Have you<a href="http://blogs.babble.com/babble-voices/the-frog-and-snail-society-page-roxanna-et/"> had a chance to check out the Frog &amp; Snail Society Page on Babble Voices</a>? If you haven't, please do!

My most recent post is inspired by my quirky son -- I'm convinced his uniqueness will be his biggest asset when he grows up, but right now it can be heartbreaking.

Good thing science (and business!) have come around to the genius of the square pegs. Have you heard of the orchid-dandelion theory?
<blockquote>A recent article in <em>The Economist</em> sings the praises of both misfits (<a href="http://www.economist.com/node/21556230">defined as people with Asperger's syndrome, attention-deficit disorder and dyslexia</a>) and well-rounded "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Organization_Man">organization men</a>", arguing that to truly succeed businesses need both types.

Fair enough. Just think of the odd genius of Mark Zuckerberg and the polished business acumen of Sheryl Sandberg at Facebook. It's clear that companies benefit from both types of brilliance.

But it was the paragraph at the end of the article was most interesting to me,

<em>More broadly, the replacement of organisation man with disorganisation man is changing the balance of power. Those square pegs may not have an easy time in school. They may be mocked by jocks and ignored at parties. But these days no serious organisation can prosper without them.</em>

Yes, the future belongs to the geeks, but when you're raising quirky kids, adulthood feels a million years away. And those of us raising boys, who are more likely to receive the labels and diagnoses (you know: troublemaker, ADD, dyslexic, ASD) that are increasingly a badge of genius in adulthood, are left to wonder -- how do we help our square pegs survive childhood and the pressure to fit in of the teenage years?</blockquote>
<a href="http://blogs.babble.com/babble-voices/the-frog-and-snail-society-page-roxanna-et/2012/06/18/the-advantages-of-aspergers-adhd-dislexia/">Read the rest of the article at the Society Page!</a>