to be that smart he was given some good talents. Ava wasn't quite as gifted, she didn't really make a big impression on me.

[Ashley]

That's a really interesting question, Diana. Currently, there's a lot of hype connecting conditions on the autism spectrum to vaccinations, but of course no science or research can validate it. But maybe Stuckey-French is trying to connect the two? Maybe she's suggesting a quasi-legal mandate for children to be vaccinated (e.g., to enter public school, day care) is a tame form of being given, by the gov't, a cup of radioactive goo to drink while pregnant. But boy. As a someone VERY pro-vaccination, I'd argue with Stuckey-French about that until the cows come home.

In terms of similarities, I wonder if parents question where the Asperger's leaves off and the child's actual "self" exists. In other words, how much of Ava and Otis's personalities are Asperger's and how much is just THEM, like with Mary Lou--how much could be attributed to the radiation? That said, particularly in the adult ASD community, folks with autism often embrace the "autism" label, because they view it so intertwined with their identity and a significant part of who they are.