Tag: autismacceptance

Rainbow in the rearview

it’s all about perspective

One rainy day I glimpsed a rainbow in my rearview mirror. And while I don’t recommend taking your eyes off your destination for long, a quick review of where you’ve been in such circumstances can be an encouraging reminder of three fabulous truths.

A rainbow in your rearview means:

•  the storm and its difficulties are behind you. You have survived it. Be grateful, and leave those troubles in the past.

•  you are facing the sun and its clearing skies. You are entering a change in your state of affairs. Be grateful, and embrace the future.

•  there are still beautiful wonders in this beleaguered, woeful world. Be grateful, and enjoy the present.

– from Stepping Stones: our pathfinding adventures with Asperger’s

Spatial giftedness in high-functioning autism

visualizing new perspectives

The mental ability to visualize objects in three-dimensional space, and to imagine them from different perspectives, is a sign of spatial intelligence. This mode of thinking helps explain how our son could never get lost, even in wilderness; and, seemingly without effort, offer up fresh perspectives and solutions on vexing problems. One of his work-related computer programs developed a concise and elegant solution to what had previously been a complex geometrical quandary.

A very practical application of this visualization gift showed up when he was just eight years old. At a family reunion picnic, he most-closely guessed the number of Hershey’s Kisses® in two different sized jars, and won them both!

Our book, Stepping Stones: our pathfinding adventure with Asperger’s  tinyurl.com/4c6bxw4s recounts our son’s troubles and triumphs at home, school, and work, and how he has learned to cope and overcome. Find out how the journey is everything.