YESTERDAY'S CHILD by Janie Bowman YESTERDAY'S child was born in the 1800s. As a young boy, he was considered medically fragile. Every respiratory illness known to mankind in that age seemed to seize him. Even though YESTERDAY'S child spent many of his early years ill, this did not stop his insatiable curiosity and boyish escapades. TODAY's child would be described as "just being a boy." YESTERDAY'S child often found himself in risky life-and- death situations. Around the age of five, this boy nearly drowned in a canal; then he almost smothered as he sank into the depths of a grain elevator. TODAY's child would be described as "having no common sense." YESTERDAY'S child was found asleep in the barn in a nest he had constructed, lying on top of the chicken and goose eggs he was trying to hatch. TODAY's child would be called "weird, eccentric." "Get off those eggs, you'll crack them!" YESTERDAY'S child drove his parents to exhaustion by his persistent questioning of the world around him, determined to know the "whys," "what fors," and "what abouts" of his world. TODAY's child is searching for someone to ask the questions to. YESTERDAY'S child, with no malice aforethought but only out of the intense curiosity of an inquisitive mind, set his father's barn on fire. For this he was publicly thrashed by his father, who tried to instill in him the serious consequences of his actions. TODAY's child would be called a "juvenile delinquent." After only three months of formal education, YESTERDAY'S child walked out of his school in a fit of rage. Running home, he could hear the thoughts of the schoolmaster echoing in his head: "stupid .... stubborn ... difficult." Thus, at the tender age of eight, YESTERDAY'S child refused to return to school. The next day, YESTERDAY'S mother gave the schoolmaster a piece of her mind and withdrew the boy from school. From that day onward, she became YESTERDAY'S teacher. TODAY's child would be called "a problem child, a bad boy, oppositional." And TODAY's mother would be told she was "highly excitable, and coddling her child." She would be encouraged by all the experts to force her child to return to school because "He'll outgrow it. He's got to learn to adjust." YESTERDAY'S child went swimming with a friend in a nearby creek. When the friend didn't surface for air, YESTERDAY'S child waited for what seemed like forever. As darkness fell, in his own unique five-year-old logic, YESTERDAY concluded that it was time to go home. As the town was trying to piece together the disappearance and drowning of his friend, he tried to explain how he waited for what seemed like forever..... TODAY's child would be treated for "conduct disorder" and undoubtedly find himself one step away from the juvenile justice system. YESTERDAY just couldn't comprehend consequences; that much seems true. One day he attached wires to the tails of two cats and energetically rubbed their fur. This experiment in static electricity went astray when he was brutally clawed. One unsuspecting childhood friend suffered an upset stomach after YESTERDAY gave him some sort of powder just to see if the resulting gas it produced would send him flying. TODAY's child would be in long-term therapy for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Pervasive Developmental Disorder, or some other behavioral disorder. YESTERDAY'S mother complained constantly about the life- threatening condition of his bedroom. Fearing for the safety of her family and any others who ventured into the family home, YESTERDAY'S mother moved his experiments into the cellar. YESTERDAY called it his laboratory and immersed himself in science, to the exclusion of what other "normal" kids were doing at his age. TODAY's child would be called "Schizoid," and TODAY's family would be labeled "dysfunctional." TODAY's child would be spending time in an court-ordered alternative school program, meeting with a psychiatrist twice a week for therapy, and be enrolled in a class to learn social skills. At age twelve YESTERDAY'S child insisted on going to work and began successfully earning his own wage. TODAY's child, at that age, would face a closed door to the world of mentorship in the workplace. TODAY's child would have to search beyond home and work for other avenues that accept and appreciate his abilities. As you read about YESTERDAY'S child, you are probably wondering how he could have survived and how he could have contributed to society in a positive way. Clearly, YESTERDAY had somebody who accepted his uniqueness, changed his environment to meet his needs, was not intimidated by his gifts, and tried sincerely to see the world through his eyes. YESTERDAY's name is THOMAS ALVA EDISON. What is your child's name? The above piece originally appeared in "The Missing Piece," the newsletter of the Learning Disabilities Association of Washington (State) Did Thomas Edison Have TS? It's a tantalizing possibility. As outlined nicely above by Janie Bowman, Edison had a lot of quirks that make it pretty clear that he had a neurobehavioral disorder with features of ADHD and features of Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD; Asperger Syndrome). But did he have the requisite tics to call him TS? Edison spat a lot, and was often seen to have tobacco-stained spittle on his chin; one BBC documentary was even entitled "The Wizard Who Spat on the Floor!" But on reviewing readily available motion picture footage of Edison, we saw no spitting .... did he control a tic while on camera, or was his spitting just the poor social grace of a tobacco-chewer with PDD? In motion pictures of Edison, he is routinely seen to be blinking several times as often as those near him (who'd have the same lights in their faces). But the blinking is not exaggerated in force, and we couldn't see his eyes roll with any of them .... did he have a blinking tic, or just dry eyes? Again in motion pictures, he's often seen making a right- hand-to-brow movement, sometimes carried through to a hair- smoothing motion. But the films were often made when he had just removed his hat, or was approaching a microphone ..... was he an unkempt guy who appropriately smoothed his hair at these times, or was it a tic? Several biographers describe Edison as constantly in purposeless movement during his attempts at formal schooling ..... ADHD "fidgets," or motor tics? None of the descriptions is detailed enough to tell. And those persistent "respiratory illnesses" of his childhood might some of them have been periods of trouble with coughing, sniffling, throat-clearing or nose-rubbing tics? Some biographers describe a grimace in which his lips thinned; we never saw it in film footage, and the descriptions aren't clear as to whether it always appeared in what might have been an appropriate context. We found ourselves fascinated by the possibility that Edison might have had Tourette Syndrome, but we're so far unable to assign that diagnosis with confidence. But the point is clear and important, whatever diagnostic pigeon-hole we choose to stuff him into. Kids with neurobehavioral disorders have strengths as well as problems. If we identify those strengths and nurture them, they can grow up to be highly productive adults. The Edison story is a particularly compelling example, and we thank Janie Bowman for letting us reprint her essay.