Asperger's Syndrome Personal Statement

I was first labeled in second grade, when I was diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome. The therapist who diagnosed me told my parents that, best case scenario, I would grow up to be an accountant. While accountancy never really appealed to me, I accepted the general idea. I believed that poor social skills were destined to stick with me, all because of that diagnosis. Having accepted this, little eight-year-old me saw no reason to better my social skills, because why should I waste time trying to change my destiny?

At some point, however, I realized that I didn’t have to give up. I sat through countless hours in speech therapy at my school, being quizzed on some of the most mind-numbing questions possible, such as “Why is Timmy, who dropped

his cookies on the floor, so sad?” Of course, speech therapy wasn’t entirely negative, and has been very helpful in teaching me less obvious body language as well. I have also put forth great effort toward bettering my social skills in other areas. When I recognized that I struggled with public speaking, I joined the Speech and Debate team as a freshman. While I may not have succeeded in winning many awards, Speech and Debate helped me become comfortable speaking in public, a concept that would have made my middle-school self sick with anxiety. I continued to improve my social skills when I started attending an evening discussion group run by my English teacher, which has helped immensely in fostering new friendships and speaking in groups. This group has been so helpful to me that, after the English teacher left on sabbatical, I spearheaded an effort to maintain it, and plan to keep it going until the teacher returns.
Similarly, I’ve managed to find other ways to turn “symptoms” of Asperger’s into benefits as well. “Pursuit of specific and narrow areas of interest,” for example, is one of the major symptoms of Asperger’s. This “symptom” is one which has been instrumental in defining who I am. While some of my interests have faded away, every phase of mine has left me with a lesson. When I was in third grade, I began collecting coins, and what started as a few simple buffalo nickels in a little book has since transformed into a collection of over 2,000 coins ranging in age from 350 B.C.E. to today. A short article about cheese inspired me to become interested in artisan cheesemaking, and I’ve since been able to produce wheels of gouda, havarti, and mozzarella. After taking a year of German, I decided to teach myself a nearly extinct form of German cursive called Sütterlin, which I now take all my notes for school in. I’ve taken a strong interest in musical instruments, teaching myself to play guitar, banjo, ukulele, and even building my own electric guitar. Languages have been another interest of mine, and in my free time, I’ve worked on learning German, Dutch, Swedish, French, and hopefully many more to come. For me, my ability to focus intensely on whatever I put my mind to has helped me become who I am.
The greatest lesson I’ve learned from my difficulties with Asperger’s is that sometimes the greatest gifts are disguised as the toughest challenges. While I have struggled immensely with adapting into social situations in my past, today I have a great group of friends. While my social skills may be a bit lacking, and my interests may be a bit intense, that’s what makes me who I am, for better or for worse.