My disability
Is a very
Real thing,
My dear friend,
And I must say
That it is rather
Hard living the way
I do,
For I cannot really
Tell what people want
Sometimes,
If I am not on
My medication.
Yes, if you want to
Know,
I have ADD,
Tourette's Syndrome,
And Asperger's Syndrome,
But none of them is far worse,
Than that of Asperger's Syndrome,
That form of autism that I have,
That is not low IQ,
But is much like Savant Syndrome,
Which makes me very smart,
But I must say,
It is hard
To be who I am today.
It all began with a head injury,
When I fell from a merry-go-round,
In 1994,
When I broke my skull,
And had surgery on me,
And had a metal cap placed
In my skull.
I had damage to my frontal lobe,
My cerebellum,
And my cerebral cortex;
I had bad balance,
And could not walk,
Until I was age two.
When I started school,
I had a problem,
For I had a learning disability,
For I was diagnosed
With ADD,
Tourette's
And Asperger's Syndrome,
Which made it hard for me to learn.
ADD took my attention away,
So I could not focus on
The teacher when she talked,
And Tourette's was fidgeting,
Sound making,
And seizure-like,
Whenever I was too stressed out.
The worst was Asperger's Syndrome,
Which is the one I carry,
It is my form of autism,
Which makes it hard for me to learn.
Asperger's Syndrome limits me,
For I cannot do certain things
That others can,
And I must say that it is hard,
Having a fool like me.
I could not communicate well to people,
For it gave me Selective Mutism,
For I could not talk to people
That I did not know,
And I was extremely shy.
I could not understand
Social situations,
So if someone was angry at me,
I would not be able to understand,
Unless he or she
Started yelling at me.
I could not understand
Or even comprehend my environment,
For if something changed around me,
I would not realise it
Unless someone told me.
I could not understand
The things that people said
To me,
For I was rather slow,
With the information I picked up.
I did not have vicarious learning,
For I could not tie my shoes,
And I could not understand
How to throw a baseball
Or how to shoot a
Basketball through
A lay-up
The right way.
Sports were a challenge for me,
For I had no hand-eye
Coordination,
And the gym teacher would yell at me,
For I threw the ball way far off.
And learning was a challenge,
For I could not comprehend reading,
It was almost as if I had
Dyslexia,
Instead of autism in general.
And, yes, I was challenged,
And I made it through,
For I am going onto college,
After graduating high school,
With a 3.75 GPA.
I am no prodigy,
But I am doing a lot better,
With being on medication,
Helps me quite a lot.
I cannot wait for college,
For it will be great,
And my disability is under control,
Better than it was before.
I am sorry if I hurt anyone,
For I do not mean to do so,
And I hope you are fine,
Even with my disability.
My disability makes me unique,
And that is always true,
I know I will be great,
And so will you.
I just read and commented on Justin's The Introvert. I have not read the above poem, but I may come back someday and do so. I had a young stepson who had/has Asperger's; his name is Justin also. bri : )
(2021) 'ustin Reamer is a writer from Michigan. He has published several poems with several feuilletons and is working on a novel. He currently attends Eastern Michigan University for his M.A. in Creative Writing.'
Asperger's Syndrome - Poem by Justin Reamer. Very heartwarming story. Justin, you're a champ for the challenges you’ve overcome. I'm wishing you continued victories.
I appreciate you sharing this Justin, it is brave of you, I can relate to what you are saying because my son too has all the same problems you have. I wish you all the best.
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem
It was very brave of you to write this, James. Well done for making it through your disabilities! I can't imagine what you have had to endure to have got so far. Good luck with college, and please keep writing! You truly are unique! Bless you! ! ! Dawn xxx