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To: Rebecca Agosta

From: Donald Williams

Date: July 14, 2016
Subject of Inquiry: How does Aspergers affect someones personal identity, as compared to a
normal person?
What do you think when you hear the word Aspergers? Do you know what it is or how to
identify someone with this disorder? This is why I am doing my inquiry paper on Aspergers
Syndrome. For those who do not know what this disease is, it is a form of autism and it affects
ones social and communication skills. These deficiencies can range from very mild, which is
just seeming annoyed and doesnt talk much, to very severe, which includes screaming and
crying and possibly self-harm. I chose this topic because I know someone very dear to me who
has this disease. My brother has had this disease ever since he was born and for the longest time I
didnt understand why. I know now what I didnt know then, that is why I can understand what
he does and why he does it. What I dont understand is how other people react to him. We all can
tell when someone has autism, but it is very hard to tell when someone has Asperger Syndrome.
They look like a normal person but they act very differently. Going through high school with my
brother was a challenging time for me. When I was a freshman people would ask me what is
wrong with your brother and I would blow them off, but then I began to understand why people
would ask me these questions and it came to the point when someone would ask me I would tell
them he suffered from Asperger Syndrome. To my surprise not many people knew what that was
and it bothered me. I think the hardest time for me was when some kid was picking on my
brother and my brother had a moment when his Aspergers took over and he was yelling and
he was very upset. This upset me, not only because it was my brother but because he is making
fun of someone who is different from him. I stepped in and we dont need to go into details about
what happened after that. Throughout high school my brother was treated differently because of
his syndrome and even to this day he is still treated differently from me. No one truly knew that
he suffered from Aspergers and they didnt know how to identify the disease.
Proposed Research Methods:
I am going to read articles on Aspergers Syndrome and how it affects people of all different
ages. I am also going to try to interview more people, not just my brother, who suffer from this
and see how they overcome these issues that they have. I think it will be interesting to see how
people from all different age groups handle these situations that they are put in. I will also try to
talk to a professional in Psychology and see what a professionals view of this issue of being
treated differently is.
Inquiry Questions:
1. How do people of different age groups handle their Aspergers Syndrome?
a. Are their certain tricks to growing up with this disease?
b. Are there coping mechanisms for this disease for when someone gets older?

c. How do certain age groups handle social interactions differently from people who
dont have Aspergers Syndrome.
2. What kinds of traits or actions does someone have to be classified as suffering from
Aspergers Syndrome?
a. Does this disease defy who they are?
b. How do we as normal citizens identify someone who has this disease?
3. What causes people to treat people who have this disease differently?
a. Is there a personal gain from making fun of someone with this disease?
b. Is there a trend of people being picked on from different age groups or is it just
one certain age group?