In Their Own Words: Living With Asperger's
By Breanna Brown
Editor's note: The opinions expressed herein are those of the author exclusively.
By Breanna Brown
Editor's note: The opinions expressed herein are those of the author exclusively.
Hey! I'm Breanna and I was diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome at 17. It hasn't been even eight months since my dad told me that I have it. I went for testing in November, but my parents had me do it without actually telling me what the test was for. I think they just didn't want me to know unless I was actually diagnosed – understandable.
Things have always seemed harder for me, mostly social things. I can remember uncontrollably staring at this new kid when I was in 3rd grade. He'd always ask, "Why are you staring at me?" I really couldn't give a good explanation. Little did I know that it was a case of classic Asperger's; as much as we can't make eye contact, we also stare quite a bit! I can remember doing many other embarrassing things in grade school (I just graduated- '09!), and I didn't know what was wrong with me, but I knew I was weird because of what people said. Many times I was made fun of in horrible ways. People saying my name always said it like they were saying the name of some infectious disease! I don't like to talk about those incidents because they are still ongoing and probably will be for the rest of my life. Asperger's, along with the other autism spectrum disorders, can give you multiple disorders. Lucky me, I was given two OTHER disorders in addition to Asperger's.
However, Asperger's does give me a heads up in something I love to do – singing! People with autism have been known to get perfect pitch – well, that's me. In choir, the director LOVED me for it; I was called "Pitch Pipe," and I won a prestigious choral award this past spring. I was also in band because I never could decide between the two music classes. My high school band has been constantly praised for its work in competitive marching band, jazz band and concert band. I did all of them, and it was very rewarding. So you see, being obsessed isn't a bad thing. My parents are both music teachers, so I've grown up loving every part of it. My dad is an elementary music teacher and my mom teaches middle school band. Proud to say that I was a student of hers in middle school! It was fun.
On a serious note, I've heard that ASDs are spread hereditarily. My dad has ADHD, which Asperger's is often mistaken for. I talked to him, and he thinks that he might have Asperger's, too. It feels good to know myself better by getting a diagnosis. I highly recommend that every parent tests their children for autism and also recommend that adults get tested, too. It amazes me how many undiagnosed people there are out there who grow to be 50 before finding that they have Asperger's. Be aware and learn the symptoms. Love and accept all of us with ASDs, and we will love and accept you back.
Things have always seemed harder for me, mostly social things. I can remember uncontrollably staring at this new kid when I was in 3rd grade. He'd always ask, "Why are you staring at me?" I really couldn't give a good explanation. Little did I know that it was a case of classic Asperger's; as much as we can't make eye contact, we also stare quite a bit! I can remember doing many other embarrassing things in grade school (I just graduated- '09!), and I didn't know what was wrong with me, but I knew I was weird because of what people said. Many times I was made fun of in horrible ways. People saying my name always said it like they were saying the name of some infectious disease! I don't like to talk about those incidents because they are still ongoing and probably will be for the rest of my life. Asperger's, along with the other autism spectrum disorders, can give you multiple disorders. Lucky me, I was given two OTHER disorders in addition to Asperger's.
However, Asperger's does give me a heads up in something I love to do – singing! People with autism have been known to get perfect pitch – well, that's me. In choir, the director LOVED me for it; I was called "Pitch Pipe," and I won a prestigious choral award this past spring. I was also in band because I never could decide between the two music classes. My high school band has been constantly praised for its work in competitive marching band, jazz band and concert band. I did all of them, and it was very rewarding. So you see, being obsessed isn't a bad thing. My parents are both music teachers, so I've grown up loving every part of it. My dad is an elementary music teacher and my mom teaches middle school band. Proud to say that I was a student of hers in middle school! It was fun.
On a serious note, I've heard that ASDs are spread hereditarily. My dad has ADHD, which Asperger's is often mistaken for. I talked to him, and he thinks that he might have Asperger's, too. It feels good to know myself better by getting a diagnosis. I highly recommend that every parent tests their children for autism and also recommend that adults get tested, too. It amazes me how many undiagnosed people there are out there who grow to be 50 before finding that they have Asperger's. Be aware and learn the symptoms. Love and accept all of us with ASDs, and we will love and accept you back.
If you have a story you wish to share about your personal experience with autism, please send it to
editors@autismspeaks.org.
Autism Speaks reserves the right to edit contributions for space, style and content. Because of the volume of submissions, not all can be published on the site.
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