[Linda Frances]

My nieces son was diagnosed with autism then later Aspergers at 5. We all could see something was different. As early as a year he was obsessed with certain things like the spinning of ceiling fans, spinning things, repetitive things....he would stare for hours if he could. When he was 7 he started taking these things apart, getting himself in trouble. He promised to put things back together, so my niece was game, curious if he could do it. He did. Today he takes things apart that are broken and tells her what needs to be replaced. He's 12 now and really smart, but has outburst, but not as many as he previously had. Mom has learned how to handle them and has him calmed normally inside a minute. He is an amazing artist. He paints all the time and the ones I like are the ones that look 3 dimensional. Mom thinks his Aspergers came from vaccines. They can't find it in either side of the family going back 3 generations. He's a sweet kid; intense and passionate.

[Star Traveler]

Ours is fascinated with fans and their spinning. He spins himself too. He also has a very very sweet personality and disposition. The only thing he would run into a problem with, in terms of the category of Aspergers, is that he doesn’t speak and I’m told that this one thing does not fit into Aspergers.

[RegulatorCountry]

There are a lot of people like him and always have been, don’t let the irritating modern fixation upon making a pathology out of every behavior that doesn’t march lockstep within some predetermined range convince you otherwise. He’ll be OK, just find an outlet for him to vent his frustrations that is less visible and less disconcerting to others, and encourage him in his fascinations that can lead to a productive life in adulthood. Time was, this was called creative temperament or eccentric genius and almost expected of those with rare ability. Now, it’s just another way for public schools to get more money, and just another way for psychologists and pharmaceutical companies to sell more drugs. Avoid them if at all possible, imho.

[muggs]

My son loved to take things apart, look at them, and put them back together, He saved him money for a long time and bought his 1st decent computer, a Gateway. He was probably only 12 -13. One day he decided to take it apart. He discovered it did not contain all the upgraded he had paid for. He was furious and Gateway sent him the correct stuff. Since they, he builds his own from scratch.