By Nina Udomsak

Robbie Dibble is popular. He is known for his athleticism, artistry, and desire to be the center of attention—who could forget the crowds he attracts at school dances?
His personality, however, overshadows another part of him, a part that his friends forget: Dibble has Asperger’s syndrome.
“Asperger’s is a high-functioning form of autism. It makes certain things harder for me, like details in writing or mathematical equations,” said Dibble. “I have to say it’s challenged me but it has also helped me to overcome certain obstacles.”
“When he was in elementary school he really had the most difficult time of his life because he did not yet have the normal social skills non-Asperger’s children have,” said his mother, Elena Dibble. “He had not yet learned how to interact, and his friends really didn’t understand him. But through junior high and high school he has learned so much about socializing.”
This six-foot-tall, gentle personality has learned to overcome these challenges.
“I do not regret a thing,” he said. “I was shocked when I first found out about it, but as I grew up I started to accept it.”
His peers have accepted him too. Throughout campus, Dibble is known to stand out, but for many reasons.
“Robbie is an extremely loyal and true friend,” said senior Rick Wester, one of Dibble’s close friends. “He is happy everyday and spends his time trying to make the people around him laugh.”
He’s also an athlete. Dibble was unanimously voted by his football teammates to receive the 2010 Casa Grande Football Gaucho Award.
“There are so many things we are proud of, but if I had to pick just one, the Gaucho award sticks out in my mind,” said Elena.
The varsity defensive-end is known for his high energy and athletic gifts; he has clearly found a way to connect with others through sports.
“I got the award because my teammates consider me to be a genuine guy,” said Dibble. “I never missed a practice; I always hustle.”
“He dedicated himself to learning his position and focused on it until he was confident in his abilities,” said senior Matt Samet, one of Dibble’s teammates and friends. “Every practice, he played his heart out in front of the coaches to earn playing time.”
Dibble’s enthusiasm has been put into several other sports as well. In seventh grade he got involved in martial arts. In eighth grade, he began wrestling. When he entered high school as a freshman, he continued wrestling and also competed in track. As a sophomore he ran cross-country. During his junior year, he went out for football, and continued with it to senior year. He stuck with wrestling all four years and this year is captain of the team.
“I continued wrestling all through high school because before I came to Casa, it was a losing team, and I wanted to contribute to rebuilding it and making it stronger again,” said Dibble. “And as for football, I just loved being part of a team and getting to hit people a lot more.”
But when he’s not working with a team, Dibble indulges in another passion, one that has been with him for almost all his life.
He’s an artist. Since elementary school, Dibble has been known as an exceptional artist, he has been asked several times to illustrate school publications. From kindergarten drawings to pieces in AP art, his talent has blossomed.
“People with Asperger’s tend to have special abilities or talents that help them succeed in one area. It’s usually visual like art,” he said. “I’ll continue with art after high school and have another major as well.”
However, Dibble is famous for one more thing.
He’s a stud. Escorted by senior Lauren Vohris, Dibble will compete in Casa’s GQ competition. His parents encouraged him to enter and his friends are confident that he’ll go all the way to claim the crown.
“He’s definitely going to be the next. Mr. GQ,” said Wester
But what Dibble will always be remembered for is his character, which no one knows better than his own family.
“He has a great sense of humor. He always remembers things from movies and reenacts them,” said his sister, freshman Dana Dibble. “And he’s very overprotective of me, saying things like ‘Go straight to class.’ He even used to follow my friends and me when we went out on walks.”
“It is amazing how much he has grown and matured and learned to deal with having Asperger’s,” said Elena. “He never gave up, and he never felt sorry for himself.”