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Local News |
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| Woman's autism took years to diagnose |
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| By Karen Kemp, Times Staff Writer |
Sunday, October 12, 2008 |
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Despite having a master’s degree in education, Deborah Lipsky spent years unable to hold down a job.
It was her lack of social skills, not her job performance, that she said made her unfit to carry out her duties as a case worker, retail clerk, gas station attendant and other positions during the 1970s and 1980s. She frequently corrected her bosses when she thought they were wrong, gave out too much information to customers and had a hard time relating with her co-workers, she said.
She and her husband eventually moved to the small town of Linneus, Maine, where she worked on a farm for nearly two decades, having little social interaction.
“I had to get away from people,” Lipsky said.
Knowing something was wrong, Lipsky saved up money to undergo a neuropsychological exam three years ago. She learned that she has high-functioning autism. The term applies to people who have the social interaction difficulties of autistic individuals but average or above average intelligence.
On Thursday, she will be visiting McDaniel College to share her story.
Now, 47 years old, Lipsky has become a national speaker on high-functioning autism and Asperger’s syndrome. The two disabilities are distinguished only by the onset of speech development, Lipsky said.
Carole Waddell, a learning specialist at McDaniel, said she first heard Lipsky speak at a seminar on Asperger’s syndrome in Baltimore last year. Lipsky was entertaining and informative, and she gave the best presentation Waddell had ever attended.
She asked Lipsky to speak at the college, hoping that her firsthand experiences would help teach students about the challenges of having an autism disorder and about strategies for communicating with an autistic individual.
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Will Richards, a psychologist who knows Lipsky through the Autism Society of Maine, will join her on Thursday to share how they formed a friendship in spite of their differences in communicating. Lipsky is very literal and does not easily pick up on the metaphors that Richards frequently uses, he said.
“We had a really hard time initially, before we settled on a [common] language,” he said.
A major goal of the presentation is to challenge the stereotypes of autism as a deficiency and focus on the positive aspects, he said.
In Lipsky’s case, her diagnosis has helped her develop coping strategies for the social and emotional problems she had suffered since she was a child. In 2005, she offered her story to a national seminar company and was given the job that has led to her success today.
Lipsky said she views autism as a cultural difference rather than a disease, and wants other people to share her outlook.
“I’m trying to train the next generation of service providers to look at the gift and not the limitations,” she said.
Reach staff writer Karen Kemp at 410-857-7890 or karen.kemp@carrollcountytimes.com.
If you go
What: Living with High-functioning Autism: An Insider’s View
When: 7 p.m. Oct. 16
Where: McDaniel College Lounge, 2 College Hill in Westminster
What is Asperger’s syndrome/high-functioning autism?
Asperger’s syndrome is an autistic disorder that affects a person’s ability to socialize and communicate effectively with others. It is thought to be at the milder end of the spectrum and affects an estimated two out of 10,000 children. Signs and symptoms include:
- Engaging in one-sided, long-winded conversations, without noticing if the listener is listening or trying to change the subject;
- Displaying unusual nonverbal communication, such as not making eye contact, few facial expressions or awkward body postures and gestures;
- An intense obsession with one or two specific subjects, such as baseball statistics, train schedules, weather or snakes;
- Appearing not to understand, empathize with or be sensitive to the feelings of others;
- Having a hard time understanding humor;
- Monotonous, rigid or unusually fast speech;
- Clumsiness and poor coordination;
- Odd posture or a rigid gait.
Source: www.mayoclinic.com/health/aspergers-syndrome
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