I need more routines
and less surprise
I need more notebooks
to keep track of my thoughts as time flies

These four lines come from brilliant poem by Devereaux Frazier in which this talented young poet captures Asperger’s and portrays it to a tee. You can read the rest of it, and more of Devereaux’s poetry and musings here.
The point of poetry is to evoke emotion and thought processes. The words mean different things to different people; so what I take from Devereaux’s poetry might be totally different to what other people take. That’s the point.
For me, Aspergers Will Always Be By Our Side is a reminder that this is who Geordie is, and we should embrace his personality rather than try to fix it. Some lines ring particularly true:
♥ I need more honesty
Geordie has an inbuilt lie detector (or ‘trying to shield you’ detector) — he needs to know the full truth about things that are going on, nice or not. And he can pick a non-genuine person (‘they don’t get me’) a mile off.
♥ the world is just too loud
Yes — literally and figuratively. Loud noises are confusing and confronting. Getting in Geordie’s face is never going to win you brownie points.
♥ I need more routine; and less surprise
Sameness brings comfort; it’s only when sameness brings boredom that I know we can safely move onto something else. Surprises? Definitely not. The unknown and the unexpected brings nothing but anxiety.
♥ we are what we love
Geordie knows himself so well. My greatest pride in him is that he is true to himself and what he wants/needs — without worrying what others will think of him.
If you want some truly deep insights into what it means to have Asperger’s, Devereaux’s poetry can give you just that. But you have to be willing to listen.
Having a child with Asperger’s doesn’t make me all knowledgeable on the subject. I’ve said it many times — what I write on these pages come solely from my own experiences and don’t apply to everyone … or anyone.
I love that there is a growing community out there of people who are sharing their own experiences, and listening to those of others.