Eating an Artichoke: A Mother's Perspective on Asperger Syndrome

During a routine parent-teacher conference in November 1991, Echo Fling was told by her son's teacher that his behaviour in class was `not normal'. After two years at the pre-school, five-year-old Jimmy had failed to make any friends, had recently started to act aggressively towards his classmates, and was beginning to react violently to any changes in his routine. Echo was not taken completely by surprise: she had suspected for some time that her son was different from other children. Over the next five years, she and her husband accompanied Jimmy to doctors, medical specialists, learning consultants and psychologists. Finally, at the age of ten, Jimmy was diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome.