Einstein Syndrome

There is a lot of hysteria about Autism now, probably a byproduct of the good intentioned information which has been released about it.

I know a family with an autistic child, and I can tell you, if your child had full blown autism, you would know it. This child I know is really, really outside of any normal sort of communication, and that was apparent from the time he was a toddler.

Genius takes many forms. If I were you, I would concentrate on developing his emotional ability, particularly his empathy. If he is quite different than other children, it will be difficult for him to grow up with the emotional scars inflicted by others, and I think that is where the future problems lie.




[edit on 13-10-2008 by Grumble]

I just want to say kudos to both the OP and the other parents of late talkers who have posted here.

Good for you for looking for answers but not getting drawn into panic. Good for you for sticking up for your children, even if they don't do what someone else thinks is right.

I'm sure that speech therapists are trained to recognize asperger's and other syndromes. If a doctor gives you a hard time about your child not speaking, perhaps the speech therapist would be willing to discuss the case with the doctor?

It seems to me like late speech is something that can only be made more difficult for the child the more people panic about it and make it abnormal. Society is hard enough on parents without contributing to the natural concern a parent has.

My cousin's child was a late speaker, and was diagnosed with Asperger's. Her parents put her on the recommended diet and the results were phenomenal. But before her diagnosis, there was obviously a lot more going on besides just late speech – she was an anxious, needy, uncomfortable child (no wonder, since she was probably in pain all the time!). That is something I don't see at all in your descriptions of your sons.

reply to post by Amethyst


A very tough situation. My son began reading at age 2, for real. At age 1 he knew his alphabet, even though he had to pronounce things like "X" by clucking. He would point to things that liked like "x" and cluck. At 6 weeks he was verbalizing when he was hungry "good" which is what we called breast ers saw it. At just over 1 we went to the zoo and he read my dad's t-shirt. "G-O-O-G-L-E pells Google" he said sweeping his finger back and forthe showing he knew that the letters joined to make words. In his late twos he could read words like "reservation" effortlessly, stunning onlookers.

We knew he was bright, but some things were just crazy. He got his first computer at age 2 and spent 16 hours a day mastering it, sitting in his high chair and slamming down yogurt. He was obsessed and absolutely refused to stop. In 2 days he mastered the mouse and Elmo's Preschool.

But all was not so easy. He was extremely rigid He insisted on putting his toys in a straight line. He hated bright lights and machine noises to the extreme. He didn't like other children. When they came near he shook his finger and said "Way Way" (as in put them away). Though he also enjoyed their company. When he was 2 or 3 he wouldn't play with other children, but preferred to run toward the street.

All of which disturbed me greatly, since I spent several years working with autistic and developmentally disabled adults. I knew autistic people who could read. I also felt ther was hope and a way to connect, but I was not allowed to do "behavior modification" even though it worked, as far as I could see.

So, in a way I don't know. My kid, I did all I could because nobody can stop me. I behavior modified every agonizing minute of our lives to keep him connected. Touch, physical action, computer games, excitement. Anything to get him to know that I am what he needs, not his self stimulation. I would stop the self-stimulation and interact with him instead. I know self-stimulation is a rat hole autistic people fall into. I've seen it and I know they can be pulled out.

Anyway, my son just got through Kindergarten. At the start his teachers tried to portray him as autistic. In the end they recognized he's alot smarter than his peers. ALOT. As in thy aren't supposed to say these things, but he really stands out, reading several grade levels ahead and already corrected his teachers' mistakes a couple of times.

BTW he toilet trained VERY late at a few weeks before age 6. The vebal just started kicking at 6 but he jumped years ahead now before 7. He has a severe food allergy, typical of Einstein Syndrome kids.

So, what's up? Very hard to say. It's rare enough you'd be hard pressed to be able to rub 2 of them together to study them. So all the "science based" people who want to push services have no credibility.

One more thing. Under the law, if you agree to special education services even once in Kindergarten or later, then all special ed. falls under "administrative law" forever after. That essentially means the school can do whatever it wants and your wishes don't count. So you can keep your kid out frpm the start, or the school can keep them in forever.

It's all related the the legislatively created "autism spectrum disorder" which was created by lawmakers, not doctors. DO YOUR RESEARCH!

My son NEVER met the clinical definition of autism. The school desperately lied about facts and tried to get him classified as autistic or autism spectrum disorder. It made my life hell because of all the legal and medical research I had to do. But in the end I figured it out and told them to F*** Off.

Oh. Einstein Syndrome. little violins. It's alot tougher than it sounds.