This certainly won’t affect my view of him, of course; either way he’s accomplished a lot. But, I was just wondering if this one friend might have some sort of mental challenge, too, just like another fellow I know who after a fall when he was three suffered some brain trauma and is today all grown but only at about a Junior High or High School level in some things.
One wouldn’t think this fellow mentally challenged at first glance. He’s got 20/800 vision that’s been the same since birth, a hearing aid due to congenital hearing loss that’s also stayed the same, and a small bit of cerebral palsey (just enough so he doesn’t have lots of muscle mass - most he ever bench pressed is 70 pounds. But he walks okay and stuff.) But, this fellow’s grades have always been great, he’s been off the charts in stuff since 4th grade, and he got A’s in advanced courses throughout school. He’s a successful attorney now, inf act.
However, he is also extremely non-confrontational. He can’t stand the idea of it, though he’ll stand up for what he believes at times, that’s been a long process, though partly because of some stuff that happened in Junior High. Just having his parents raise their voice was enough to make him behave, he was always very sensitive.
He also sleeps with stuffed animals, at 34. Not all the time, just to relieve stress and get back to the comfortable, secure feelings he had when little. He was emoionally abused in Junior High by a teacher who was very bitter and critical in class, and that really made him have some bad, scary thoughts. The solution was pretty clever - he divocred the school, became a graduate of a different Junior High retroatcively, and in his mind has forbidden that first school from ever being able to influence how he thinks. But, he still needs tose animals at infrequent times, since he’s not married. If he had a wife, I think he wouldn’t need them anymore. But, it’s been hard to find the right woman. he once said his closest friendship with a girl was in 5th grade, before one friend moved away; he still prays for her to have the best husband,t he best kids, the best everything, because of how she helped him feel more confident, etc. He believes in developing a very close friendship with a women, and that that is the key to marriage, and he has shared a romantic kiss or two, so he is typical there, like a Forrest Gumpp .
His family was great, very loving and tender and caring. But, that really makes me think, too, that there’s something mroe there. He tends to wonder how others will think about him, but not worrying as much as he did in Junior High. He would play with and talk to imaginary friends quite often ont he playground in first and second grade, and make up his own silly words. Plus, he seemed to enjoy fictional stuff more, especially family friendly stuff, he can’t stand the stuff that’s on TV or in movies nowadays, for the most part, becuase of the language, violence, and so on.
Sorry if this is rambling; I know it’s a lot. But, it just makes me wonder if he’s not more than just eccentric. And yet, I don’t picture mentally challenged people to be this gifted in so many areas; Forrest Gumpp sure wouldn’t have gone through college with an A- average or gotten through law school. If hewas a savant, maybe he would be in one, but he’s always loved learning and reading about everything. In fact, he was reading well when he was 3. That narrows down a lot of choices, unless there something I don’t know about I don’t know what it could be.
But, as I say, the important part is that he’s a warm, compassionate, loving, tender, and helpful friend, whether or not he has some disorder.