Teen with Asperger's receives Cadet training award

By Staff Writer

This past week, Canadian native Aidan Guerra received a red and green ribboned medal, which identifies him as this year's Alberta recipient of the Major-General Howard Award for achievement in academics, community service and cadet training. The achievement is prestigious; however, it holds more meaning for Guerra, the Vancouver Sun reports.

Guerra was diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome, which is a high-functioning form of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) that is characterized by difficulties with social interaction, as well as restricted or repetitive patterns of behavior and interests.

Guerra's mother, Karen-Ann Moore, admits that she was not keen initially about her son joining cadets, especially after adopting him as a baby from wartorn Yugoslavia. But seeing the positive impact that the structured environment has had on him, she now calls cadets his "lifeline," according to the news source.

Today, Guerra is an advocate for kids with ASD and Asperger's, whom he believes can be very successful with the kind of support he has received from cadets.

According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, experts in population studies conservatively estimate that two out of every 10,000 children have Asperger's Syndrome.