Daniel Share-Strom, a Durham College student in the Game Development program, addresses members of the Accessibility Working Group Committee during a meeting in November. Share-Strom has Asperger's syndrome, an autism spectrum disorder.
Like a lot of 18-year-olds, Daniel Share-Strom is enrolled in college and living away from home for the first time in a student residence. But unlike most other 18-year-olds, Share-Strom finds challenges in putting a matching outfit together and remembering to brush his hair. Such is a day in the life of a young man with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
Share-Strom, a first-year student enrolled in the Game Development program at Durham College, suffers from Asperger's syndrome, an ASD, characterized by difficulties in social interaction and by restricted and stereotyped interests and activities.
"For me, it was video games. I was obsessed," said Share-Strom, speaking at a Durham College Accessibility Working Group Committee meeting in November. "They've helped my imagination, so it only seemed natural that I should work with them!"
As a child, he was often misdiagnosed because of similarities in Asperger's to other afflictions, including Tourette's syndrome and obsessive compulsive disorder.
After being diagnosed with Asperger's, Share-Strom achieved exceptionally high grades in high school, ranging from 90 to 96 percent. While attending a college fair at the Rogers Centre in Toronto, he felt "overwhelmed and out of place". When he saw the Durham College pavilion, those feelings changed.
"It was like an oasis in a desert," said Share-Strom.
He began his classes at Durham College in September and began working with his instructors about how they could help with his ASD and dysgraphia, a characteristic of ASD that causes a deficiency in the ability to write.
To better explain his ASD and dysgraphia, he prepared PowerPoint presentations addressing Asperger's syndrome and what he needed as a student to succeed.
In November, Share-Strom attended a federal government symposium to address classroom needs, challenges and strengths for ASD students. By educating post-secondary facilities and their faculty in the necessary requirements for students with ASD, they can provide the support and understanding that students such as Share-Strom need to accomplish their dreams.
"For me, I want to be fiercely independent," he said. "But at the same time, I do want to marry a woman who doesn't mind putting my outfits together. That's not too much to ask, is it?"