Asperger’s Syndrome

Claire and Bethany

Asperger’s

• Highest functioning form of autism• IQ is not affected by Asperger’s but have the

same symptoms as Autism such as social skills

Mozart and the WhaleBook

“ Where normal-brained lovers might encounter speed bumps, we got mired in deep ditches.

When others with a different neurological wiring might glimpse a few storm clouds on

the horizon, we saw nothing but darkness. The littlest things tore us apart.”

~Jerry Newport

Mozart and the WhaleJerry

• Jerry was born in Little Falls, NY• Jerry’s skills: Numbers and Calendars• Attended College• Founded AGUA

Mozart and the WhaleMary

• Mary was born in Elk Horn, Wisconsin• Mary’s skills: Visual Art and Music• Commune/ Europe• 2nd Child• Joins AGUA

Mozart and the WhaleThe Newports

• Halloween Party• Quickly Married• House Cleaning• Movie Deal• Divorce• Mary Moves• Birds• Suicide Attempts• Reunited

Mozart and the WhaleQuotes

“Years would pass before I finally realized that I wasn’t yelling at Mary. I was yelling because that was what Jerry Newport did when his buttons got pushed. I was yelling because I’d long ago grown used to the sound of my own thunder. I was yelling because I didn’t know how not to yell.”– Jerry Newport

Mozart and the WhaleQuotes

“Lies just weren’t a part of the program that we had running through our heads. To lie isn’t autistic; it’s a break from the order that our brains so badly crave.”– Jerry Newport

Mozart and the WhaleMovie

Mozart and the WhaleMovie

• Donald and Isabelle• Autism Support Group• They start dating• House• Job with help from Isabelle• Break-up• Marriage proposal• Suicide Attempt and warning• Reunite

Mozart and the Whale

Book Movie• Portrays Asperger’s as a way

of life that needs to be understood not fixed

• Follows Donald and Isabelle (movie mostly follows Donald)

• Portrays Asperger’s as a way of life that needs to be understood not fixed

• Follows the lives of Jerry and Mary Newport (equally, each event is told from both perspectives)

Atypical

• Life and experiences of Jesse A. Saperstein– Overcoming bullying– Multiple diagnosis before Asperger's– Realizing his “Asperger's” traits and how to compensate for

them– Understanding the actions of “neurotypicals”– Fitting in, finding a job, and finding love– Walk for AIDS– Cyper-bullying– Making specific lists– Autism and its examples in Hollywood

Atypical

• “ For a person with Asperger’s syndrome, losing the components of an obsession is the end of the world.”

• “Rejection is still unbearable as adult, and I have never stopped asking the same empty questions. ‘What did I do?’”

• “But for children with Autism, change is a viscous poison known to provoke temper tantrums and distress. Abrupt deviations in my routine always felt like a phantom limb syndrome for a recent amputee. I would reach down and immediately become distressed when a jarring absence replaced the comfortable insulation… that familiarity.”

House Rules• 18-year-old with Asperger's (Jacob Hunt)• Story told from the perspectives of– Jacob Hunt– Emma Hunt (mother)– Theo Hunt (15 year-old brother)– Rich Matson (detective)– Oliver Bond (lawyer)

• The story deals with how Jacob Hunt’s Asperger’s effects him, and those around him as he is accused of the murder of Jess Ogilvy. It also discusses how the legal system handles individuals with Asperger’s.

House Rules• “In school, part of my IEP is a cool-off

pass. If I need to, at any time, even during an exam, my teachers will allow me to leave the classroom. Sometimes, the outside world gets a little too tight for me, and I need a place to relax.”-Jacob

• “Here is the thing about Asperger’s syndrome: Jacob won’t lie. So when he says he didn’t have an argument with Jess, I believe him.”- Emma

Atypical/House Rules

Atypical• Portrays Asperger’s as a way

of life that needs to be understood not fixed

• Talks about obsessions but is more a commentary on how he lives with it

House Rules• Each character looks at

Asperger’s differently• Highlights obsessions and

routines of people with Asperger’s