Aaron Likens - Finding Kansas: Living and Decoding Aspergers Syndrome

PRAISE FOR AARON LIKENS AND

Finding Kansas

Aaron Likens may be the most courageous, intelligent, and tenacious young man I have met in my long tenure in the mental health field. He is fiercely determined to better understand himself and the world around him, and he does us the great favor of sharing his journey of self-discovery, so profoundly touched by Aspergers syndrome. It is a condition that, before Aaron, led us to assume emotional insight and personal self disclosure might not be possible. We have much to learn from Aaron, and as he teaches us, our admiration, understanding, and respect for this brave young man, and all others affected by Aspergers syndrome, will grow.

Keith Schafer, Ed.D.,

director, Missouri Department of Mental Health

What Aaron has written provides a unique and unusual look into the cognitive processes involved in someone with Aspergers syndrome. Understanding these ideas and emotions are essential to provide a better understanding to autism spectrum disorders, including Aspergers syndrome. This will provide a unique contribution to scientific research as well as better awareness and understanding of people with this disorder.

Alycia Halladay, Ph.D.

[Finding Kansas] reveals depths of emotion, social comprehension, nuances of cognition and perception, and especially the potential for something close to recovery. I believe it has the potential to change lives.

Mark A. Cameron, Ph.D., MA,

from the foreword

Living and Decoding Aspergers Syndrome

Aaron Likens

A Perigee Book

A PERIGEE BOOK

Published by the Penguin Group

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Penguin Group (Canada), 90 Eglinton Avenue East, Suite 700, Toronto, Ontario M4P 2Y3, Canada (a division of Pearson Penguin Canada Inc.) Penguin Books Ltd., 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England Penguin Group Ireland, 25 St. Stephens Green, Dublin 2, Ireland (a division of Penguin Books Ltd.) Penguin Group (Australia), 250 Camberwell Road, Camberwell, Victoria 3124, Australia (a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty. Ltd.) Penguin Books India Pvt. Ltd., 11 Community Centre, Panchsheel Park, New Delhi110 017, India Penguin Group (NZ), 67 Apollo Drive, Rosedale, Auckland 0632, New Zealand (a division of Pearson New Zealand Ltd.) Penguin Books (South Africa) (Pty.) Ltd., 24 Sturdee Avenue, Rosebank, Johannesburg 2196, South Africa

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While the author has made every effort to provide accurate telephone numbers and Internet addresses at the time of publication, neither the publisher nor the author assumes any responsibility for errors or for changes that occur after publication. Further, the publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.

FINDING KANSAS

Copyright 2012 by Aaron Likens.

Text design by Kristin del Rosario.

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the authors rights. Purchase only authorized editions.

PERIGEE is a registered trademark of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

The P design is a trademark belonging to Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

First edition: April 2012

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Likens, Aaron.

Finding Kansas : living and decoding Aspergers syndrome / Aaron Likens. 1st ed.

p. cm.

A Perigee book.

ISBN: 978-1-101-56143-0

1. Likens, Aaron. 2. Aspergers syndromePatientsUnited StatesBiography.

3. MotorsportsUnited StatesBiography. I. Title.

RC553.A88L55 2012

618.928588320092dc23

[B]

2011043997

PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

This book describes the real experiences of real people. The author has disguised the identities of some, and in some instances created composite characters, but none of these changes has affected the truthfulness and accuracy of his story. Penguin is committed to publishing works of quality and integrity. In that spirit, we are proud to offer this book to our readers; however, the story, the experiences, and the words are the authors alone.

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ALWAYS LEARNING

PEARSON

To Emily

FOREWORD

I have been asked to write a brief description of my impression of the clinical value and importance of Aaron Likenss remarkable writings.

As a mental health professional who has specialized in the field of autistic spectrum disorders for nearly twenty years, and who worked with Aaron for more than a year, I am very pleased to see his remarkable writings in book form.

The only apt comparison I can make to Aarons essays is the effect of Temple Grandins first book, Emergence. Her personal account of the experience of autism was a revelation. It shattered many myths and previously accepted facts about autism. Her book permanently changed the previously limited understanding of autistic disorders.

I believe Aarons writings have the same potential regarding Aspergers syndrome. (Interestingly, Aaron uses some of the same language to describe living with AS as Dr. Grandin did, though he has never read her work.). He reveals depths of emotion, social comprehension, nuances of cognition and perception, and especially the potential for something close to recovery. I believe it has the potential to change lives.

I think it is important to note that unlike most current books on the subject of Aspergers, this is not a how-to (treat symptoms, etc.) but a how-do book. It is Aarons intensely personal journey, begun half unconsciously, its purpose emerging intuitively. The process has been self-healing, but the result, like many literary journeys, is that Aarons story speaks to us all. When he came to realize its potential value to others, he unselfishly decided to share it.

His story is told in chronological order. It reflects the preoccupation with sameness, order, and predictability that is a hallmark to autism spectrum disorders.

Aaron has subjected himself to rigorous self-examination, using himself as the subject of this study, a study of the nature and experience of Aspergers syndrome. He has bravely exposed us to his inner world. He queries himself relentlessly about the nature, meaning, and implications of his thoughts, feelings, and perceptions. In the course of this self-examination, he diligently applies logic, metaphor, analogy, and self-reflection in an attempt to understand his life.

This approach makes for a unique, self-made form of philosophical inquiry. When I say self-made, I mean this literally, for Aaron reads very little and is completely unacquainted with the field of philosophy or any of its most notable contributors.

In the course of this personal odyssey, however, he becomes much more than a clinical study of Aspergers, for his personal queries eventually pose the same strenuous questions about the human experience that have challenged philosophers since antiquity: What is the meaning of our lives and actions? How do we reconcile our experience with that of others? Where does the truth lie? What is love? Does freedom equal love?