Living with Asperger syndrome ‘didn’t really make a difference’

In eighth grade, shortly after being diagnosed with Asperger syndrom, Andrew Koch threw down his hat and stormed over to protest a call by an umpire at a baseball game.

Andrew was handed an immediate suspension for his outburst, but after the umpire watched a videotape of the call, he discovered Andrew was correct. He apologized and offered to remove the suspension.

Andrew’s father, Larry, turned it down. While his son may have a vast knowledge of the rules of baseball, his behavior still was unacceptable, he said.

That is very much the attitude Andrew adopted as he made his way through Portland’s Deering High School.

“It didn’t really make a difference,” said the 18-year-old of his diagnosis.

A form of autism, Asperger syndrome is characterized by normal intelligence and sometimes intense areas of knowledge and interest but difficulty with verbal or nonverbal communication.

People with the syndrome have trouble understanding other points of view. They may have difficulty understanding body space. Symptoms may range from mild to severe.

Andrew worked hard on his friendships and schoolwork while pursuing his real passions: meteorology and sports broadcasting.

He said he managed to deal with his disorder by following his father’s advice - to never give up - and trying to meet his family’s emphasis on excellence and charity.

Andrew began to serve food at the Preble Street Soup Kitchen, helped out with Friday night sabbath services at the Cedars Nursing Home and helped make up a minyan for prayer services at Etz Chiam Synagogue. He tutored a Lincoln Middle School student with Asperger syndrome and earned money at a part-time job at a concession stand at Portland Sea Dogs games.

For the past few years he has acted as the color commentator for TV 3, the community access station run by the Portland School Department, providing commentary for Deering High School baseball, football and basketball games. He said he especially likes to broadcast high school football games.

“On Friday nights towns around the state are united by football. It is a big deal in the state, and I am part of that,” he said.

In the end, his passionate interests and volunteer work paid off.

He walked away from Deering High School graduation after four years on the honor and high honor rolls and with nearly $18,000 in scholarship money, mostly from the Chet Jordan Leadership Award.

He plans to attend Lyndon State College in Lyndonville, Vt., one of the few schools he could find where he could simultaneously study meteorology and sports broadcasting.

He said he never told many people about his disability, but it was mentioned when he received an award at school.

He said a friend turned to him afterward.

“He said, ‘Dude, I didn’t know you had Asperger syndrome’,” he said.

- Beth Quimby