“Being young and happy, I had a lot to say. I just assumed that everyone else enjoyed my company as much as I did.”

Now, at 38 years old, Fattig is an Air Force veteran, a school psychologist, a medical technologist, a doctoral candidate, a parent advocate, a public speaker and an author.

“Considering my early experiences in education, which were not so grand, it is a surprise to find myself in 26th grade and actively seeking yet another degree.” she said.

Fattig is the daughter of Bill and Penny Fattig of rural Gothenburg and the granddaughter of the late Rich and Esther Hecox of Gothenburg and Bonnie and the late Vic Fattig of Brady.

She grew up on a farm near Archer, northeast of Grand Island.

“I excelled at sports, academics and leadership activities,” Fattig said in an e-mail interview from her home in Columbus. “But I could never figure out why I felt different.”

Not until many years later—after her now 17-year-old son Josh was diagnosed with Asperger’s—did she start to firmly understand.

“My son was in second grade when he began labeling himself as stupid,” Fattig said. “We had many afternoons and evenings of the—as I call them—‘Why can’t you just(s)?’ Why can’t you just focus? Why can’t you just get started? Why can’t you just put something on paper? It took me years to understand, if he could, he would.”

That’s when Fattig began to reflect on her own “why can’t I just(s).”

Having Asperger’s is much like having extreme attention deficit disorder or attention deficit disorder with hyperactivity, Fattig said. In addition, though, are struggles of poor social communication and social skills; the need for rigid rules and routine; perseverative thoughts or interests; and high levels of anxiety or social anxiety.

“The constant internal struggles cause a person to become depressed, anxious, obsessive or to demonstrate extreme mood swings,” she said.

The underlying issues can be addressed with social skills training, awareness and understanding and sometimes diet changes and medication. Then, Fattig said, the maladaptive coping mechanisms are reduced and a person no longer feels as depressed, anxious and overwhelmed.

The more Fattig learned about Asperger’s and ADD, the more she strived to help others understand.

That desire led Fattig to author five volumes in a series called Annie Books: Experience Asperger’s Syndrome and Attention Deficits Through the Eyes of a Child.

Son Josh has provided the illustrations for the books and Fattig calls daughter Lili, who is 9 and also lives with Asperger’s, the model, editor and overall critic.

Titles in the series are: “A Prairie Day with Annie,” “Bully-Be-Gone with Annie,” “Viva Le Resistance,” “A Windy Day with Annie” and “Calming the Stormy Days with Annie.”

Ironically, Fattig said, it wasn’t until after she had written the first of the series, “A Prairie Day with Annie” which was published last summer, that she was diagnosed with Asperger’s.

“I have specialized in the area for years, and still did not ‘see’ the symptoms in myself for what they were,” she said.

Fattig said her goal in creating the Annie books is to make a meaningful and lasting difference in the lives of children and their parents

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