“I drift through life,” said Cooper Briggs,12, who was born deaf and has recently been diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome. As he goes through his first year of middle school, he faces not only these challenges but also new challenges, like girls, bullying and finding himself. Cooper uses cars as his escape from the world but also his connection to it. He spends nearly all of his time and energy away from others focused on gaming about cars and drawing them. But he also uses cars to connect with others, talking about them with his friends and family constantly. “I basically drift for a reason, because I want to be prepared for the future,” Cooper said.