A place for everything and everything in its place.

One of Darren's favorite places to go to is the library, whether it's the "big library" (Main library in Ogden) or the "little library" (Roy branch), he always finds interesting books to read. This time he just couldn't help it but to give the librarians a "hand" by organizing the books on the "popular"shelf. He started with a couple of books and a few minutes later he had a ton of them on the floor and ended up organizing all the shelves. I couldn't help it but to smile watching him as he carefully organized all the different series by number. I kept thinking somebody would come and be upset at how Darren re-organized the books but I honestly didn't care *shrugs* because the books looked SO much better afterwards and they were indeed in order. It reminded me of an episode of Curious George we used to watch together called "Book Monkey" where the librarian Mrs. Dewey leaves him in charge of the library to stack and sort books. When George has trouble finding a certain book, he decides to rearrange them, first by color, then by size. But then Steve tells him that the proper way to arrange books is by subject.
Darren really enjoys organizing and sorting so I just had to sit there to watch and wait until his job was done :)

Extreme Book of Numbers

Darren has been fascinated with big, HUGE numbers, he's been researching and totally immersed in them. About a month ago, he decided he wanted to share this knowledge with the world by writing a book about all these crazy numbers. He is completely convinced that it will be a huge success since "everybody must be very interested in numbers" (just like he is). We wanted him to feel accomplished and work towards a goal. We were a little concerned about the whole publishing thing because Darren kept insisting that Wal-Mart and Barnes & Noble would buy his book. We told him we needed to start small and sell the book to family and friends and see how it goes.
I love to see him so motivated and with a desire to share something that's so important to him.
I love that he believes in something with so much passion.
In the eyes of  a little kid EVERYTHING is possible... heck, why not?!

"Keep your dreams alive. Understand to achieve anything requires faith and belief in yourself, vision, hard work, determination, and dedication. Remember all things are possible for those who believe."
Gail Devers

PS

If you would like to own a copy of this fascinating book please give me or Dan a call or feel free to leave a message here. Thanks! :)

Darren is my Universe

From time to time Darren will find topics that are extremely fascinating to him. Together we have learned everything about THX (surround sound ), floor plans, volcanoes, weather systems, planets, coins, movie ratings, the Titanic, ancient cultures, and many more. Most of his free time nowadays is spent on line looking into cosmology and different theories of the universe, its formation, evolution and ultimate fate. Yes, it's exhausting! Most of the time I have no clue what he's talking about and the answers to his questions are hard to find and extremely complicated to explain...at least to me anyway. Darren is very bright but let's not forget he's still 7 years old and some things are just too hard to understand, like physics, theories of relativity, math, etc.
In trying to nurture his desire for knowledge I went, yet again, to the library to find books about his new  interest. The question is, how long are these books going to last him before I have to go back and get some more?

Darren and astronaut Kent Rominger

Darren is a very special boy, with a special way of thinking. Many of his strengths come because of his diagnosis of Asperger's Syndrome, he's helped me see the world in a different way and even though this comes with MANY challenges I can also see the MANY BENEFITS of being an "Aspie". Yesterday, as I was doing some research, I came across this website called yourlittleprofessor.com  and I read an interesting article on the benefits of Asperger's Syndrome. Here's some excerpts:

Many people who are experts in Asperger Syndrome such as Dr. Teresa Bolick, Dr. Tony Attwood, and Dierdre Lovecky write about the positive aspects of Asperger Syndrome without focusing on the idea of genius. Lovecky notes how Aspies often have advanced vocabularies, recognize patterns others do not, and pursue ideas despite evidence to the contrary because they are not easily swayed by others' opinions. Their ability to focus on details and their inability to see the big picture means they can often come up with solutions to problems others overlook. Aspies are often willing to spend long hours in laboratories and in front of computer screens because they do not mind being alone. All this enables them to make tremendous contributions at work and school. Author Patricia Bashe points out that people often admire those who can work independently. She writes, "Our society celebrates the individual who does what he thinks is right and goes his own way."

This is so true, Darren won't take a no for an answer until it makes sense to him, he has that ability to focus on specific things and analyze them in detail. He won't drop a topic until he has exhausted every article, every book, every detail.

Norm Ledgin wrote a book called Asperger's and Self-Esteem: Insight and Hope through Famous Role Models  which claims that thirteen giants of history - Marie Curie, Albert Einstein, and Mozart among them- also had Asperger's Syndrome. Some people believe that Shakespeare, Jane Austen, Charles Darwin, Galileo, Pablo Picasso, Benjamin Franklin, Margaret Mead and Aristotle had Asperger's Syndrome.
Lately authors are adding Bill Gates to the list of famous Aspies because of his lack of social skills, inability to make eye contact and tendency to rock back and forth coupled with his obsession with technology. Diane Kennedy, an author and advocate for AS, writes, "They are our visionaries, scientists, diplomats, inventors, chefs, artists, writers and musicians. They are the original thinkers and a driving force in our culture."
Hans Asperger, the German doctor who discovered the syndrome, would agree with Kennedy's assessment. He believed that "for success in science or art, a dash of autism is essential. The essential ingredient may be an ability to turn away from everyday world, for the simply practical and to rethink a subject with originality so as to create in new untrodden ways with all abilities canalized into one specialty."

So I say to Darren: go ahead, explore away and don't give up until you find the edge of the Universe! Mom will keep going back and forth to the library until you get all your answers...Because I love you :)

UPDATE: 
I did go back to the library the next day, Darren had to come with me because apparently I didn't get enough "information" *roll eyes*. As we were looking through some books I showed him one and he looked at the author's name and said : "Stephen Hawkin!!" and I said: "Do you know who he is?" his response was: "no, but I've read his theories"  BAHAHA. Yes, we checked them all out :)

He is Reading!!

Carmen has started transferring our old videos to the computer. Among the videos moved so far is this gem. One of the first examples of Darren either repeating words he had memorized or reading. We think this video was recorded just after Darren turned 2 (around 2 years and 3 months). Take a look at the beginning of Darren already starting down the road of being much smarter than either of his parents. Notice that he Says "Boynton" when Carmen asks the author's name.

Oh My Oh My Oh
Dinosaurs!
by Sandra Boynton

Dinosaurs HAPPY
and dinosaurs SAD.
Dinosaurs GOOD
and dinosaurs BAD.
Dinosaurs BIG
and dinosaurs TINY.
Dinosaurs SMOOTH
and dinosaurs SPINY.
Dinosaurs WEAK
and dinosaurs STRONG.
Dinosaurs singing a
dinosaurs song!
Dinosaurs COLD.
Dinosaurs HOT.
Dinosaurs CUTE
and dinosaurs NOT.
Dinosaurs EARLY.
Dinosaurs LATER.
Dinosaurs crammed in an elevator.
Dinosaurs PLUMP,
dinosaurs LEAN.
Dinosaurs RED BLUE YELLOW and GREEN.
Dinosaurs looking right at YOU
to say GOODBYE because we're through.