06-08-2005, 03:58 PM
This is Lewis Without The Net
Jun 1, 2005
Lois Tuffin
His mouth and brain just cannot work unless he is moving. His hands wave as another fantastic story weaves its way from his imagination to the open air. His feet dance against the back of the couch as he talks.
And talks.
Lewis Schofield is not shy. He is many other things: impulsive, creative and very smart.
He has Asperger Syndrome, attention-deficit disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, oppositional defiance disorder, severe allergies, asthma and learning disabilities.
In conversation, the nine-year-old swings back and forth between a difficult childhood and adult-level analysis of his world. It's a bumpy ride, much like the path that brought him to Peterborough.
To understand Lewis, try surfing in his world on thisislewis.net. He posts stories, poems, music and even a list of famous fictitious characters with Asperger's Syndrome (although the real Albert Einstein and Bill Gates have it too).
Lewis likes lists. Standing wide-eyed in his living room, he recites his favourite books, TV shows and musical genres.
He is one smart kid.
Lewis was born July 18, 1995 in Guelph, Ontario. His parents had moved from Alberta to Ontario so they would be closer to his father's family. That didn't really work out.
The 10-pound baby hated to be cuddled and screamed whenever his mother Elyse Bruce tried it. Instead, she would wrap him tightly -- which soothed him -- and carried him on her back.
"I knew there was something really different with him," Ms Bruce says.
"He's quirky and I love it."
She and her husband separated when Lewis was three months old. They reconciled when he was two, but that only lasted six months.
Since then, they have lived on their own.
By age two, Lewis had not even doubled his birth weight and his worried mother followed his doctor's advice to move to a drier climate. So they packed up and headed west to Regina. His breathing problems eased and his health improved.
However, at age three, Lewis expressed so much anger, his mother went looking for help. His healthcare team suspected autism, but two years later confirmed he had Asperger Syndrome.
The neurobiological disorder combines high intelligence with social and communication deficiencies.
Frustrated with a lack of community supports in Saskatchewan, Ms Bruce started researching other places to live.
She discovered that a triangular area between Kingston, Hamilton and Peterborough offered the most services and research. She had worked in Peterborough briefly before and chose it out of the three cities.
They moved when he was six.
At that time, Lewis could not read or write. But he could reformat his mother's computer without a problem.
"I just learned it," he says with a shrug.
"I just knew it. I sat down and figured it out."
He created his own role-playing game and plans to pursue that as his career. He even has a business plan that will make him richer than Bill Gates.
He has also learned to love books. His favourite -- Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events -- is overdue at the Otonabee Valley Public School library.
"I keep reading it over and over," Lewis says, with a guilty look.
To create the latest version of his web site, Lewis chose six of his stories from an eight-inch thick pile.
He called the web-hosting service and talked the owner into offering him a deal of $10 per month.
Ever since, he has shared his view of the world. He added one last week about a dragon after a class trip to Medieval Times in Toronto.
He kept the story about his then-six-year-old body hosting personalities of various ages (see How Old Are You?) and the poignant poem No Friends.
Lewis loves to tell stories. He becomes the most animated when reciting the plotline of one of his favourite movies. However, the energy flow stops abruptly when the subject turns to school.
"School is terrible," he says, crumpling, tucking his chin to his chest.
"Some kids make fun of me," he adds in a small voice.
To teach him better social skills, Ms Bruce has Lewis play a computer game that simulates a school prom. The players get matched up during the game.
Ms Bruce lobbied to get her son help from the Learning Disabilities Association of Peterborough. There, Lewis works with tutors and executive director Shari Davis.
"He has excelled in leaps and bounds," Ms Davis says.
"He is our poster child because he's done so well."
The centre uses software that adapts to each child's disability. For example, one program takes a child's thoughts and assembles them into stories.
"Lewis is a difficult boy to get to know," Ms Davis says.
"When you get to know him, you cannot help but love him."
Children with disabilities like attention-deficit disorder exasperate adults, so Ms Davis says she sees why their peers shun them.
But she sees enormous potential in this sincere, bespectacled boy.
"As long as he can use adaptive technology, the sky's the limit for him," Ms Davis says.
"What makes him so special is all the challenges he has to overcome."
ïïïïïïïïïï<br>
How old are you?
Lewis Schofield, age 9 Grade 4 student at Otonabee Valley Public School Creator of thisislewis.net 'I'm a kid with Asperger's and cool ideas.'
On my sixth birthday, the bus driver who took my mom and me to the daycare centre, asked me how old I was that day.
"Today, I'm 3, 5, 7, 10, 16, 18, 25, 32 and 48," I answered.
He scrunched up his face at me, surprised at my answer.
"But Lewis," he said with a smile on his face, "I thought today was your birthday. Aren't you turning six today?"
I jumped for a minute. I didn't realize the bus driver meant how old was my body. I thought he meant how old was I -- Lewis -- on the day that just happened to be my birthday.
"Well,yes, today my body is 6," I answered, "but the rest of me is 3, 5, 7, 10, 16, 18, 25, 32 and 48."
"How can you be all those ages at once if your body is only 6?" he asked.
I took a moment to get the words just right in my head and then said, "You see, I have many abilities but they aren't all at the same level. So today, I'm 3, 5, 7, 10, 16, 18, 25, 32 and 48.
And my body is 6."
Jun 1, 2005
Lois Tuffin
His mouth and brain just cannot work unless he is moving. His hands wave as another fantastic story weaves its way from his imagination to the open air. His feet dance against the back of the couch as he talks.
And talks.
Lewis Schofield is not shy. He is many other things: impulsive, creative and very smart.
He has Asperger Syndrome, attention-deficit disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, oppositional defiance disorder, severe allergies, asthma and learning disabilities.
In conversation, the nine-year-old swings back and forth between a difficult childhood and adult-level analysis of his world. It's a bumpy ride, much like the path that brought him to Peterborough.
To understand Lewis, try surfing in his world on thisislewis.net. He posts stories, poems, music and even a list of famous fictitious characters with Asperger's Syndrome (although the real Albert Einstein and Bill Gates have it too).
Lewis likes lists. Standing wide-eyed in his living room, he recites his favourite books, TV shows and musical genres.
He is one smart kid.
Lewis was born July 18, 1995 in Guelph, Ontario. His parents had moved from Alberta to Ontario so they would be closer to his father's family. That didn't really work out.
The 10-pound baby hated to be cuddled and screamed whenever his mother Elyse Bruce tried it. Instead, she would wrap him tightly -- which soothed him -- and carried him on her back.
"I knew there was something really different with him," Ms Bruce says.
"He's quirky and I love it."
She and her husband separated when Lewis was three months old. They reconciled when he was two, but that only lasted six months.
Since then, they have lived on their own.
By age two, Lewis had not even doubled his birth weight and his worried mother followed his doctor's advice to move to a drier climate. So they packed up and headed west to Regina. His breathing problems eased and his health improved.
However, at age three, Lewis expressed so much anger, his mother went looking for help. His healthcare team suspected autism, but two years later confirmed he had Asperger Syndrome.
The neurobiological disorder combines high intelligence with social and communication deficiencies.
Frustrated with a lack of community supports in Saskatchewan, Ms Bruce started researching other places to live.
She discovered that a triangular area between Kingston, Hamilton and Peterborough offered the most services and research. She had worked in Peterborough briefly before and chose it out of the three cities.
They moved when he was six.
At that time, Lewis could not read or write. But he could reformat his mother's computer without a problem.
"I just learned it," he says with a shrug.
"I just knew it. I sat down and figured it out."
He created his own role-playing game and plans to pursue that as his career. He even has a business plan that will make him richer than Bill Gates.
He has also learned to love books. His favourite -- Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events -- is overdue at the Otonabee Valley Public School library.
"I keep reading it over and over," Lewis says, with a guilty look.
To create the latest version of his web site, Lewis chose six of his stories from an eight-inch thick pile.
He called the web-hosting service and talked the owner into offering him a deal of $10 per month.
Ever since, he has shared his view of the world. He added one last week about a dragon after a class trip to Medieval Times in Toronto.
He kept the story about his then-six-year-old body hosting personalities of various ages (see How Old Are You?) and the poignant poem No Friends.
Lewis loves to tell stories. He becomes the most animated when reciting the plotline of one of his favourite movies. However, the energy flow stops abruptly when the subject turns to school.
"School is terrible," he says, crumpling, tucking his chin to his chest.
"Some kids make fun of me," he adds in a small voice.
To teach him better social skills, Ms Bruce has Lewis play a computer game that simulates a school prom. The players get matched up during the game.
Ms Bruce lobbied to get her son help from the Learning Disabilities Association of Peterborough. There, Lewis works with tutors and executive director Shari Davis.
"He has excelled in leaps and bounds," Ms Davis says.
"He is our poster child because he's done so well."
The centre uses software that adapts to each child's disability. For example, one program takes a child's thoughts and assembles them into stories.
"Lewis is a difficult boy to get to know," Ms Davis says.
"When you get to know him, you cannot help but love him."
Children with disabilities like attention-deficit disorder exasperate adults, so Ms Davis says she sees why their peers shun them.
But she sees enormous potential in this sincere, bespectacled boy.
"As long as he can use adaptive technology, the sky's the limit for him," Ms Davis says.
"What makes him so special is all the challenges he has to overcome."
ïïïïïïïïïï<br>
How old are you?
Lewis Schofield, age 9 Grade 4 student at Otonabee Valley Public School Creator of thisislewis.net 'I'm a kid with Asperger's and cool ideas.'
On my sixth birthday, the bus driver who took my mom and me to the daycare centre, asked me how old I was that day.
"Today, I'm 3, 5, 7, 10, 16, 18, 25, 32 and 48," I answered.
He scrunched up his face at me, surprised at my answer.
"But Lewis," he said with a smile on his face, "I thought today was your birthday. Aren't you turning six today?"
I jumped for a minute. I didn't realize the bus driver meant how old was my body. I thought he meant how old was I -- Lewis -- on the day that just happened to be my birthday.
"Well,yes, today my body is 6," I answered, "but the rest of me is 3, 5, 7, 10, 16, 18, 25, 32 and 48."
"How can you be all those ages at once if your body is only 6?" he asked.
I took a moment to get the words just right in my head and then said, "You see, I have many abilities but they aren't all at the same level. So today, I'm 3, 5, 7, 10, 16, 18, 25, 32 and 48.
And my body is 6."
