Mercedes offers a glimpse into life with Asperger’s disorder

Mercedes Jones is not your average 11-year-old girl. She’d rather watch the Discovery Channel than “American Idol.” She followed the 2008 presidential election closely, spending hours watching the news networks and debating the merits of the candidates with her class. She would like to go into politics — if she doesn’t become a veterinarian — and she wants to create a world without violence or meanness. She campaigns for a cause, speaking to groups of adults with poise.

“At camp, my nickname was The Protester, because I was always protesting,” she said.

Oh — and she’s autistic.

Living with Asperger’s

Mercedes, a fifth grader at Thomas Intermediate, was diagnosed with Asperger’s disorder, a milder variant of autism. She is considered “high functioning” — so much so, in fact, that she wasn’t diagnosed until she was about 9 years old.

“It took her summer school teachers to notice it,” said Mercedes’ mother, Juanita Jones, a school nurse with the Bedford County system. “She wasn’t making eye contact and when she ran, she tilted her head to one side when she ran.”

Read the rest of the article and know about Asperger Syndrome Disorder.