New Life : A Second Chance

Asperger's Syndrome is what is known as a 'high-functioning' Autism. 

Those with Asperger's Syndrome, known as Aspergians, suffer from a number of impairments. Each Aspergian is different, but namely, they have difficulty interacting socially and some do have challenges with motor skills.  

Kyle was shocked at Dr. Marveen's dianogsis.

"Are you sure?" Kyle asked, then put up his hand, apologizing.

"I'm sorry, I don't mean to be rude and question your skills, but she seems normal," Kyle said, "Other than the slight awkwardness in social settings, she hasn't portrayed anything unusual."

Kyle always put down her awkwardness just as her being an introvert, like he had been as Kylie.

"In fact, she was like a mini-adult, even as a toddler," Kyle went on, "She could grasp concepts very well and had a very sharp mind. Even her motor developments were fine … well, okay, so she may not have crawled, but that was basically because she knew there were people to carry her?"

Lianne was the type of toddler that had never crawled. She would sit on her bum and if she wanted to go anywhere, she would wait patiently for an adult to come by and raise her hands up, asking to be carried.

If it was for a short distance, she would simply move her bum over the floor until she reached the place. 

Once her legs were strong enough, she simply stood up and started walking.

"The range on the Aspergians spectrum varies greatly," Dr. Marveen explained gently, "Maturity and focus on one particular thing are two of the most common signs of Aspergians."

"Lianne is on the higher functioning scale, and thus, she is not as hypersensitive as some Aspergians," Dr. Marveen continued, "However, she does have a flip side to the mental maturity and she does feel things deeper, and far greater, than most. She overthinks and such thoughts tend to go towards self-blame."

"The death of her mother has triggered her condition, and unfortunately, she has gone into clinical depression because of it," Dr. Marveen said, "She has lost her anchor, and she needs to find another in order to move on."

"Is there anyone here that she has shown some sort of connection with? Family? Friends?" Dr. Marveen asked.

Kyle ran his hand through his hair, shaking his head, "No, not that I know of. I'll see what I can do about this. Thank you, Dr. Marveen."

Dr. Marveen nodded and patted Kyle's arm, "You are a good boy, caring for her like a good big brother. She will need to see me regularly so I can monitor her progress."

"I'll get in touch with you on this," Kyle promised, "I still have to tell this to her father."

Dr. Marveen nodded in understanding.

"What about Joseph?" Kyle asked.

"He's grieving," Dr. Marveen said, "Which is to be expected. It is the normal grieving period and nothing as serious as Lianne. I suggest you distract him with some activities. He basically needs a friend to talk to."

"I understand," Kyle said, "Thank you."

Dr. Marveen left then, and Sayuri, who had been at a distance, came over.

"I've got to read-up on Asperger Syndrome," Kyle said with a sigh, "All this time, I had thought her behaviour is just her being socially awkward. She's so bright! So full of life! Now … seeing her like this .."

"She responds to me," Sayuri said, "Through art. Perhaps I can get her to open up more?"

"Could you?" Kyle asked.

"Of course," Sayuri said, "But … I also think you should be there with us? Just let her get used to your presence. I get from the talk that Lianne was very close to her mother. So I need you to observe and tell me later what you think, what she's like and what you think I can do better to get through to her."

"That would be great," Kyle said with relief.

Kyle spent the night reading all that he could about Asperger Syndrome.

There was just so much material out there, and a lot of it didn't quite apply to his daughter. 

For example, she did not have any motor skills problems. 

She was not hypersensitive to the point that she was affected by bright lights or sounds. She was socially awkward and uncomfortable with people being close, but it wasn't to the point that she would retreat into herself and be cold when talking.

Which is most likely why Dr. Marveen said Lianne was on the other end of the spectrum. She had the symptoms, but she wasn't as severely affected. Hence, it was easy to brush aside her behaviour as simply being 'one of those things'. 

Rather than, her having genuine difficulty due to the way her brain was wired. It was not something she could 'unlearn' or be 'trained' to be 'normal' and more sociable.

One of the things which struck Kyle was that Aspergians do form emotional attachments to personal objects. Like a security blanket, it provided an anchor. 

Kyle remembered the amount of soft toys she had. They were nothing really special, but there would be one, or two, that she got really attached to. She couldn't sleep without them and now, those two soft toys of hers had been burnt down in the fire.

With that thought, Kyle started looking on the internet to find replacements.

It wouldn't be the same, of course, and it didn't mean that she would get attached to it, but at least, it would be something familiar. Kyle hoped that it would help.

Unfortunately, no matter how long he searched, there was no such toys. Nothing he found fit the image.

If this was the case, it would take forever!

In the end, he decided it had to be custom made but he needed an image for reference. And he couldn't draw.

With that, he immediately climbed onto his bed to wake up the one person who could.

"What is it?" Sayuri asked sleepily, "Another round?"