With an enrollment of 23, it is one of only a few elementary schools in the United States for children with Asperger's. Parents may have their first hint that something is different about their child when he's 3 or 4. Not this child,'' says child psychiatrist Daniel Rosenn of Wellesley, Mass., who specializes in Asperger's and related disorders. If you sound a little annoyed, he thinks you're furious,'' says Rosenn. If you are furious, he thinks he's in danger.
Survival instincts take over.
He can't distinguish gradations of emotions and he's incredibly sensitive to sensory input, including loud noises such as yelling. Neurologically, they can't handle the decibels,'' says Echo Fling, past president of the Asperger's Syndrome Coalition of the United States. Most parents quickly decide they'll do anything to keep their child from suffering like this again. A wise decision, says Attwood, but one fraught with difficulty. To the outside world, including often your families, this child looks normal,'' he says.