FAAAS, Inc.

FAAAS, Inc.^™

Families of Adults Affected by

Asperger's Syndrome

PO Box 514 Centerville, MA 02632

[] [] [] [] [] [] [] []

Upon Death Do We Part

When I am old and feeble, and I no longer recognize my beautiful daughters or remember my own name, I will recall in vivid and precise detail the events of one autumn day in 1994. The memory of that day has barricaded itself in an impenetrable chamber of my brain, where it has thrived, virulent and unmolested by either biological deterioration or the simple passage of time. I know that as my body grows cold, and I lay motionless in wait of my final breath, I will be consumed by this memory of the day my soul died.

It was a very private death. There were no bedside vigils or ceremonial last rites. There was no obituary in the local newspaper to announce my passing and recount my lifelong achievements. There was no wake, where family, friends and long-forgotten acquaintances would have gathered to share memories of the person I once was. There were no tearful eulogies exalting my virtues, no impassioned expressions of grief. No one attended my funeral, because no one knew I was gone.

Only the coroner, who devotes his life to the validation of death, was privy to my secret. In the seclusion of a remote autopsy room, he discreetly probed for the underlying pathology, occasionally conferring with his surgical instruments or the stainless steel slab on which I reclined. Once he was confident of his diagnosis, he methodically recorded his findings on the certificate that bore my name. He wrote:

"Acute emotional trauma, secondary to chronic emotional negligence and abuse. Cause of Death: Asperger's Syndrome."

Lois Brown
August 2005

[] [] [] [] [] [] [] []