Wanabee Quiltin

This sounds like a great idea.

countrymaid

My son also has Aspergers. His perception on the obvious and not so obvious always amazes me. The older he gets the better he can verbalize what his perception means to him.

Monika

Loved your story. What struck me most was your great attitude about it!!!

thanneaKS

When I saw "swirly smooth," I immediately visualized a quilt made of sherbet colors mixed with lots of white, maybe even monochrome--like various shades of pastel orange mixed with creamy white, circular patterns. Maybe I'm a little Aspie? I've wondered, to tell the truth.

caspharm

BellaBoo, ask her if she could draw the concept for you. Maybe drawing it out could help.

My DS was quite an artist when he was younger - he could do almost 3 dimensional views. I actually wish he would draw now, but as an adult, he has moved on towards other things. He has LDs with some Asperger symptoms, but he is fairly mainstream, his main problem is reading people - he is not always able to pick up on things.

Girlfriend

They say that Bill Gates has Asperger's. They live in they own world of creativity. It obviously worked for him. Interesting to try to understand from their point of view....

Rose_P

Maybe it would be a good idea to tell your niece that you're okay with her not loving the quilt and at the same time explain that you made it out of love for her, and mention all the nice thoughts you had about her as you were coming up with the words for each letter of her name. If a lack of empathy is part of what defines Asperger's, then she may need a little spelling out about what making the quilt meant to you. Who knows, when that hits home, she may immediately feel more receptive toward it. The other reason that it would be good to give her a little explanation would be to assure her that whatever she thinks of your quilt, you'll always be her loving aunt. Some of the other young people and maybe even her mom may have shamed her for her reaction as soon as you were out of earshot, and that would be an unintended side effect. It would not make her feel any more kindly toward it either, if that happened.

The other thing to know is that if the quilt had been given to her in a less distracting situation, she might have been able to focus on it differently. A big social gathering is often stressful for people like your niece - too much noise and activity. She may be loving it by now, for all we know. It wouldn't surprise me.

Friday1961

My middle son was very shy when young and could be a little quirky in his habits. He, too, could not bear having Happy Birthday sung to him at his parties until he was ten or twelve. He'd put his hands over his ears in order not to hear. We thought it was because he felt self-conscious but maybe it was the words for him, too. He also always ate one thing at a time on his plate -- couldn't bear his food to touch. He's grown now and he still does that!

Girlfriend

Your take is very insightful, and I agree. I think we need to give him the benefit of the doubt so he can learn grace and empathy. I really think these kids struggle emotionally. They are awkward and probably have received criticism. Love goes a long way. And this act of love in making the quilt needs a little push in the right direction.....

earthwalker

Thanks for sharing....well at any rate your sister will be well-pleased, so that's great.....Not to mention having such a terrific party banner in the form of the quilt. Many of us see the world differently, but keep quiet about it....as someone else said when she has time to see it when there's not so much noise and activity there will be elements she is drawn to.