My 20-year-old son was first diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome when he was in the 6th grade. He had been given the ADHD label years earlier, but that didn't explain why he would only eat bland food and wear certain clothes, why strong odors and sounds drove him crazy, why the slightest injury would seem agonizingly painful. When frustrated, he would scream and crawl under tables. He had difficulty understanding humor, sarcasm, irony, and idioms--things children tend to learn by context as they grow. When he was evaluated, I was asked if he developed normally. Apart from learning to tie his shoes in 3rd grade and to ride a bike at the age of 10, he seemed fine, intelligent even.
The middle school years were the worst. Since he looked normal and talked normal, kids were cruel to him because he didn't act normal. A perceptive teacher took the time to talk to him and explain how the other children perceived his outbursts and they devised a system. If my son got frustrated, he would put his head down on his desk. This would be the cue to all his teachers that they were to leave him alone. After a couple of minutes of collecting himself, he could continue working.
High school was much better and his fascination with computers made it very easy to decide on a career. His computer teachers, when asked, were emphatic that this was where he would excel. He is now in his third year of college studying Computer Science. He still eats bland food, will still only wear certain clothes, and stays away from crowds, but he has his own YouTube channel recording and playing video games and has an international group of friends that make his life richer than I could have imagined.
Fenton, MO