Autistic Harry Potter Fans

[Coldwindblows]

Originally Posted by merrymarge

I have read that too many young children are being diagnosed with Autism when they aren't really autistic. these children are just not very outgoing, more like they are shy. Once they get to know people and how to behave in different social settings, then they are all right. I hope I haven't offended anyone, I just don't really know.

I used to think that was the case with me until my mother showed me a psychological report from when I was 8 where the psychologist was saying I showed a ton of signs of autism....

Blew my mind.

[arithmancer]

Originally Posted by merrymarge

I have read that too many young children are being diagnosed with Autism when they aren't really autistic. these children are just not very outgoing, more like they are shy. Once they get to know people and how to behave in different social settings, then they are all right. I hope I haven't offended anyone, I just don't really know.

Asperger's is more likely to be a late diagnosis. To fit the criteria the child has to have normal to high intelligence, and normal to accelerated language development. The slow development of language and/or regression in language skills is a marker of many other forms of autism.

I only had reason top believe I should even look into this when my son started school. He could not keep it together for 6 hours with all the noise and chaos that occurs in a 22 child kindergarten classroom. Life is a lot better now that we know, as school gives him the option to go to a quiet room when it all gets overwhelming (among other helpful accommodations and services...)

As a mom, I enjoy reading the posts of teens with Asperger's.

[Queen of Wise]

I have two cousins (brothers) both with autism, one is 7 and the other is 12 and they both enjoy the movies very much. They can't really sit still long enough to read the books, and the 7 year old is still too young for the reading level, but the 12 year old also prefers the movies because of all the action and imagery.

[dragoneatschees]

Hello

I just want to say thank you for making this thread as it has made my day. My brother is severly autistic [he is the worse in fully autistic school]. Also he has other speical needs such as ADHD and other things.

He loves the books and brings him out of his little world. He loves the books/movies however belives that this world is true which always makes me smile. He loves harry potter and I am glad I read it to him. However I don't think he fully understands the concept of HP but allows him to communitcate with us with is always wonderful.

[Durmstrangirl73]

My son is 12 years old and was recently diagnosed with nonverbal learning disorder. Although some of his symptoms are similar to those of Asperger's Syndrome, he is not on the high-functioning autism spectrum. He sees a psychotherapist every other week to help him vent and discuss his everyday goings on both at school and at home. He is very verbal and has an excellent vocabulary, but has alot of difficulty "seeing the big picture". He gets easily frustrated, depressed, and angry because he feels he has so many shortcomings and that he is not accepted by his peers. Unfortunately, most doctors just want to push a cocktail of drugs onto these children that will only mask the problem, and may only do more bad than good; they can even make their symptoms worse or cause other ones.

I am trying to get him to read Harry Potter because Harry really was an outcast until he went to Hogwarts and befriended other children who were like him-wizards. Even though he was still exceptional and different from his friends because of his history, he was still accepted by his friends. Children who are exceptional in their own ways can feel special and accepted in the right environment, and that is what I'm trying to make him understand. Very soon he might have to be placed in a different school environment because he cannot attend a mainstream high school. At least there he will be with other children who have similar disabilities and who will be more accepting of who he is. I'm glad Harry Potter can teach children that all children are special in their own way!

[HP4567fan]

I'm autistic and have aspergers myself and i like Harry Potter though i don't care for the books but i kinda prefer the movies over the books myself.

[Durmstrangirl73]

I prefer the books, but everyone has their own tastes, right? My son never got to read the books,(he doesn't want to) but now he wants to read The Hunger Games, so I bought him the first book in the trilogy. Anything to get him off the video games for a while. I think they just make him more agitated.

[Quickquill]

Originally Posted by coffeeandtv

(nice avatar, Kimagine!)

What I find interesting in all of this is that in my "travels" as a Mom of 2 1/2 yr old twin girls with autism, is that the "pioneers" in newer research & treatment are now using terms such as "neuro a-typical" which encompasses all neurological disorders. The good news is that they're finding therapy treatments which help autism are also working on other neurological disorders. (I do not know about Tourette's in that...anyone?) The bad news is that it is taking a looooooooong amount of time getting these therapies into the mainstream of medicine.

Now that I have read all the wonderful, funny, and deeply moving comments here, I will try my girls out on the HP movies today! (right after music therapy.....:wink

Two an a half might be a little early for any kid to get into HP, but the question is, do they relate only to actual films, or can they relate to animations as well? What draws their attention? Do they seem interested in Sesame Street, or other puppet shows? Do they seem interested when you read to them? What sort of thing grabs their attention? You might try some "age appropriate" stimulation as well. They are at a relatively early developmental stage, where even normal kids don't always talk much. Just try to teach them whatever you can, just like you would teach any child that age. They might surprise you by picking up math or reading early. Have you tried counting games? Do you sing to them? Play finger games or other physical games? Don't deprive them of normal developmental experiences just because they were diagnosed as autistic. Autistics may not react normally to social stimuli, but clearly they are capable of learning something from it anyway, or none of them would ever learn anything. And the literature says that many autistics have above average inteligence.

Don't forget that twins are individuals each with her own strengths and interests. They don't always have to do the same thing just because they were born together, although they might show an interest in the same thing at the same time. Twins in general have a social advantage over "only" children because they have to learn to deal with the social ramifications of sharing from the day they're born. I don't know how that affects autistics, but I suspect that being twins may give them some sort of advantage even if you can't see it yet.

Originally Posted by leah49

I have been diagnosed with Asperger symptoms, but not straight out Asperger's. I like being able to find someone in the series I can relate to. I also like finding fans I can relate to. It makes me feel better. I don't feel like I'm the only one out here with this problem.

When I was a kid, Asperger's syndrome hadn't yet been named, so I wasn't diagnosed with it. But when we were trying to get our son's disgraphia officially recognized, one of the psychologists mentioned it, and his description of Asperger's syndrome fit me to a T. I was pathologically shy growing up, and still had trouble talking to strangers on the phone until age 30. My mother always says that I'm tactless, so I guess I lack something in the sympathy department. I retreated from my social problems into art and reading, and animal sound imitation.

I never had more than one or two close friends when I was growing up, and was obviously not adept at socialising. I was always on the fringe of any group. I failed miserably at all my attempts to lead any kind of group, from camp counselor to student teaching to art teacher. I'm a great teacher, but only one on one. But hey, it takes all kinds to make up society, and some of us are more cut out to be the tutors or workers, or the mavericks, rather than group leaders.

What is Aspergers Syndrome anyway? Or ADHD for that matter? These are not ailments. They are labels for groups of character traits. It just explains why some kids in the normal spectrum tend to get marginalized socially or underachieve academically. I suppose that next they'll find some group of characteristics that typify bullies and give it a fancy name. With all these "syndromes" they keep coming up with, I get the feeling that "normal" kids are soon going to find themselves in the minority.

I'm not sure I ever knew a "normal" kid. Everyone had some kind of problem. Kids with learning disabilities were either considered slow, or stupid. If their parents cared about their grades, they got them tutors. Nowadays, every kind of learning deficiency has a name, from dyslexia to discalculia. Physical normal used to run the gamut from star athletes to the kid who couldn't hit a baseball no matter how hard he tried, or who always came in last in any race. Social norms ran from the popular kids and their hanger ons, and gangs, to the social outcasts, whether "nerdy" or not.

So these days I might be diagnosed with Aspergers Syndrome, and probably with ADD as well, (since it runs in families - big shock, character traits are genetic.) So don't worry too much if you or your kid has been diagnosed with asperger's syndrome. All it means is that although you'll have some problems, you will eventualy work them out and learn to live with it and function in society. Autism is more extreme,and has always been recognized as outside the normal spectrum, but even some autistics have eventually found a way to function in society even if in a limited fashion.

Anyhow, yeah I like Harry Potter, and Lord of the Rings, all of Rober Heinlein's books, Anne McCaffrey's Pern series, sci-fi and fantasy literature in general, historical fiction, history - particularly ancient history, archaeological literature, anything about animals including animal psychology, and science.