PRINTLooking life in the eye
John Elder Robison opens up about Asperger’s in his memoir
Courtesy of JohnRobison.com
John Elder Robison will visit MU on April 20.
April 16, 2009 | 12:00 a.m. CST
One crucial piece of information was missing throughout John Elder Robison’s life. He grew up knowing he was different from everyone else but was unsure why. “All of my life I felt like I was a freak and a misfit,” Robison says. “When I learned I wasn’t like some sociopath, and I was a normal person, that was such a tremendously liberating thing.”
Robison was diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome 11 years ago — when he was already 40 years old. “I wanted to learn how I was different [so I could] be a part of the world,” Robison says of his life before the diagnosis. “[Finding out] improved my life immeasurably.”
Asperger’s syndrome is “an invisible disability,” says author John Elder Robison. People with the disorder “may look perfectly normal but say weird things and act in weird ways.” It’s still not well-known, and people inevitably trip up when trying to pronounce the name. (In case you were wondering, it’s ass-purr-grrs.) Here’s the real info on the disorder.
Asperger’s syndrome is a mild form of autism. Although the disorder varies by case, common symptoms of Asperger’s are social isolation, eccentric behavior, abnormalities in speech and a lack of coordination. However, another symptom that eventually helped Robison professionally is an increased focus on one area of interest. Hans Asperger first observed the disorder in 1944, but it wasn’t recognized as a distinct diagnosis until the World Health Organization included it in the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10) in 1992.
There is no cure yet, but scientists are working hard to discover more information about it. As of now, scientists think the disorder is a result of genetic defects that cause brain abnormalities but are still unsure about the specifics. A recent study estimated that 36 people out of every 1,000 have Asperger’s. With so many people affected, Asperger’s can no longer be ignored.
--Katlyn Keller
His memoir, Look Me in the Eye: My Life with Asperger’s, focuses on his life before the diagnosis, at a time when few knew of the disorder. The World Health Organization only recognized Asperger’s, an autism spectrum disorder, in 1992. “The thing that is important to recognize is when I grew up, people didn’t know about it,” Robison says. “I was just the kid nobody likes.” But he plans to focus mostly on his successes when he comes to MU’s Memorial Union on Monday. They include his stint building guitars for KISS and working with Pink Floyd’s sound company. The disorder, a mild form of autism often marked by an intense single-subject focus, also helped Robison create a successful car-repair business.
In addition to researching Asperger’s at Harvard Medical School, Robison takes his disorder public to make sure no one ever goes through the same experience. “I think that people who have a personal connection to autism find it encouraging to see a grown person like me,” Robison says. “Because when you deal with young people with autism, you only see the stuff they can’t do. I think seeing someone like me is helpful.”
Scott Rowson of the Thompson Center for Autism and Neurodevelopmental Disorders estimates that 700 Columbia children have autism. Pulitzer Prize-winning music critic Tim Page, who also has Asperger’s, will host the Monday evening lecture. Earlier Monday, Robison, Page and three local young adults with Asperger’s will hold a panel discussion. “I hope it shows people in the community how persons with autism spectrum disorders do struggle with the same things as other people,” says Robin Martin, senior continuing education coordinator at the Thompson Center. “They have the same problem in transition [to adulthood]; it is just amplified.”
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