stumbled upon while researching Asperger's Disorder

Introspection


"Locked in a body that knows how to function,
This mind knows the rules, but not how to speak.
Rehearsed interaction is laboured, but managed,
Learning language and actions, but still feeling meek.

Fragments of knowledge are processed and filtered,

To sift out the right way to smile and to cry.

Emotionally barren and socially awkward,

Avoiding eye contact, mistaken for shy.

Hang on to a pattern, a routine, a ritual,
To feel safe with existence, to know how to live.
Avoid changing backgrounds and unknown encounters,
From anxious to full fearful panics, they give.


All manner of subjects researched infinitum.
Obsessive behaviour is par for the course.
First one then another thing learned to its limits,
All referenced and noted to every last source.


First learning then working, to the exclusion of friendship.
One minded and narrow, to a depth never seen.
A gulf holds me far from the mind of all others.
Confused where I fit in; somewhere in between."

- by Adrian Flynn

I am currently writing a paper on Asperger's Disorder, and found this poem somewhere along the way of my research. it is written by someone who has the disorder, and though I do not know what it is like to feel this way; I find this poem to be particularly accurate. or well, I just like it a lot. working with people who have Asperger's, especially children, has grown to be something I feel pretty passionate about. perhaps I will pursue grad studies along these lines; thinking about it.