Reply from Diedre to Joan, Child's Age 12 - 4/29/02 - IP#: 203.110.220.14Hi Joan. Maybe it is none of my business, but I have been reading the messages on this board, and it sounds like you have a golden opportunity here for your son Tom (i.e. the chat room on this site). Your son has a disability (Aspergers Syndrome), but he can learn to deal with that disability and lead a productive life. My daughter has obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), which is similarly disabling. Kids with OCD can learn to cope with the disorder by ignoring their obsessive feelings, and by doing things like telling themselves to "take a risk", and squeezing their hand until the obsessive feeling passes. Anyway, the chat room experience on this site could be quite beneficial for your son, as it is anonymous interaction with real peers. Furthermore, Tom has a caring, very bright friend (Steven) who can guide him and protect him from any bad people in the chat room (my daughter says there are not many bad people there). So go ahead Joan... take a risk... let Tom use the chat room (by himself), with Steven watching out for him. You can't protect Tom for the rest of his life, and the chat room could be quite therapeutic for him. |