Barb's Burblings

I'm proofing this book about

I'm proofing this book about children with autism and am on a chapter about social skills, etc. Here's a paragraph from it:

"The abilities to be social, to be accepted, and to fit in weave through almost everything a person does in life. The psychosocial consequences of not fitting in can be potentially devastating to children with autism or Asperger's Disorder. Some of these children are quite skilled academically and are often expected by adults to perform at the same level socially. Although all children have to cope with conflicts and teasing, the level of teasing and bullying that children with autism or Asperger's Disorder experience may be well beyond what would be considered an acceptable childhood experience. Playgrounds may be particularly troublesome. They are generally undersupervised, and many children are left to fend for themselves."

All I can say is, word. Bullying bites. Some of us carry the emotional scars from painful middle school years. The chapter goes on to say that this sort of thing can cause people to have depression later in life. I can understand that. Luckily, some of us went on to have a very confidence-building social life in college that helped counteract the evilness of middle school. Thanks, guys.