"For his birthday this past summer, I took my son Solomon out to an airfield to see the planes and to check into flying lessons. He’s always had this incredible ability to focus on just one thing and has always been fascinated with airplanes. He can tell you about any plane ever invented: the engineering, the design, the mechanics, how they fly, everything. That ability to focus is true of a lot of kids with Asberger’s, and it’s an amazing gift. So, at the airfield that day, we watched as the biplanes flew in formation. When they landed, the pilots were standing a few feet from us, discussing an issue they'd had in the air. They were trying to articulate and determine the root of the problem, and Solomon was listening. After a few minutes, he sidled up, interrupted politely, and in detail nailed the issue and outlined how to correct it. He was 8, about to be 9. The pilots’ mouths just fell open, and one of them said, ‘Where did you come from?’ They took him up in a plane that day. He did everything: the pre-flight check, take-off, flight, landing, with no help at all. It was incredible.
"He’s in flight school now, and flies Cessna 150's, Cessna 172's, Piper Cherokees, and Cubs. He's been in the cockpit of a B17 Flying Fortress and handled the controls. He's the only nine-year-old with a B17 in his flight log.
"No one focuses on the fact that Einstein had Asperger's; they focus on his ability to navigate the stars. In a talk about faith, my son Solomon told me that he figured out the clues: that God created the Big Bang, and when he said on the first day, ‘Let there be light’, he needed the Big Bang explosion to create the light. Asperger's is our Big Bang. And my 9-year-old son can fly airplanes! I don’t know of any other 9-year-old who has walked onto a plane and flown without instruction. My son, and people like him, have and will continue to shape our world in the most magnificent ways."
"He’s in flight school now, and flies Cessna 150's, Cessna 172's, Piper Cherokees, and Cubs. He's been in the cockpit of a B17 Flying Fortress and handled the controls. He's the only nine-year-old with a B17 in his flight log.
"No one focuses on the fact that Einstein had Asperger's; they focus on his ability to navigate the stars. In a talk about faith, my son Solomon told me that he figured out the clues: that God created the Big Bang, and when he said on the first day, ‘Let there be light’, he needed the Big Bang explosion to create the light. Asperger's is our Big Bang. And my 9-year-old son can fly airplanes! I don’t know of any other 9-year-old who has walked onto a plane and flown without instruction. My son, and people like him, have and will continue to shape our world in the most magnificent ways."
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