Forensics and Cats: What Aspergers Brings

While increasingly common in children and young adults in America today, Autism and Aspergers have only recently been recognized as a neural developmental disorder. What's more is the fine lines drawn between the Autism and Aspergers disorders, and how they cause those affected to act and interact with other people. Also determined by the disorder, as well as the individual, is the level of interaction and socialization with others when afflicted with Autism or Aspergers. Autism is diagnosed after the first three years of a child's life, after the child has developed enough to formulate speech and make interactions with others. 

In Jodi Picoult's novel House Rules she tells the story of a teenage boy who must battle the pressures and obstacles high school throws at adolescents, as well as encountering what social barriers autism can bring. What the story sheds light upon, however, is the extreme task of parenting and how difficult parenting can be. The story is told from the point of view of Emma Hunt, the single mother of Jacob Hunt, the adolescent victim of Aspergers. 

I have only just begun the book, and still there are many details and specifics that one picks up on when reading. Jacob has very particular interests, although to call them interests is somewhat of an understatement. As with most diagnosed with Aspergers, Jacob shares an extreme obsession in a certain topic, in his case forensic science. Jacob can't stand the color orange, and must live with a strict and orderly structure in his daily routine. Any disturbance of that structure, or disturbance of any kind in his daily routine, causes him to have melt downs and dangerous fits of rage. House Rules is so interesting because we see what pain Emma goes through as her son goes into fits, or how much she deeply and truly loves him. Emma makes accommodations for all of Jacob's needs; whether it be not cooking orange foods, scheduling Jacob's therapy sessions and a social skills counseling, and planning out the same meal type for certain days of the week. Emma devotes her life to the protection and preservation of her son, in hopes that he will live a fulfilling and dependent life.

My sole relation to this book may be within the resemblance between my younger cousin and Jacob. While several years younger, and female, my younger cousin Maya was diagnosed with Aspergers at the age of four. Now seven, she has the disposition and social skills of someone much younger. But finding someone of such high intelligence if difficult; I've never met a smarter seven year old. Maya also has an obsession; hers, however, being with cats. Domestic house cats, lions, tigers, bobcats, lynxes, cheetahs--literally any type of organism belonging to the cat species. And while Maya still socially struggles and has to work hard at creating conversation, but I truly believe that, just like Jacob, her contribution to society in the future will be a great one, and that those with Aspergers will soon be recognized as great, intuitive contributors to society, who shouldn't be singled out due to their outlook on the world.