37 Roberta Lane, Syosset, NY 11791

                                                                          http://www.nassaucountyny.gov/

Asparagus Burger recipe

Ingredients    (Serves 4-6)

8 cloves garlic
12 oz. fresh asparagus
1 tablespoon dry basil
1 tablespoon dry parsley
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1/3 cup freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese
1 cup bread crumbs (unseasoned)
1 large egg
2-3 tablespoons lightly flavored oil  (olive oil or grape seed oil)

Directions
Roughly chop and dice the garlic. Remove the woody stems off of the base of the asparagus. Chop the rest of the asparagus into ½ in. pieces.
In large stockpot or deep dish, boil the cut asparagus in enough water to cover, about 12-15 minutes.
Meanwhile, combine the garlic and all the seasonings and cheese in a large mixing bowl.
When the asparagus is done, drain it and allow to cool. Once cooled, add it to the mixing bowl and then add the egg.
Using your hands, mix and squeeze the asparagus into the eggs, bread crumbs and other ingredients. Shape into patties.
In a large sauté pan, heat the oil. Once it is hot, add the patties but do not crowd the pan. If you don’t have enough space, do the frying in two batches.
Fry on each side for about 3-4 minutes or until very brown on each side. Do not turn more than once on each side.

Aspiritech is a company that hires Aspies!

By CARLA K. JOHNSON - AP Medical Writer

HIGHLAND PARK, Ill. (AP) — The software testers at Aspiritech are a collection of characters. Katie Levin talks nonstop. Brian Tozzo hates driving. Jamie Specht is bothered by bright lights, vacuum cleaners and the feel of carpeting against her skin. Rider Hallenstein draws cartoons of himself as a DeLorean sports car. Rick Alexander finds it unnerving to sit near other people.

This is the unusual workforce of a U.S. startup that specializes in finding software bugs by harnessing the talents of young adults with autism.

Traits that make great software testers — intense focus, comfort with repetition, memory for detail — also happen to be characteristics of autism. People with Asperger's syndrome, a mild form of autism, have normal to high intelligence and often are highly skilled with computers.

Aspiritech, a nonprofit in Highland Park, Ill., nurtures these skills while forgiving the quirks that can make adults with autism unemployable: social awkwardness, poor eye contact, being easily overwhelmed. The company's name plays on the words "Asperger's," ''spirit" and "technology."

Clients, nine companies in Aspiritech's first two years, have been pleased.

"They exceeded my expectations," said Dan Tedesco of Shelton, Conn.-based HandHold Adaptive, which took a chance on Aspiritech to test an iPhone application. "There is a pride in their product you don't usually see in this type of work."

Aspiritech was founded by Moshe and Brenda Weitzberg after their son, Oran, now 32, was fired from a job bagging groceries. Oran was diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome when he was 14. He now works at Aspiritech.

"He went from failing at bagging groceries to being one of the best software testers on our team," said Brenda Weitzberg.

The Weitzbergs modeled Aspiritech on a successful Danish company called Specialisterne, or "the Specialists." Specialisterne also employs software testers with autism. Its satisfied clients include Oracle and Microsoft.

Other companies in Belgium, Japan and Israel are either hiring or training adults with autism as software testers.

This year, Aspiritech projects $120,000 in revenue, with 60 percent coming from donations and 40 percent from clients. The Weitzbergs hope to raise the client revenue to 50 percent next year.

"There have been a couple of attempts in the U.S. and Aspiritech is the one that's making it," said Scott Standifer of the University of Missouri's Disability Policy and Studies office and the organizer of a national conference on adults with autism and employment.

The exact unemployment rate for adults with autism is unknown, but it's thought to be high, Standifer said.

"We don't know how many adults have autism and, because of that, we don't know their rate of unemployment," he said. "We do know from tracking adults just emerging from high school that they are having great difficulty finding jobs."

A 2009 U.S. Department of Education survey found the employment rate for young adults with autism was on par with that for deaf-and-blind young adults, and well below the rate of those with blindness alone or learning disabilities or traumatic brain injuries, Standifer said.

Since Asperger's syndrome didn't become a standard diagnosis until the early 1990s, many of Aspiritech's software testers were adults when they first learned they were on the autism spectrum. They are pioneers, the first generation of adults with Asperger's.

Katie Levin, 35, was diagnosed in her late 20s with Asperger's. As a child, she'd been labeled as mentally ill.

"Asperger's is not a mental illness," she said. "I definitely feel like I identify with the Asperger's community more than I did with the mental illness community." She tests software and runs Aspiritech's Facebook page and Twitter feed.

Rick Alexander, 24, another tester, has a degree in computer science from the Illinois Institute of Technology and completed an internship developing software for the city of Chicago.

"I have a lot of social anxiety. I don't like meeting new people," said Alexander, who was diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome as a teenager. Like many of the other testers, he lives with his parents.

He'd rather be a software developer than a tester, he said. But selling himself in a job interview is "very difficult for me."

"When you're a child, the school is very concerned with you, the state is very concerned with you," Alexander said. Organizations help adults with autism, he said, but "you need to approach them and for somebody with Asperger's syndrome, it's very difficult to do the approaching."

Most research dollars have gone toward studying children with autism while adults have been neglected, said Molly Losh, an autism researcher at Northwestern University.

"Our vocational structure really isn't suited to funnel people with autism into the workforce," Losh said. Aspiritech "is a magnificent and innovative venture," she said.

Many businesses hire offshore companies to test software. Mike Mestemaker, director of engineering for Schaumburg, Ill.-based ISI Telemanagement Solutions, chose Aspiritech because it offered competitive rates but was based in the United States.

"They dove right in and worked very quickly," Mestemaker said. "They were very detail-oriented people. They really got the job done."

ISI was happy with the work and has hired Aspiritech for a second project, he said.

Aspiritech provides meaningful work (pay is $12 to $15 an hour) in a relaxed environment where bosses never yell if you're late and nobody minds if you need to be alone for a while. What's more, the company is building social skills. The software testers, who are in their 20s and 30s, are trained to work together and they take part in organized outings: miniature golf, bowling, eating at a restaurant.

"We want to improve social skills among people who tend to be socially isolated," said Marc Lazar, Aspiritech's autism specialist. For many of them, software testing is not going to be their lifelong career, Lazar said, "but while they're here they're going to improve their job skills and they're going to learn what kind of behavior is expected on the job and they're going to have more to put on their resumes."

Syosset and Aspie Friends

I have been cleansing my Face-Book friends list of those whom I do not regularly interact with or who show lack of respect. If they can read this, then they were probably not "de-friended." I value you! Patricia Caplan, Chantri Waddoups, Sharon Tanzer Kirschner, Sharla Kogel Hearne, Teresa Clementi, Robert Lemenze, Stephanie Bayer Franz, John Holliday, Robin Matheson, Wendy Weatherington, Ryan Collin, Margo Vacca Kemp, Shelly Betancourt, Brit M Dauzat, Alan Da Costa, and Brianne Fulton value me.

Although I have been in Florida since 2005, I have finally been in a Bealls and Tuesday-Morning for the first time. The first is a discount store reminiscent of Alexanders. The later is Home Furnishings close-out store. They are part of my big-box brisk-walk-daily program. I purchased a 6' HDMI cable for $4! and a GE 4-LED light strip for $5!

Frustration is maintaining a brisk walk in Bed Bath & Beyond. This would include Home Depot and Staples.

NT is neuro-typical like you and most people are. (not Aspie) Aspies are accustomed and more comfortable doing things in solitary. Social interaction is what we are greatly challenged with, and therefore are uncomfortable in inter-personal relations. (they are LESS "fun") Aspies do not get "Clued in" It is the difference and advantage of not doing something in solitary that Aspies wonder about all the time. You NTs accept it as a paradym.

I greatly enjoy, appreciate, and seek out friends, like you or SG. Unfortunately, people often misunderstand me. They often leave me, or I must leave them (such as in the case with SG). I have therefore led a very lonely life (until FB) My wife loves me, and wanted us to get married. I personalty did not understand the logic. It feels good to have someone who cares about me, around. This is one person we can develop a relationship with, that is so hard to do with others. She has the empathy that is necessary. I am seeking to understand how she understands the value of marriage.

LMH: "It fascinates me to think that neurotypical people can't all just take a step back and think to themselves, yes, to most people that might seem like a strange question but it is NOT for an Aspie. And in the world of spectrum disorders, many of the people I work with (who are in their early 20s), have a difficult enough time connecting with a person in conversation let alone maintaining friendships or intimate relationships (and intimacy is more than sex, Stephen). Many Aspies have so much difficulty in interpersonal relationships that even having a friend is challenging. Think of having challenges with even having friends and then think how much of you goes into an intimate relationship. And when so much of the life of an Aspie is trying to navigate a neurotypical world in what others feel is "socially appropriate", the fact that Andrew even asks these questions to get an honest opinion is something I look up to." When you've met a person on the spectrum, that's all you've done, met ONE person on the spectrum.

AIL: Exceptionally insightful and articulate LMH! Thank you! You even helped me see things from an NT view point!

Stephen Gyetko: "Andrew, you totally nailed it. You're so lucky to have someone like your wife, as I'm lucky to have found someone. It must be tough to figure it all out, but suffice to say, she loves you and 'it's a groove'. Be good to each other and only good can come of it. As you said previously, the world is a noisy, complicated and conflicting place for you. It must be like trying to make tactile sense of something while wearing oven mitts. Best of luck always and thanks for the Syosset site. It's made me appreciate all over again how lucky I was and how much that great little town gave me."

AIL I very much look forward to future communication from you Stephen Gyetko

LMH: Stephen, that is awesome that you understand a little bit more about the Aspie perspective. And yes, it's hard for ANY of us to find someone and be lucky enough to be loved. Temple Grandin describes autism and spectrum disorders as feeling like an "anthropologist on Mars" which is so close to your oven mitt comment that I love it.

AIL Yes LMH, Stephen Gyetko's oven mit analogy was excellent. He comes up with good ones.

LMH I'm more than impressed. I think he nailed it as well. We seem to have smart people who comment on your threads and there's nothing I enjoy more than discussing what I feel so passionate about.

AIL Ditto. I enjoy collecting smart people, and keeping them around. I am thrilled to have you as a friend.

I drive to a big box stores or mall to walk briskly for about 45 minutes. I try to do this daily because I believe the exercise is beneficial to my health. It is always too hot and humid outside here in Florida. I do not have money for a Health club, or insurance. I am indefinitely unemployed. I am otherwise at home 24/7 except when I grocery shop. My entertainment is seeing the change of retail entities and products.

You know you are an Aspie if you do this...

9/11/11: I hung my 9.3+ foot flag outside in front of 2 of my four living room bay windows, hiding them both. This is to honor our heroes of 9/11/01. 9/11/11 My Community Association and Management are controlled by a few oppressive cowardly bullies who have been making slanderous statements against my wife, me, and my website. At the request of my wife, a Director on the Board, I have removed the following from the above site: "This website will not be ruled by terrorists. "All are welcome" on 9/21/11 at 7pm to open that cockpit (veranda) door and take control of our Hidden Village community. "Let's Roll"

I am so happy that my Condo Owners Association has approved paid for and hung up in front of our community, a custom-made large metal sign for the website and newsletter that I created. It says "www.HiddenVillage.org"

LMH: Hey Andrew- I wanted to actually thank you for helping to open my eyes to so many new things in the Aspie community.... I will be continuing to read your blog as it is such an excellent resource and SO brilliantly done! Thank you for it!

My biggest frustration I find with people and society: The inability to identify, understand and explain one's feelings, and the unwillingness to express them honestly and openly.

This message was found on LernerDesign.com: "I'm blown away by the magnitude of your talent & the way you incorporate so many pieces of information into your creative and clever design aesthetic. Cannot wait to delve further in :)" Thank you Christine-Marie Licato Olds! Renee Zamow Bevard, Christine-Marie Licato Olds and Robin Matheson like this.

9/3/11 Thank you Stephen Gyetko for this: "I've learned so much about the whole aspie thing since getting on the "You know you're from Syosset if..." site. You've done a tremendous job educating people in general about the whole thing. If there's an organization focused on aspie issues, they would do well to use your talents to further the cause of aspie acceptance." Shelly Betancourt, Francine Ahrenstein Kass and LMH like this.

Aspie eyes are wired differently, and appear different than assumed. Christine-Marie Licato Olds likes this.

LMH It's fascinating to me that I didn't know what an "Aspie" was until I looked it up. I have a master's degree in Special Education and I do 1:1 community coaching (habilitation and socialization) with young adults with ASD's. Is this a new or recent term? AIL Aspie, as you may have found out is an affectionate name for an individual with Asperger's Syndrome. You many find much information on it at http://andrewlerner.blogspot.com/ Thank you for your interest!

LMH: Definitely interested, I'm going to check out your blog, they aren't even teaching the term in education classes yet, and they should. It takes a condition some find stigmatizing or scary (from all the unknowns) and makes it relatable. I like it a LOT. I love the blog! I love the way you are able to demonstrate that there are different ways to think about ANYTHING just by being who you are! So inspiring!

AIL I very much appreciate you interest. There are many ways to bring up only the posts regarding A.S. you can click on Aspie in the LABELs list on the lower left, type aspie in one of the search boxes, etc.

I will be exploring in more detail, definitely. But you have piqued my interest and I look forward to learning more.

CMLO: I'm surprised they aren't teaching AS...been years since I did undergrad (initially Special Ed, but then switched) I'm guessing some programs lump all Autism Spectrum diaga into one pile which is unfortunate. Andrew provides copious amounts of info; his interesting & unique take on life @ people & most important, a window into the Aspie world for NTs. I'm blown away by his observations, honesty & endless creativity.

LMH: I just meant they never teach the term "Aspie". However, since much of my work is with the ASD population, I find AIL's information to be extremely helpful. Currently I'm providing 1:1 habilitation for individuals on the spectrum and his blog is an incredible resource to me!

CMLO The more I see of your designs the more I want to see (and the symbolism etc=incredible) Hoping for opportunity to hire you to create cool new materials for my org.

9/2/11 For the first time ever, my wife's cat jumped, and lied on my lap, and did so for four hours! "Aww Colbert ♥ ' s you :)"

My favorite working book title for growing up with Asperger's Syndrome: "If you don't know, I'm not going to tell you". 8/29/11 Aspies are not common and therefore lack that sense.

CMLO Andrew I really enjoy your graphic work and the interesting you facts you connect regarding Syosset & the vernacular of today etc. By far, the photo of the Theatre is my favorite nostalgia. Though I don't qualify for your Sy-Fl page...

 8/14/11 It just occurred to me that "The Christian Science Monitor" is an oxymoron. Are Atheists covered by their insurance company for acts of God?

8/6/11: I walked to my pool today. It was hot out. When I got to my Cabana, I was hot, so I took off my T-shirt. I was hot. I walked along my veranda,and jumped into the pool. It was hot. After a while, I walked out of the pool for a while. I was hot. Later, after I walked home, and walked inside, it was delightful!

Lost Long Island

Gay Syosset

Click on the picture at the left or on "Gay Syosset" above to enlarge.

Words change meaning over time. Seeing someone on line at the Syosset Theater, or SYOS: See You Online Soon in FaceBook. Having a gay time at Lollipop Farm, or at "SYOS", an all-male club? Either way, like the Flintstones USED to say: Have a gay old time here in Cyber Syosset!

To my statement in the Syosset 1970s Facebook group of "Wow, even Apple has lost Jobs!" Hal Berenson: 

I'll bring this to some measure of relevance to Syosset. SHS was one of the first high schools in the country to give students access to computers. While my friends and I were playing around on ASR33 teletypes connected to BOCES LIRICS' DECsystem-10, Bill Gates and Paul Allen were doing the same (the Lakeside School in Seattle had its own DECsystem-10). That is what got us all hooked on computers. Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak followed a slightly different route but ended up in a similar place. Many SHS alumni went on to careers in computing, and we've made some major contributions (although obviously nothing on the same scale as these other guys). In particular Jobs and Gates became the two key leaders of the computer industry as we transitioned to "personal computing", and just as importantly the two most important industrialists of the baby boom generation. I went to work for Bill, but have no less respect for Steve's importance to our industry and our generation. When Bill decided to move his full-time focus from Microsoft to charity work I was saddened that I wouldn't be working with him but happy for what it meant for the world overall. But Steve being forced from his CEO role at Apple over health reasons saddens me tremendously. It is, as Stephen Gyetko points out, pretty ominous and I am taking it quite personally. And so in the spirit of this group, you really know you're from Syosset if you used the ASR33s when there was one each in adjoining closets on the second floor of the E wing (around the corner from Mr. T's) when the teachers were clueless (or even scared) about what to do with them and everyone else in the school thought you were nuts; And you can trace that experience to the news of the day. 

Outstanding Hal Berenson I could not have wrote better. I spent much time at the computer lab at Syosset, and went on for a college degree in programming. I still have the punch tapes to prove it!

1918

My mother was born on this date in 1918. Lerner Shops was founded in 1918 by Samuel A. Lerner and Harold M Lane in NYC. Also born in 1918 was Alan Jay Lerner, Rose Kennedy, Betty Ford, Pearl Bailey, William Holden, Ted Williams, Chaim Herzog, Art Carney, Spiro Agnew, Anwar Sadat, Joey Bishop, Howard Cosell, Shlom Goren, Sam Walton, Jack Parr, Robert S. Strauss, Rita Hayworth, Helmut Schmidt, and Donald Regan. There was the Flu Pandemic and WW1. Established was Daylight Daving Time, and regular airmail service. On September 11, The Boston Red Sox defeat the Chicago Cubs for the 1918 World Series championship, their last World Series win until 2004. The Hungarian Democratic Republic is declared. Please put 1918 in my "Search and Sight" box on the left for more information.

Choose My Plate

My version of the USDA's food pyramid replacement. Which one do you choose? Which one can you be at peace with? Do you want a piece of the pie? Do you think it is a mickey mouse idea? Choose My Pieces. Choose .love over .gov MyPiece.love MyPieces.love myplate my plate

Here is an article about this topic that you might appreciate: http://www.cornichon.org/2011/06/usda-pyramid-schemes.html

Osamanation

  This is a favorite Dilbert strip of mine. He is an Aspie. This strip personifies an Aspie. 

Osamanation: The assassination by President Obama's Nation, of an abomination, on 5/1/11, for 9/11. OsaMay11: My store for products reflecting the above left sentiment. 

Washington DC poster

Asperger Relief

By Marie Hartwell-Walker, Ed.D.
The following are criteria for Aspergers that have been excerpted from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV):

1. Qualitative impairment in social interaction, as manifested by at least two of the following:
   • Marked impairments in the use of multiple nonverbal behaviors such as eye-to-eye gaze, facial expression, body posture, and gestures to regulate social interaction
   • Failure to develop peer relationships appropriate to developmental level
   • A lack of spontaneous seeking to share enjoyment, interest or achievements with other people, (e.g., by a lack of showing, bringing, or pointing out objects of interest to other people)
   • lack of social or emotional reciprocity
2. Restricted repetitive & stereotyped patterns of behavior, interests and activities
3. The disturbance causes clinically significant impairments in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning.
4. There is no clinically significant general delay in language
5. There is no clinically significant delay in cognitive development or in the development of age-appropriate self-help skills, adaptive behavior (other than in social interaction) and curiosity about the environment in childhood.

They are often physically awkward and socially tactless.

You’ve probably known quite a few. Maybe they are even in your family. There’s that brilliant professor you had in college who looked at his desk the entire time he was talking to you and whose office was so overflowing with stuff there was nowhere for a visitor to sit. How about your brother-in-law the mechanic, whose work is superb but who insists on describing in minute detail exactly what he did to fix your car — and doesn’t seem to notice all your hints that you’re trying to leave already! What about your uncle or cousin or the sister of your best friend who is so socially awkward that you squirm with discomfort whenever they show up at an event, wondering what they’ll do next to embarrass themselves?
They are often physically awkward and socially tactless. They seem to be perfectionists but often live in chaos. They know more about some obscure or highly technical subject than seems possible — and go on and on about it. They may seem to lack empathy, and are often accused of being stubborn, selfish, or even mean. They can also be extremely loyal, sometimes painfully honest, highly disciplined and productive in their chosen field, and expert at whatever they decide to be expert at. They are the Aspies, adults with Asperger’s Syndrome.
The number of adults with Aspergers is still difficult to determine. The syndrome wasn’t even officially acknowledged in the DSM until 1994, even though it was described by Hans Asperger in 1944. The result? Many older adults weren’t diagnosed — or helped — as children. Teachers found them exasperating because they were so disorganized and uneven in their academic performance despite often being clearly bright. Other kids considered them weird and either bullied them or ignored them. As adults, they are only now discovering that there is a reason they’ve had difficulties with relationships their entire lives.
For many, having a diagnosis is a relief.
“I never could figure out what other people want,” says Jerome, one of my Aspie clients. “People seem to have some kind of code for getting along that is a mystery to me.”
Jerome is a brilliant chemist. He has the respect of his colleagues but he knows that he’s not well-liked. The finely tuned intuition he uses to do research breaks down completely in relationships.
“I know I’m well-regarded in my work. As long as we’re talking about a research problem, everything is fine. But as soon as people start doing that small talk stuff, I’m lost. It’s good to have a name for it. At least I know there’s a reason.”
Jerome is now starting to put the same intelligence he uses in his lab to learning better social skills. For him, it’s an academic problem to solve. Like many other Aspies, he wants to get along and have friends. He’s highly motivated to learn the “rules” most people take for granted. He just never understood what those rules were. Having the diagnosis has given him new energy for the project.
The press coverage of the syndrome of the last several years has been very helpful as well.
“I was working on a highly technical engineering project with a new guy last week. In the middle the morning, he put down his pencil, looked at me and said, “You have Aspergers, don’t you.”
Ted was explaining a recent encounter to me. “I got real nervous, thinking he was going to leave.”
“What did you say?” I asked.
“Well. I know now that’s my problem so I just said he was right. And you know what he said? He said, ‘I thought so’ and told me I could relax because he works with another guy who has the same thing. We had a great morning solving the problem. That wouldn’t have happened even a few years ago. I would have upset him somehow without understanding why. He would have gone back to his company thinking I was some kind of jerk. Things are just better now that there’s some understanding out there.”
Having the diagnosis has also saved more than a few marriages. Now that the kids are grown, Judy was ready to separate from her husband of 27 years when she first came to therapy.
“If Al and Tipper Gore could do it after 40 years of marriage, I figured I could manage it too. I don’t know what their problems were but I was just exhausted. I felt like I’d been single-parenting our two kids forever. Actually, I felt like I had three kids. Most of my friends couldn’t figure out what I saw in a guy who could only talk about one thing and who would rudely disappear in the middle of a social evening. He never seemed to be able to understand any of our feelings. Our finances were always a mess because he would lose track of bills. Yes, he was really sweet to me in our private life and he’s always been great about doing things like building the kids a tree house — that was really, really cool. But it became harder and harder to see that as a fair exchange for all the times I had to smooth things over because of something he did or didn’t do that bothered someone.
Then my daughter emailed me an article about Aspergers. It changed everything. I realized he wasn’t deliberately making life so hard. He couldn’t help it. As soon as he took an Aspie quiz online, he saw it was true. He does love us. He didn’t want the family to fall apart. He went right out and found a therapist who works with adults with Aspergers. He’s far from perfect but he’s honestly trying. He’s even apologized to the kids for not being more involved while they were growing up. I can’t ask for more than that.”
A diagnosis is primarily used to drive treatment decisions and to make it easier for clinical people to communicate with each other. But in cases like these, it can also be an enormous comfort to the individual and their families. As long as someone with Aspergers feels like they are being blamed or criticized for something they don’t even understand, they can only be defensive or bewildered. When the people around them feel offended or disrespected, they can only get exasperated, argue, or write them off. But when the thing that makes a relationship difficult is named and understood, it becomes a problem that can be worked on together. That shift can change everything.

http://www.myoutofcontrolteen.com/AspergersHandbook

ASperger Syndrome poster

Click, and click again for larger.

Asperger syndrome poster. Click image for enlargement. Asperger syndrome poster. Click image for enlargement. Asperger syndrome poster Asperger syndrome poster Asperger syndrome poster Asperger syndrome poster Asperger syndrome poster Asperger syndrome poster Asperger syndrome poster  Asperger syndrome poster Asperger syndrome poster Asperger syndrome poster Asperger syndrome poster Asperger syndrome poster Asperger's syndrome Asperger syndrome Asperger's syndrome Asperger syndrome Asperger's syndrome Asperger syndrome Asperger's syndrome Asperger syndrome Asperger's syndrome Asperger syndrome Asperger's syndrome Asperger syndrome Asperger's syndrome Asperger syndrome

Ass + Burger = puzzle piece

Brittany M Dauzat and I developed this from a similar picture she found on the web. The puzzle piece is the symbol for all who are on the autism spectrum, including Asperger Syndrome. A ribbon would connote that ASpies needs a cure. We want it known that we need awareness, tolerance, and cooperation for who we are. We don't have a disease. Also, there is no "s" at the end of Asperger. Asperger poster.

Introducing my Andrew Lerner Graphic Design logo! Click here.

Data on Asperger Syndrome

Asperger syndrome: An autistic disorder most notable for the often great discrepancy between the intellectual and social abilities of those who have it.

Asperger syndrome is a pervasive developmental disorder that is characterized by an inability to understand how to interact socially. Typical features of the syndrome also may include clumsy and uncoordinated motor movements, social impairment with extreme egocentricity, limited interests and unusual preoccupations, repetitive routines or rituals, speech and language peculiarities, and non-verbal communication problems.

The syndrome is named for Hans Asperger who in 1944 published a paper that described a pattern of behavior in several young boys who had normal intelligence and language development but who had autistic-like behavior. Hans Asperger (1906-1980) was a pioneering pediatrician in Austria. He headed the play-pedagogic station at the university children’s clinic in Vienna in 1932 and became director of the children’s clinic in 1946. His special interest was in “psychically abnormal” children.

There is no specific course of treatment or cure for Asperger syndrome. Treatment, which is symptomatic and rehabilitation, may include both psychosocial and psycho-pharmacological interventions such as psychotherapy, parent education and training, behavioral modification, social skills training, educational interventions, and/or medications including psycho-stimulants, mood stabilizers, beta blockers, and tricycle-type antidepressants. Common misdiagnoses or multiple diagnoses for Asperger’s include: Depression, Bipolar disorder, ADHD, ODD, OCD – all adjoining to the Autistic Spectrum.

The following five criteria primarily characterize Asperger’s Disorder.
1. A significant, ongoing impairment in social interactions with others, as demonstrated by at least two of the following symptoms:

• Significant difficulty in the use of multiple nonverbal behaviors such as the lack of eye contact, few facial expressions, awkward or clumsy body postures and gestures
• Failure to develop friendships
• Lack of spontaneous seeking to share enjoyment, interests, or achievements with other people (by a lack of showing, bringing, or pointing out objects of interest to other people)
• Failure to express appropriate and corresponding social or emotional reactions, such as when conversing or playing with others.

2. Restricted and repetitive patterns of behavior, interests, and activities, as shown by at least one of the following symptoms:

• A significant and encompassing preoccupation or obsession with one or two restricted topics, that is abnormal either in intensity, subject or focus
• Seemingly inflexible adherence to specific routines or rituals that serve little purpose
• Repetitive motor mannerisms.
• A persistent preoccupation with parts of objects

3. The set of symptoms causes significant impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning.
4. There is no significant general delay in language (e.g., single words used by age 2, communicative phrases used by age 3).
5. There is no significant delay in cognitive development (such as reading or math skills) or in the development of age-appropriate self-help skills, behavior, and curiosity about the environment in childhood.

This information contributed via Brittany M Dauzat

Keep money here in the U.S.A.

Sometime this year,  we taxpayers will again receive another 'Economic Stimulus' payment.
This is indeed a very exciting program,  and I'll explain it by using a Q & A format:
    Q.  What is an 'Economic Stimulus' payment?
    A.  It is money that the federal government will send to taxpayers.
    Q. Where will the government get this money?
    A.  From taxpayers.
    Q.  So the government is giving me back my own money?
    A.  Only a smidgen of it.
    Q. What is the purpose of this payment?
    A. The plan is for you to use the money to purchase a high-definition TV set, thus stimulating the economy.
    Q.  But isn't that stimulating the economy of China ?
    Below is some helpful advice on how to best help the U.S. economy by spending your stimulus check wisely:   
        * If you spend the stimulus money at Wal-Mart,  the money will go to China or Sri Lanka
        * If you spend it on gasoline, your money will go to the Arabs.
        * If you purchase a computer, it will go to India , Taiwan or China
        * If you purchase fruit and vegetables,  it will go to Mexico , Honduras and Guatemala
        * If you buy an efficient car, it will go to Japan or Korea
        * If you purchase useless stuff, it will go to Taiwan
        * If you pay your credit cards off, or buy stock, it will go to management bonuses and they will hide it offshore.
    Instead, keep the money in America by:
    1)  Spending it at yard sales,  or    
    2)  Going to ball games,  or
    3)  Spending it on prostitutes,  or  
    4)  Beer or  
    5) Tattoos.
(These are the only American businesses still operating in the U.S. )
    Conclusion:
    Go to a ball game with a tattooed prostitute that you met at a yard sale and drink beer all day!

Dog with cone cartoon.

Target Shack

Target has phased out the garden centers in their stores. They are phasing in Fresh produce grocery stores. An agreement has been made with Radio Shack, who now also carries Verizon, to operate mobile phone kiosks within their stores. This will better position Target to compete with Walmart and Best Buy stores. The Bullseye stores seems to be a win-win for both companies. It also fills the void left by Circuit City, Blockbuster, and Sam's Club. They will also carry AT&T and T-Mobile. The logo to the left is clever. It incorporates The newest (radio) R-O logo without using their new moniker of "The Shack". Super Target already has such other stores as Starbucks, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, and Wells Fargo Bank inside their buildings. Having a shack inside for the electronics makes sense. It now has a bigger target.

Happy 1st Anniversary

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Story Board

S&H discount stamps

During the 1960s, the rewards catalog printed by the company was the largest publication in the United States and the company issued three times as many stamps as the U.S. Postal Service.[1] Customers would receive stamps at the checkout counter of supermarkets, department stores, and gasoline stations among other retailers, which could be redeemed for products in the catalog. Click on green stamps for larger size, and then click again.