I have long held a belief that there is an inverted correlation between academic intelligence and common sense. I haven’t done any study, I just have my own observations to justify it, and every time I mention my theory to people they tend to agree. I may have mentioned in the past that I have a brother and a sister-in-law that both hold doctorates in STEM subjects. Indeed, my brother I believe qualifies as an Oxford Don as he used to teach there. He has always been gifted in the Sciences, with degrees in maths and physics and a PHD in particle physics. My sister-in-law has a PHD in electrical engineering. Both my parents were chartered scientists (my father was also a chartered engineer) which meant with my meager BSc(hons) degree I am rather the weak link in the family.
That said, all of them put together have less common sense than a concussed duckling. Despite having a degree in physics my father thought that putting a CD in the microwave was a good idea (spoiler – it isn’t), my brother and sister-in-law dismantled a microwave (what is it with microwaves?!) to find out why it wasn’t working and neither of them checked the fuse before I suggested it. As for my mother; she once attempted to eradicate a woodworm infestation in a piece of furniture by dousing it in ethanol and smacking each worm on the head with a toffee hammer when it drunkenly appeared on the surface. That didn’t work either but it did burn well on bonfire night.
So what has this got to do with raising fae? Well, there is a long held myth that all ASD children fall into one of two categories; they are either low functioning which means that they will need support for the rest of their life, have little ability to do anything for themselves, and won’t talk or socially interact. Think Ralph Wiggin on The Simpsons. Or they are high functioning which makes them extremely intelligent, have super intuitive memories but limited social skills – there are endless examples from TV here e.g. Sherlock in the BBCs modern adaption of the same name, Dr Shaun Murphy in the Good Doctor, Temperance Brennan in Bones, and Sheldon Cooper in Big Bang Theory.
None of these are particularly good representations of ASD as it is a spectrum and thankfully the ideas of high and low functioning are falling out of favour, toward the idea of levels which I’m still not so keen on – but as I can’t really suggest a better approach I will just have to live with it. It may be because there are only three levels and I don’t feel this is enough especially when Asperger’s syndrome and Autism are now lumped in the same bucket.
My fae is difficult to level – she is somewhere between levels 2 and 3. She stims continuously, she will often exhibit echolalia. She can, however, mask when she wants to – she can interact with her peers, but that behaviour is mimicking, because she has the intelligence to work out what is expected of her. She has specific interests and hyperfixations that rule her waking moments: one of the big ones has been Paw Patrol, which she has been taken with for 4 years.
So she can instigate interactions with neurotypical kids – putting her at level 1 – but she needs constant support and stims. That’s level 2. BUT also needs speech and communication intervention. She relies on Makaton signing to support her speech as it’s underdeveloped, so that’s level 3.
Needing round the clock supervision is also level 3, and she does need it, or she will find things she shouldn’t do to do, and new and impressive ways of hurting herself.
So intelligent, yes, but also lacking any common sense. So she fits my theory as well, even if she is the hottest chili in the spice rack.
Raising the Modern Fae 