All Drea wants is to be a normal teenager, but with a life of frequent moves and a mother who insists on telling everyone about her diagnosis of Asperger Syndrome, she has never learned to make friends, much less have a boyfriend. All that changes when she meets Naomi, a girl with even bigger problems who accepts her for just who she is, and Justin, a boy looking to make a fresh start with someone who keeps it real. With a common interest in music, they form a friendship that helps Drea realize that every life has challenges, some even greater than her own.
What is Asperger Syndrome?
Named for an Austrian pediatrician, Asperger Syndrome (AS) is an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) that affects communication skills and thought/behavior patterns. Symptoms include: repetitive rituals/routines, inappropriate social behaviors, speech/language peculiarities, problems with communication (particularly the nonverbal nuances like facial expression and body language), and clumsy motor movements.
Most Asperger patients are diagnosed in early childhood, and a common indicator is a fascination with a particular topic that becomes obsessive. Collecting factual information about their topic of interest becomes all-consuming, and the central focus of conversations (which may seem without obvious point to others). Children with Asperger Syndrome tend to be highly active and may also be diagnosed with ADHD. Additional psychiatric disorders sometimes develop in adolescence, including anxiety disorders and depression.
Asperger Sydrome in Harmonic Feedback
In this novel, the protagonist Drea suffers from a mild form of Asperger Syndrome. She takes daily medication and visits with school counselors regularly, but attends regular classes in public school and is considered high-functioning. She even copes with frequent school changes because of her mother’s inability to settle in any one place--something that would be much more difficult for someone with AS.
While her social awkwardness causes her some embarrassing moments, Drea does manage to communicate effectively with classmates in and out of class. Aware of her condition, Drea knows the behaviors others find off-putting or that may trigger panic attacks and tries to avoid them. Even so, her condition manifests in several behaviors she has difficulty controlling. She has an attachment to a lunch box that she finds soothing, but others find strange. She has difficulty interpreting social cues, particularly nonverbal expressions and sarcasm, and responds too literally and honestly when asked questions. When social situations move beyond her control, she becomes anxious and sometimes suffers from panic attacks. Drea has two obsessions, cars and music, and neither seems to interfere with her social life. In fact, it is her obsession with music that helps her make friends with Naomi and Justin.
About the Author
Like her character, Drea, in Harmonic Feedback, Tara Kelly has a passion for music. Explore her talents on her Miss Volatile website. Winner of several awards, including the ALA Best Fiction for Young Adults 2011, Harmonic Feedback is Tara Kelly’s debut novel. Her second novel, Amplified, also incorporating her musical interests, is coming in October 2011.
References:
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. National Institute of Health. Asperger Syndrome Fact Sheet. (Accessed August 20, 2011).
Jennifer Groepl - Living the good life in beautiful Cape Coral, Florida, Jennifer Groepl is currently working on her YA fiction projects. An intrinsically ...
Join the Conversation