There are many people in our society today who live with different types of disabilities. One particular type of disability happens to be Asperger’s Syndrome. The big problem for people who live with Asperger’s syndrome is that they lack the ability to show emotion most of the time, or they find it very hard to be socially acceptable. For this reason, having a great adulthood experience for people living with Asperger’s syndrome seems impossible. People diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome can still lead productive, well-meaning lives, and have a great adulthood experience because there is a possibility for them to obtain the education they want, get married, care for their kids, and get a job.
Asperger’s syndrome, which is also commonly known as Asperger’s disorder, belongs to a collection of conditions called pervasive developmental disorder, or PDD. People diagnosed with Asperger’s exhibit “delays in the development of many basic skills, most notably the ability to socialize with others, to communicate, and to use imagination” (Shroff). Many times, it is mistaken as autism, which is another type of PDD, but more severe. What differentiates the two from one another is the way these people function in life. For instance, patients diagnosed with Asperger’s generally have normal intelligence than those diagnosed with autism. Their language ability is better and they can communicate well than those with autism. However, there is still the possibility of them developing communication problems in the future because of their lack of social skills, display of eccentric behaviors, adherence to unusual rituals, interest in limited activities, and problems in coordination, among others. Despite these setbacks, they can still lead and live significant and productive lives (Shroff).
Patients diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome manage to obtain the kind of education they yearn for. Asperger’s syndrome is said to be a high level and high functioning form of autism. These people typically excel in their chosen fields, although prove to be struggling in social situations. The way the process information and see the world is different from how regular people view the world because they pick up details that other people only take for granted. They are typically good in Math and the sciences. Despite being exposed to school or university life, they still have trouble socializing with people. But this does not hinder them from studying and reaching for their academic dreams. What they would normally do is to shut out the world and if they are in university, would prefer to live and study alone as noise can be too distracting for them. In addition, because awareness about Asperger’s syndrome is now growing, more universities offer support system for those “Aspies” by providing tutorial sessions or guided study hours for them in a week, including the use of computers and specific budgets for books they use in school (Grubb).
People with Asperger’s can still develop meaningful relationships. One of society’s biggest perspectives of a having a great adulthood experience is being in healthy and beautiful relationships. Showing emotions, telling the spouse how much one loves them is probably the biggest factor in maintaining a healthy relationship. So many people in society today will conclude that it is impossible for people living with Asperger’s syndrome to have this experience because their ability to show emotion is almost non-existent. However, what many people fail to realize is that a key factor to keeping a healthy relationship is to find somebody that will love another person for who they are and accept them unconditionally. Once a person living with Asperger’s syndrome finds a spouse who will accept them irrespective of their condition and help them deal with their emotional concerns, their marriage will become a happy part of their adulthood experience. In real life, there are many people who have come across such experiences as well as fight and struggle to keep their marriage or relationship with a person living with Asperger’s syndrome, which normal or regular people do in real life. Although keeping such relationships might seem hard initially, when one finally understands one’s spouse who lives with Asperger’s syndrome, the relationship becomes beautiful (Grigg 4). According to an article written by Rhayanne Weaver, the most important part of maintaining a beautiful and healthy relationship with somebody living with Asperger’s syndrome is to understand that they have a hard time showing emotions and also doing one’s best to understand the Asperger’s syndrome symptoms (Weaver). Thus, as they develop relationships, they also become prepared with the idea of becoming a parent one day.
People diagnosed with Asperger’s can become great parents, too. This is another huge aspect of having a great adulthood experience, which is, having kids and raising a family. Society today agrees that the joy of having and taking care of your own kid is one of the greatest experiences of adulthood. With no doubt, it is a fact that in order to have a beautiful experience with your kids you need to have the ability to show that you care for them and love them. Many people may argue that Asperger’s patients should avoid having kids because the joy of having kids comes along with showing them love and care, and this is a huge struggle for Asperger’s syndrome patients. However, experts on Asperger’s syndrome including patients themselves says that it is possible for Asperger's patients to have kids and show them care with the right support from their spouse, family, and autism-appropriate parent support and resources. As kids grow up and start to realize that their parents live with Asperger’s syndrome, they become understanding knowing that the lack of certain types of emotions by their parents is because their parents live with Asperger’s syndrome. In this case, they can become understanding and could assist their parents with certain things. Dr. Holliday Willey is an Asperger’s patient who has kids. She talks about showing her kids that she loves them and also the help she gets from them understanding that she has Asperger’s. She said, "we cannot help but tell people what we think the moment we think it. I never for instance leave my kids to wonder what I am thinking & I routinely vocalize my thought processes, often to their dismay[,] things are often skewed in our family, turned so that Mom ends up relying on the kids for their judgment and guidance I look to them as confidants and best friendsand I ask them to help me find my way out of malls & to hold my hand when my anxiety mounts, to tell me if I am saying things that no one wants to hear" (qtd in Hutten [b]).
Asperger’s syndrome patients are capable of handling their own jobs. The advantage of having a job defines a person as adult in our society. Having a job is a wonderful part of adulthood because it usually means a person is reasonable and can take care of their financial needs. In most cases, being socially acceptable is a huge part of obtaining and maintaining a job. For Asperger’s patients, finding a regular office job might never happen in their life time. In fact, statistics have shown that 80 percent of adults living with Asperger’s syndrome do not have jobs not because they are incapable of doing the work but because they can’t manage to be socially acceptable while they perform their duties and responsibilities at work (Hutten [a]). While finding a regular office job might be hard for most Asperger’s patients, it should not be a discouragement because they are perfectly capable of making jobs for themselves by opening their own businesses. An Asperger’s patient is usually good at opening their own business or being helpful on the workforce because their inability to see the rule helps them think outside the box (Hutten [a]). Asperger’s Syndrome patients might not be able to socially relate to people on the job like everybody else but their unique capabilities makes it possible for them to get their work done. Besides being socially acceptable by everybody on their jobs their unique capabilities prove that they can have a wonderful adulthood experience if they are just given the chance to get their work done and keep their jobs.
Living with Asperger’s is a very hard aspect of life because they have a very hard time showing emotions or socially relating to people. They have a hard time understanding things like facial expressions, tone of voice and body language. These characteristics make it hard for Asperger’s syndrome patients to maintain a job, or even keep relationships, but with the proper support system they can have a wonderful adulthood experience. Even if others tell them to simply try to fit in and represent themselves as happy-go-lucky or someone who can easily make friends, their being socially awkward or uncomfortable inhibits them from doing so. However, for people with Asperger’s syndrome, whatever social issues they have should not be a barrier to their success. Instead, people should be more accepting of each other’s differences and simply help one another out.
Works Cited
Grigg, Carol. Asperger’s Syndrome in Relationships: Is There Hope. Web. 28 Mar 2016. <http://www.aspia.org.au/pdf/Grigg_Is_There_Hope.pdf>.
Grubb, Sophie. How Students with Asperger’s Cope at University. Web. 3 Apr 2016. <http://www.theguardian.com/education/mortarboard/2013/may/07/how-students-with-aspergers-cope>.
Hutten, Mark. Best and Worst Jobs for Asperger’s Adults. Web. 2 Apr 2016. < http://www.myaspergerschild.com/2010/10/best-and-worst-jobs-for-aspergers.html>.
---. Parents with Asperger Syndrome. Web. 2 Apr 2016. <http://www.myaspergerschild.com/2010/09/parents-with-asperger-syndrome.html>.
Shroff, Anita. Asperger’s Syndrome. Web. 1 Apr 2016. <http://www.webmd.com/brain/autism/mental-health-aspergers-syndrome>.
Weaver, Rheyanne. Asperger’s Syndrome Versus Autism: What Are the Differences. Web. 31 Mar 2016. <http://www.empowher.com/asperger039s-syndrome/content/aspergers-syndrome-versus-autism-what-are-differences>.
