Christmas is coming...Does Rodolph Have Aspergers?

As we gear up for yet another holiday season in our home I sit wondering about that famous reindeer that took charge that fateful night. He was after all, the odd man out. He had no friends, people laughed and called him names. They wouldn't, you know, let him join in any of their.....well.....stupid games.
     I think of this mostly because of my son crying yesterday as he refused to go to school, saying, "Mom! Sometimes they call me names!" When he told me the name was something utterly absurd like, "naked fat chicken lady" I had to hold back the laughter and combat the name with reason. I said quite seriously, "But son, YOU are not, nor have you ever been a Chicken, or Fat, or the last time I checked....a Lady. Therefore those people are clearly suffering from a case of mistaken identity or they are just wrong. Either way, you should not listen to them!"
This worked for about an hour, then we received a call from the office at school asking us to please come remove our inconsolable child. He was unable to finish the day. Sigh.
I wondered then if Rodolph's parents had the same experiences. If they dealt with this frustration? I know from the documentaries we have on Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer's life that he was in fact forced to deal with bullies. The coach even participated in this cruel banter sending poor Rodolph out into a storm to fend for himself.
Was it just his nose that caused all the angst? If Rudolf had some social skills would he have been able to combat the verbal barbs being tossed his way? Perhaps. If he was more equipped in the way of the word, maybe he could have changed the evil things that were being said to him into funny jokes. He could have been the class clown or even the most popular kid in school because he was different. However since he had no confidence, no social ability to speak in public, and stand up for his needs and desires he was forced to slink away against the verbal assault of others.
One of my wishes for my kids is that I can instill in them enough confidence that each and every day they can rise above the threats that face them. How do we as parents do this?
Perhaps Rudolf's parents made their first mistake when they tried to cover his nose. By doing this they said to their son, "hide what makes you different."
That would be like telling my son to not have Aspergers.