Will came to me one day that he told a few of his friends about being an Aspergian. He's fifteen, and he's old enough to understand his own condition. But he hit the wall when his friends couldn't understand the full depth of Asperger. So, he wanted to know how he can put in a easy to understand way. I was speechless.
First, I didn't know how to explain it without going into too much detail. Second, I know what the word "Autism" at any spectrum comes with negative perception. And frankly, I never thought about telling his friends about his condition. I was just glad he had any. It never occurred to me that he would want to explain it to anyone.
"Will, tell them this. You have a very high IQ, and you do well academically than most kids your age. The only downside of your genius is that you lag behind socially," she added. "Basically, you're smart enough to go to college, but you think like a middle school kid, okay?"
Well, we all smiled and left it at that. With all the mishaps in school, I was pleasantly surprised by most of his friends' reaction and their acceptance. One of his friends actually keep a tab on Will for me which is quite funny. It's so nice that kids are able to be more accepting than grownups. Later that week, some of his friends went to the counselor's office to get more information on Will's condition, so they could have a better understanding and relationship with him. It turned out to be a good day. Only if I could have more of these days!
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