Personal Woes and Advice 6

[darkrose50]

I have two daughters (9, and 12).

One of my daughters, the younger one, likely inherited my high functioning autism (Aspburger's Syndrome) with a side-order of dyslexia (also from me). She struggles in social situations and scored an 8, on some test (given by the school) for autism where a 7 means you have it, and a 9 means that you do not. Understandably she does not want it, and is a bit fearful that she may have it. I am a bit fearful for her as well. It makes life difficult for most folks that have it. This could very likely mean that she would be unable to hold down a job when she grows up (I had a supervisor try to fire my 2-3 times, for example, but they let her go). I will have to watch her like a hawk to make sure that she is not abused or taken advantage of.

My other daughter is extremely social, is extremely mindboggling athletic (she does things like put on ice skates for the first time, and *bam* she knows how to skate), and constantly wins all sorts of awards across many categories (art awards, citizenship awards, meddles, trophies). She can flip around like a ninja: cartwheels, all those crazy gymnastic flips they do and . . . for the love of god she can do cartwheels without her hands! She has littler girls emulating her. She also looks like a 12-year-old version of Brook Shields. My wife says that she is drop dead gorgeous (in privet, not around the children). Everything comes easier when you are drop dead gorgeous.

My younger cries every time her older sister wins . . . at seemingly everything. My older child would like to be a lawyer, has the willpower of Atlas, and will likely be quite successful at damned-near-everything she does. My younger daughter may have to live with her parents for the rest of her life, and may be unable to hold down a job. This cannot end well.

What do you do when one of your children struggles, and the other child also struggles with things, but is constantly winning awards?

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I have hope for my younger child, and actually think that there is a strong chance that she is smarter than I am. I scored as a genius as a child, and I honestly think that my 9-year-old is smarter than I am. How do you parent a child that is smarter than you are (this could be an odd conversation to have with my folks)?