I caught the end of the a story on Morning Edition on NPR this weekend as I was traveling with my family. Through StoryCorps, Joshua, a 12-year-old who has Aspergers Syndrome, interviewed his mother. If you need a heart-warming "fix" from one special mom of a special kid, try this out! -- listen in.

Joshua had a interesting list of questions, many not surprising from a child with Aspergers. Some questions like "Do you have any mortal enemies?" and his observation that he was responsible for making her "a mother" show a very different perspective of the world - often found in children on the autistic spectrum (I know we've marveled at how LuLu view things for years -- sometimes so she's so straightforward that her insight seems almost poetic). Joshua is obviously very aware of his "differences" and points out that it feels like everyone likes his sister better. His mom does an outstanding job of explaining to him that social situations come easier for his sister. In the concrete, non-social way of thinking that children on spectrum often do, Joshua replies, "I have less quantity of friends, but more quality." Mom modifies that a bit with her response, but it is a telling encounter of how difficult it is for children with Aspergers to understand anything within a social context. Of course the best "super mom" answer comes to the question: "Have you ever thought you couldn't cope with a child?" and the follow on about whether Joshua had met his mother's expectations. Make sure you have tissues ready when you listen to this part!!!

Sarah Darer Littman is Joshua's mother and is an award-winning author of children's books. You can learn more about Sarah and her work on her website.

The follow-on story, Understanding Asperger's Syndrome, is equally interesting as Rhea Paul, a professor of communication disorders at Southern Connecticut State University tells more about Asperger's.

Equally interesting is the StoryCorps series. For those not familiar, NPR has been recording personal stories since 2003 in their StoryCorps oral history project. Check the schedule on their website - perhaps some of you who live near their mobile location schedule would like to schedule an appointment to record a bit of your personal oral history on the topic of adoption!