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Stitch is Troubled
Mar. 17th, 2007 07:50 pmThat does not refer to the fact that I'm back from Spring Break. I really hate driving in traffic. I don't know how people do it on a daily basis.
The reason I'm troubled is because of my baby sister, S. After spending a week at home visiting my parents and entertaining my younger sisters, I'm really worried about her. S is eleven years old and in the sixth grade, but she's only reading at the third grade level. She hates school and cries when she has to go. My mom has to fight her to do her homework and volunteers at the school mostly to help S because the one teacher in Callao has to keep track of ten kids ranging in grades from eighth to first. Yesterday, the teacher was explaining something to the class during math and S wasn't paying attention, so my mom kind of gently reminded her to listen to the teacher, but all the kids started laughing at her and making her feel stupid. She even started crying right there in class.
S has really struggled in school, but my mom took her to a specialist about a year ago and found out that S is mildly autistic (last I had heard). S isn't stupid, by any means. Her biggest thing is Disney movies and she can quote those things like nobody's business. She doesn't even have to see a movie very much to remember the lines. Even today, we were driving in town. S hadn't been in this particular town for a while, but she noticed little things that had changed, like one building got a new paint job or there was a new tree planting somewhere. I don't notice those things and my mom certainly doesn't either. S even remembered what we got my cousin for her birthday last year! S is a smart kid, she's just not school-smart.
What's really troubling to me about this is that I do the exact same thing, except opposite of what S does. I attack school and tasks like that like there's no tomorrow. I enjoy working on things like this, but I'm a social retard (that's self-deprecating, so you can't be offended by it). For crying out loud, I have LiveJournal and use it frequently, which is based completely off writing and academic skills like that. I do have a MySpace, but the sheer stupidity of it makes me want chew my own foot off because it's based on being social. So, theoretically, I have the same kind of "disability" S has, except it manifested itself differently in me. If social skills were prized as highly as academic skills, I would also be under scrutiny from all kinds of specialists. Instead, since Good Academics="Normal Function, Leave Alone" and Bad Academics=RED FLAG, I get a pass while S is laughed at by her peers.
Another thing that worries me is that this seems to be genetic. I see the exact same thing running rampant in my Dad's side of the family, but it shows up different in everyone. Dad does have a cousin whose little boy was diagnosed officially autistic earlier in life and this sort of brain function has caused strife in the family (mostly problems stemming from alcoholism and drug abuse -- which is why I will NEVER touch the stuff, so don't even ask). Unless you know how to cope with it in a non-destructive way, it can make life a living hell. My worry is that my kids will have it, but I won't know how they have it. It can be really extreme and I'm afraid that I won't know how to deal with it and I'll cause even bigger problems.
Arggh... now I'm depressed. I think too much. My brain hurts.
Love from,
Jenny Wildcat
PS, Apologies if this makes no sense. It's kind of a difficult thing to explain.
The reason I'm troubled is because of my baby sister, S. After spending a week at home visiting my parents and entertaining my younger sisters, I'm really worried about her. S is eleven years old and in the sixth grade, but she's only reading at the third grade level. She hates school and cries when she has to go. My mom has to fight her to do her homework and volunteers at the school mostly to help S because the one teacher in Callao has to keep track of ten kids ranging in grades from eighth to first. Yesterday, the teacher was explaining something to the class during math and S wasn't paying attention, so my mom kind of gently reminded her to listen to the teacher, but all the kids started laughing at her and making her feel stupid. She even started crying right there in class.
S has really struggled in school, but my mom took her to a specialist about a year ago and found out that S is mildly autistic (last I had heard). S isn't stupid, by any means. Her biggest thing is Disney movies and she can quote those things like nobody's business. She doesn't even have to see a movie very much to remember the lines. Even today, we were driving in town. S hadn't been in this particular town for a while, but she noticed little things that had changed, like one building got a new paint job or there was a new tree planting somewhere. I don't notice those things and my mom certainly doesn't either. S even remembered what we got my cousin for her birthday last year! S is a smart kid, she's just not school-smart.
What's really troubling to me about this is that I do the exact same thing, except opposite of what S does. I attack school and tasks like that like there's no tomorrow. I enjoy working on things like this, but I'm a social retard (that's self-deprecating, so you can't be offended by it). For crying out loud, I have LiveJournal and use it frequently, which is based completely off writing and academic skills like that. I do have a MySpace, but the sheer stupidity of it makes me want chew my own foot off because it's based on being social. So, theoretically, I have the same kind of "disability" S has, except it manifested itself differently in me. If social skills were prized as highly as academic skills, I would also be under scrutiny from all kinds of specialists. Instead, since Good Academics="Normal Function, Leave Alone" and Bad Academics=RED FLAG, I get a pass while S is laughed at by her peers.
Another thing that worries me is that this seems to be genetic. I see the exact same thing running rampant in my Dad's side of the family, but it shows up different in everyone. Dad does have a cousin whose little boy was diagnosed officially autistic earlier in life and this sort of brain function has caused strife in the family (mostly problems stemming from alcoholism and drug abuse -- which is why I will NEVER touch the stuff, so don't even ask). Unless you know how to cope with it in a non-destructive way, it can make life a living hell. My worry is that my kids will have it, but I won't know how they have it. It can be really extreme and I'm afraid that I won't know how to deal with it and I'll cause even bigger problems.
Arggh... now I'm depressed. I think too much. My brain hurts.
Love from,
Jenny Wildcat
PS, Apologies if this makes no sense. It's kind of a difficult thing to explain.
