Hi,  My name is Leanne, and I'm 20.  I like shopping, and I really care about how I look and whether or not my clothes are in style.  Pretty typical for a teen or twenty something.  Right?  Well, I'm about to tell you something that may surprise you!  I have been diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome (now called High-Functioning Autism).  Although I'm not a teenager anymore, I do remember what it was like to be one.

 

One of the things I didn't like when I was a teenager was that I had to have a one to one aide at school.  The reason for this is because I noticed that none of my peers had an aide at school, so I thought it wasn't cool to have one.  When I was in (I want to say) 6th grade, I used to be SO mean to my aide, that sometimes I would make her cry!  I knew I couldn't hide the fact that I had to have an aide from my peers, so I'd guess I wanted to make it obvious to them that I thought it wasn't cool to have one.  When we are in Kindergarten, everybody's social status is about equal.  But when you get older, and you start to watch more teen movies and TV shows, that's when you start to notice that not everyone is treated equally.  The school social groups (sometimes called cliques) portrayed in teen shows and movies typically include the 'popular' kids, the 'not so popular' kids, the jocks, the nerds, etc.  And the popular kids tend to pick on, spread rumors about, or reject the not so popular kids.  I went to a private school 2nd-8th grade.  At a private school, kids come from many different school districts, rather than just two or three towns, like a public school.  I don't remember my school district upholding the social hierarchy very strictly, but I knew that some of those other districts might have a more rigid social hierarchy.  Although my school district (Victor, NY) had a very good reputation (and was one of the fastest growing school districts), I didn't know where the other districts in my area stood. 

 

Another thing about when I was a teenager was that I used to think my parents just weren't cool.  For example, when they would say things like, "You know what I would do is I would............."  I would often feel like saying stuff like, "I'm NOT YOU, mom!  When YOU'RE in a tough situation, do YOU always do whatever YOUR mom would do in the same situation?!  I don't think so!  Different people do things in different ways, mom!"  Or, "Dad, I'm a different person than you!  Do YOU always handle tough situations in the same way YOUR dad would handle them?!  Probably not!  everyone handles things differently, dad!"  And I didn't like when they talked about what would've happened when they were kids.  When they would say things like, "You know, when I was your age I used to..........." or, "In my day..............."  I would sometimes want to say things like, "Dad, it's not your day anymore!  When you were a teenager, did YOU and YOUR friends always just do whatever YOUR dad and HIS friends would've done when HE was in high school?!  No!  Get with the times!"  or, "Mom, it's a new day!  When YOU were my age, did things always happen the same way they happened when YOUR mom was a teenager?!  I don't think they did!  Things change over time!" 

 

Now I think you understand what I'm trying to say.  I think you know now that there are many ways that people on the Autism Spectrum are like neurotypical people, and many ways in which they are different.