Autism and Asperger Syndrome

by Simon Baron-Cohen

In this new book Simon Baron-Cohen summarizes the current understanding of autism and Asperger Syndrome. He explains the process of diagnosis, as well as the options for education and intervention for those with these conditions. Taking a lifespan approach, Professor Baron-Cohen considersa how the conditions affect very young children through to adulthood. He also outlines his new Empathizing-Systemizing (ES) theory, which aims to explain all of the psychologicalfeatures of autistic-spectrum conditions.This book is designed firstly for people with these conditions and their families. It will be useful to clinicians, teachers, and other professionals involved in the care and support of people on the autistic spectrum. The book will also provide an invaluable introduction to the topic for students in the social and biological sciences.

Genres: Psychology, Nonfiction, Autistic Spectrum Disorder, Science, Mental Health, Neuroscience

229 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 29, 2008

About the author

Simon Baron-Cohen FBA is Professor of Developmental psychopathology at the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom. He is the Director of the University's Autism Research Centre, and a Fellow of Trinity College. He has worked on autism, including the theory that autism involves degrees of mind-blindness (or delays in the development of theory of mind) and his later theory that autism is an extreme form of what he calls the "male brain", which involved a re-conceptualisation of typical psychological sex differences in terms of empathising-systemising theory.

Reviews

[Nina Vera]

Está bien para informarse a título histórico y evolutivo dentro de la medicina pero aporta más bien poco si buscas como tratar y trabajar con personas que lo tienen. Un libro seguramente más interesante para estudiantes de psicología o psicólogos consagrados

[Sandra]

Mi primer contacto con un libro de autismo y síndrome de Asperger que hay que ir digiriendo a pocos para personas que no están diestras en las materias es un comienzo de un largo camino de aprendizaje

[Justin Tapp]

This is as informative a book in as small a number of pages as I've ever read. Baron-Cohen is Director of the Autism Research Centre at Cambridge. I first heard of him in a Five Books interview. The ARC website has a great database of scientific research into the nature of the autism spectrum. Baron-Cohen also helped produce The Transporters, a video series designed to teach autistic kids to recognize emotions, which my 4 year old son loves.

Cohen is author of a couple psychological theories about autism, but presents all the main theories and shows their overlap and weaknesses. He also presents the neuroscience-- what brain scans, chemical tests, and autopsies are telling us about people in the autism spectrum. Cohen is humble in what he presents, and also humble in his skepticism of the quasi-scientific hypotheses that are out there. That's why the ARC website is so critical, you can see what actual well-designed, random, double-blind tests show as opposed to, say, a parental survey presented by opportunistic "experts" eager to make money or sell their diet plan. There is a deficit in qualified research, but the field is rapidly growing.

Our 4 year old is currently on a waiting list for a potential diagnosis, so my wife and I have been trying to get factual information quickly. This book was VERY helpful ad contains links to further resources. I highly recommend it as a starting point. Five stars out of five.

[Denise]

This is an excellent start book. It is a little outdated but it has the basics down, a couple of the advancements and teaches how to look for reliable sources of information and to be critical to new miraculous discoveries.

[Michele]

Un libro muy útil para aprender más sobre el autismo y el síndrome de Asperger. Se lee fácilmente por su brevedad y el lenguaje de fácil comprensión.

[Frank]

Very easy to understand and well-organized. Each chapter begins with an overview and ends with a summary. The end of the book has a questionnaire to determine your AQ i.e. Autism Quotient.

[Daiana84]

Este libro está un poco desactualizado, sobre todo en cuanto a las técnica de diagnóstico, y a la distinción que hace del, antes llamado, "autismo clásico" y el síndrome de Asperger, que hoy día se consideran como parte de un mismo trastorno, TEA (trastorno del espectro autista), aún así, resulta una lectura interesante para conocer como se sentaron las bases de este trastorno, cuáles son sus signos más destacados, y cuales fueron las teorías que se tuvieron en cuenta para dar una explicación a las causas del autismo.

[Y]

Couldn’t ask for a better overview and explanation of autism, Asperger, possible causes and their (supposed) treatments.

[Daniela Sánchez]

Fue fácil de leer, explicó muy bien el tema. Este libro es como una introducción para aquellos que no saben del tema (me incluyo).

[Luis Andrade M]

Breve y concisa repaso sobre los descubrimientos y convenciones para 2008 sobre autismo. Escrito para padres y personas no especialistas (no para psicólogos, ni pedagogos, psiquiatras) y por tanto es fácil de entender y asimilar.

Contiene fuentes adicionales y material para consultar, lo que enriquece mucho el libro y permite a cualquiera ser guiado a tener más material.

[Sara Cives]

Mi opinión personal tiene un par de supuestos, dado que en algunos de los capítulos, proporcionan muchos datos técnicos y se hace un tanto tedioso, aun teniendo conocimiento sobre el TEA o S. Asperger.

[Paul]

OK, this is an older book and much has been learned. But my impression is that the author just does not get it. A little odd because he makes a lot of Asperger-type lists. Also tends to circular logic.

[Moniquilla Guajara]

Libro muy interesante y ameno.
Muy fácil de leer.

[S R]

Muy interesante y claro, aunque ya está desactualizado, ya que mantiene que el autismo se da más en hombres que en mujeres.

[Daniela Heras]

Mucho sesgo de género

[Nev Prahova]

It needs updating but otherwise it is very useful information.

[Vania]

Es un libro excelente para adentrarse en el mundo del Autismo y Síndrome de Asperger. Lo disfruté muchísimo.

[Marco Sán Sán]

Difícil, por momentos profundo, por momentos básico. Difícil la clasificación patológica mediante la observación y estadística de conductas.

[Tanya]

A really hard read

Probably best for academics or professionals, not for someone, like me, with Autism, wanting to understand it more and discuss with others.

[Violet Raven]

While it contained a lot of useful information and several case studies as well as graphs and charts of research, it was written in such a way that made it difficult to concentrate on the content. There were several irritating typographic and grammatical inconsistencies, for example, use of capitalisation or quotation marks for one instance but not the next, using a metaphor to describe metaphorical speaking, unnecessary use of brackets to give the sum of a simple calculation of age which felt patronising; the years had been given during the previous sentence(4 years advanced at age 12)but the author clarified in brackets that the subject of the case study was studying at the level of those sixteen years of age. In addition there were inconsistent formats for statistics (e.g. 4 in 10,000 compared to 1%) and using sources from the internet which are acknowledged to be unreliable.

Overall the compiled data was useful and interesting, but the small details were almost unbearable - and that is for someone without Asperger's

[Lee Wilkinson]

This compact (7.7 x 5 x 0.4 inches), yet highly accessible and informative text is a title from the "The Facts" series published by Oxford University press. A leading authority in the field of autism, Simon Baron-Cohen provides the reader with a comprehensive and readable summary of the current state of the research and science of autism spectrum disorders. Each chapter begins by listing key points of the relevant discussion and content. The first chapter introduces the reader to classic autism (autistic disorder) and Asperger syndrome by describing a child with each of the diagnoses. Subsequent chapters include a discussion of history and prevalence, assessment, neurobiological factors, major psychological theories, and intervention, education, and treatment. “Autism and Asperger Syndrome (The Facts)” is a valuable resource for both professionals and those touched by autism related conditions. It is an excellent companion to other research-based texts in the field.

[Neil White]

It has been a while since I've done any reading about autism and aspergers, when my son was younger I read a lot and Simon Baron-Cohen's Mindblindness was one of the most insightful books at that point. At a certain point you stop reading and just deal with your experiences, but now I suppose ten years later it was time to come back and re-look things in light of ten years of experience of being a father. This is a short book that covers a lot of ground very efficiently, from history to theories to treatments-much of the information I was familiar with, but there was some changes and Simon Baron-Cohen is one of the innovators in the field. This is a well done summary of perspectives and would be useful as a guide for both parents and those who work with individuals who are either autistic or aspergers.

[The Angry Lawn Gnome]

A very well written, concise introduction to Autism and Asperger's. Hits just about every salient point imaginable, from the history of the condition, various treatments that have been tried, its prevalance in the population, and on and on. And manages to do it in under 150 pages.

Quite frankly, the only eyebrow raiser in the entire work was a very brief discussion of prenatal testing for the condition. As someone with Asperger's, I have to wonder if I'd be here if such a thing existed. Better stop now. If I get started on Autism Speaks and their research in this area I'm not sure when I'd stop.

[Sam Peeters]

In Autisme en Asperger-syndroom – De stand van zaken wordt een mooi overzicht gegeven van wat er algemeen geweten is over autisme en asperger zonder al te veel te dramatiseren en door relatief rekening te houden met de stem van volwassenen met autisme of asperger. Minpunten zijn weliswaar dat het soms wat te theoretisch is en er al wat voorkennis verwacht wordt. Ook de zin van het onderscheid tussen mensen met autisme en asperger is niet altijd even duidelijk in het boek. Voor de rest best wel leesbaar.

Lees meer op De Stand van de zaak - leesverslag op Tistje.com

[Denise]

Fascinating deep dive into systemizing. Wanted a refresh on this theory before I read The Pattern Seekers (same author).

Really appreciate the use of tables and accent colors within this book. It is tailored to a systemizing reader. The demonstration and presentation itself must be purposefully intended.

I am not sure what to make of the extreme male theory.

But then, my E>S so maybe that is why it does not compute.

[Daniel]

Una buena fuente para conocer la practicamente poco conocida patología neurocognitiva. Analisis muy estadistico, haciendolo un poco frío pero bien elaborado.

[Jeff La Marca]

autism,ASD

[Nazbanou]

A quick and neat intro into autism spectrum disorders.