Content area
Rose, who is presenting Newport March 26 as guest speaker at a fundraising dinner for the Chris Rose Therapy Centre for autistic children, had a similar conversation with Newport a month earlier. Unlike other forms of autism, AS does not delay language or cognitive development, yet it can severely hamper social interaction, communication and understanding.
In his taxi cab in Flagstaff, Ariz. -- where it's still legal to drive while using a cellphone -- Jerry Newport capped an interview with some rapid-fire calculations.
What's your birth date? he asked. The reporter replies with a distant date, a time so far back that Dief was still the chief and Lollipop topped the Hit Parade.
"You were born on a Wednesday," Newport fires back.
So was Chris Rose, he added. Rose, who is presenting Newport March 26 as guest speaker at a fundraising dinner for the Chris Rose Therapy Centre for autistic children, had a similar conversation with Newport a month earlier.
"He's got you beat by 8,325 days," Newport said with only a second's hesitation.
Newport describes himself as an "aspie," someone with Asperger Syndrome (AS), an autism-spectrum disorder that affects about one in 2,000 Canadians. He grew up with AS but didn't know why he was so different until a friend recommended a movie to him more than 20 years ago. Rain Man is based on Kim Peek, a mathematical savant who was autistic.
"I always knew I was different but never got the message until a friend recommended Rain Man to me. She said, 'Maybe this will help you make sense of what's going on in life.' I had some of the characteristics that the man played by Dustin Hoffman had. He was a very versatile savant, but that's what sparked my interest."
Autism is the most common neurological disorder affecting children. After a period of normal development they experience major losses of social interaction, language, play and adaptive behaviour. Beginning in 1989 as Giant Steps West, where Rose served as principal, the Kamloops centre has been one of very few supportive institutions in Canada. To this day, medicare does not fund the special needs of autistic children.
"When AS is properly diagnosed, it's confidently done only half the time," Newport said. "It's because it's kind of a bandage diagnosis. People don't want to hear autistic, so they make AS a more comfortable diagnosis."
Unlike other forms of autism, AS does not delay language or cognitive development, yet it can severely hamper social interaction, communication and understanding.
If normal function were considered as water and autism as strong alcohol, AS would be somewhere in between, Newport said. "AS is kind of like Diet Pepsi. It's not water. In comparison to many of the autistic folks, I feel quite lucky."
Knowing he was not an isolated case empowered Newport.
"It gave me something I could be genuinely interested in, kind of a cause. You realize there is a community where there really is a lot of potential for our skills and to have the kind of life we're not encouraged to have."
Newport was lucky, in part, because he had parents who were teachers, who were also different, and who accepted him. He graduated in math from the University of Michigan then spent most of the next 20 years driving cab and living in social isolation.
His quest for unconditional love was borne out as a passion for animals. He keeps 14 parrots, a dog and a cat, and loves whales and dolphins.
Then came the Rain Man. He found a support group in L.A. That was where he met Mary Meinel, his future wife, a fellow aspie and an expert on W.A. Mozart.
That kind of romantic connection is rare -- though their relationship has had its ups and downs -- and it caught the attention of the current affairs program 60 Minutes, followed by director Steven Spielberg. Spielberg had wanted to direct Rain Man and was promised a second crack if autism came up again. He hired Rain Man screenwriter Ron Bass, who wrote the script for Mozart and the Whale. The romantic comedy, starring Josh Hartnett and Radha Mitchell, and directed by Peter Naess (Spielberg was unable to fill the slot), was released in 2005.
The film was a critical success but didn't do well at the box office. It did draw criticism for stereotyping AS people as savants.
"After Rain Man, the (AS) community already had enough emphasis on special challenges," Newport explained.
Still, he speaks with a sense of accomplishment for having fostered a greater understanding of AS and autism.
He is the author of two books on the subject, Your Life is Not a Label and Autism-Asperger's & Sexuality.
"I think we've collectively been able to counter so much negative information that's put out on autism. Some organizations are constantly whining about their plight, about autism as some kind of plague.
"That's where I have just cringed," he said, referring to Asperger Syndrome. "People wanted the diagnosis so badly because they were so terrified of the word autism. It was stretched like toffee.
"In the eyes of many schools and parents, autism is the kiss of death. You don't want to hear it. Now I think they're going to have to hear it because AS is not a cute little way out of the situation."
- - -
FUNDRAISER
WHAT: Dinner speech by Jerry Newport, an author with Asperger Syndrome and the inspiration for the film Mozart and the Whale, in support of the Chris Rose Therapy Centre
WHEN: March 26, 6 p.m.
WHERE: TRU Grand Hall.
TICKETS: $75 (with a $50 tax receipt), call the centre at 376-6494 for delivery.
Credit: The Daily News
Photo: Contributed / Radha Mitchell and Josh Hartnett in a scene from the 2005 movie Mozart and the Whale, which was inspired by the true-life romance of Jerry and Mary Newport.; Caption:
(Copyright (c) 2010 The Daily News (Kamloops))