GG: Asperger's (again!), OCD, Tourette's, etc.

["Anne M. Marble" <amarble@abs.net>]

Warning: Here's another post that has nothing to do with music! :->

Has anyone read Temple Grandin's book "Thinking in Pictures: And Other
Reports from My Life with Autism"? Temple Grandin has Asperger's Syndrome.
(Oliver Sacks wrote about her in "An Anthropologist on Mars.") Despite her
disease, she was able to earn a Ph.D. and has developed many of the devices
used for humane handling of livestock. I'm still not sure if GG had
Asperger's yet (he fits some of the symptoms but misses the mark on
others). But that book should still offer some insight. I'm wondering if I
should add it to my towering TBR (to be read) pile...

In addition, I've been reading a lot about Tourette's Syndrome lately. Did
you realize that Tourette's is closely tied in with obsessive-compulsive
disorder and with ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder)? In
addition, some "Touretters" have Asperger's syndrome as well. It's possible
that all these disorders (and alcoholism) have a common gene. It's also
possible that the disorders are often confused with each other!

I often wonder if GG had some form of OCD, perhaps as a part of another
disorder. Obviously, the hand washing could be a sign of OCD, as well as
his superstitions. According to something I read (in the Rhona Bergman
book, I think), GG used to be harped on by critics because he kept his eyes
on the ground when he walked on and off stage. Once, he told a friend he
did that because he was afraid of accidentally stepping on an aunt. Now if
that doesn't sound like OCD, I don't know what does.

I'm fascinated by OCD because as a child, I probably suffered from a mild
form of that condition when I was young. I had a lot of habits, and I
couldn't figure out why I couldn't stop. Luckily, they (mostly) went away
when I hit puberty (as those conditions often do). I can't imagine what it
would have been to go through life like that, but it makes me sympathetic
to the plight of people with OCD and similar disorders.

------
Anne M. Marble