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The Complete Guide to Asperger's Syndrome
The Complete Guide to Asperger's Syndrome is the definitive handbook for anyone affected by Asperger's syndrome (AS). Now including a new introduction explaining the impact of DSM-5 on the diagnosis and approach to AS, it brings together a wealth of information on all aspects of the syndrome for children through to adults.Drawing on case studies and personal accounts from Attwood's extensive clinical experience, and from his correspondence with individuals with AS, this book is both authoritative and extremely accessible. Chapters * causes and indications of the syndrome * the diagnosis and its effect on the individual * theory of mind * the perception of emotions in self and others * social interaction, including friendships * long-term relationships * teasing, bullying and mental health issues * the effect of AS on language and cognitive abilities, sensory sensitivity, movement and co-ordination skills * career development.There is also an invaluable frequently asked questions chapter and a section listing useful resources for anyone wishing to find further information on a particular aspect of AS, as well as literature and educational tools.Essential reading for families and individuals affected by AS as well as teachers, professionals and employers coming in contact with people with AS, this book should be on the bookshelf of anyone who needs to know or is interested in this complex condition.'I usually say to the child, "Congratulations, you have Asperger's syndrome", and explain that this means he or she is not mad, bad or defective, but has a different way of thinking.'- from The Complete Guide to Asperger's Syndrome
347 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 28, 2006
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February 21, 2009
I read this after I was diagnosed with AS at the age of 25. It's an excellent source of information on how AS manifests itself and issues surrounding the condition.
My only problem with the book is that Attwood babies Aspies too much, commonly suggesting that they should make everyone aware of their condition and expect both understanding and allowances. If a person with Aspergers ever hopes to live a full life, he or she needs to accept that not every situation can be planned or controlled. There are too many and too various medical conditions for society to support all of them. Learn to suck it up and adapt.
My only problem with the book is that Attwood babies Aspies too much, commonly suggesting that they should make everyone aware of their condition and expect both understanding and allowances. If a person with Aspergers ever hopes to live a full life, he or she needs to accept that not every situation can be planned or controlled. There are too many and too various medical conditions for society to support all of them. Learn to suck it up and adapt.
June 6, 2011
Ooh, you’re always setting yourself up for a fall when you call your book The COMPLETE Guide to Asperger’s Syndrome. You may as well call it the ONLY Guide or the BEST EVER Guide. *wince* Maybe I should cut Tony Attwood some slack; the title was probably his publisher’s idea.
Nonetheless, I found this book slight lacking. One might even say... incomplete. *rimshot*
It’s particularly poor when it comes to strategies for dealing with Asperger’s. Almost all the suggestions are aimed at children (“draw a cartoon strip to help you understand your feelings!”) and therefore laughably simplistic. I specifically picked up this book because it was one of only a few on the market not titled Parents’ Guide to Asperger’s or What to do if your child has Asperger’s. And yet the book still deals overwhelmingly with children who have Asperger’s. Not particularly helpful if the Aspie person in your life is an adult.
Those gripes aside, there is a lot of useful information about Asperger’s contained within this book. If you’re trying to understand Asperger’s better, this makes for a decent read. There’s a slight ‘textbook-drone’ quality to Attwood’s prose, and I think it could have been more effectively restructured, but nonetheless, it’s an accessible, interesting guide. It’s just not a complete one, IMO.
Nonetheless, I found this book slight lacking. One might even say... incomplete. *rimshot*
It’s particularly poor when it comes to strategies for dealing with Asperger’s. Almost all the suggestions are aimed at children (“draw a cartoon strip to help you understand your feelings!”) and therefore laughably simplistic. I specifically picked up this book because it was one of only a few on the market not titled Parents’ Guide to Asperger’s or What to do if your child has Asperger’s. And yet the book still deals overwhelmingly with children who have Asperger’s. Not particularly helpful if the Aspie person in your life is an adult.
Those gripes aside, there is a lot of useful information about Asperger’s contained within this book. If you’re trying to understand Asperger’s better, this makes for a decent read. There’s a slight ‘textbook-drone’ quality to Attwood’s prose, and I think it could have been more effectively restructured, but nonetheless, it’s an accessible, interesting guide. It’s just not a complete one, IMO.
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November 26, 2008For a guide to Asperger's this is quite good. Upon reading it, I knew that this pattern fit me very well, and promptly got diagnosed. Alof of the patterns, repetative thoughts, behaviors, pedantic speech, idiosyncratic interests, skill with words, trouble with non-verbal communication (including flirting). Ex: 29, never had a romantic relationship, or had much in the way of that connection. That's been the most devestating effect. That's mainly because even if someone is flirting me, I can't read impressions. When I've "done" something about it, it's all wrong. So then most often I'm overly cautious, and nothing can happen that way either. That's the truth, depressing, but the truth. Physical disabilities are hard, to not be able to take care of oneself with ease, and to have the discrimination that comes along with it, especially when it's more severe. Mental disabilities, such as Asperger's and others, can cut one off from the necessary social support that keeps a person alive as well, but for different reasons. In my case I'm cut off because of an inability to understand others intentions. I've found that my life has been very difficult, and arduous sometimes to make life meaningful in light of the difficulties, the awkwardness, the rejection, the mistakes, the isolation that seem neverending. In my case, I know that the compassion it has aroused in me, the empathic-ness, because of knowing intense, difficulty just getting by, doing the basics, just remotely keeping friends, has been the most humbling experience I can imagine. Many of the people I have known who have not known such hardship in their lives, are sometimes much more conceptual, and 2-dimensional and how they view others able to exist at a more superficial level (in that sense any humbling traumatic hardship can be a blessing in character developement), most people I know rely psychologically on the benefits of having romantic partners throughout their lives. That too is something, that it is possible I may never get to rely on, or enjoy. Or even physical affection, I don't really understand the subtle cues that would lead to kissing, and being forthright really has not worked. I'm like everyone else, just as selfish and concerned with meeting my needs, but this has forced me to question everything down to the foundation. I don't believe ideologies, and dogmatic opinions, because they fall apart, ground down by exhausting psychological hardship, and loneliness. Most recently in the last few years I've stumbled upon the sage Ramana Maharshi and his method of Inquiry has given me a sense of bliss and connection to everything at times unparalleled. And so when the mind goes out to desires and fears I redirect it toward the I that is seeing, the I that is experiencing, who is that I? Continual dismantling of the self-image through every experience. Obviously in this I've been using the self-concept, so I'm not free of it. But maybe one of these days. In some ways, I wish people would be more forgiving toward me, of subtle mistakes, but not in a way where they don't treat me with respect, but value that my way of processing the world is cool, and interesting too. So far it is rare. This is a cruel, oppressive collective conscience at this time, but certainly my difficulties with Asperger's Autism have granted insights into a deeper level, sometimes missed by my anarchist, feminist, gender queer, ideological comrades, that of how psychologically our egos, are creating this unliveable environment, where we are all depressed all the time, especially those of us who can't compete in the mean social competeitions.
October 29, 2025
Ich hatte das Buch zur detaillierten Einführung ins Thema vor fünf Monaten gelesen und war dabei ziemlich erschlagen von der Informationsflut. Ich las es sehr sachlich und ließ es nicht so recht an mich ran, weil ich mich in vielen Punkten nicht wiederfand. Nachdem ich nun vor sechs Wochen im zarten Alter von 57 Jahren als Aspi tatsächlich diagnostiziert wurde, habe ich das Buch nochmal gelesen. Mit der Kenntnis der Zugehörigkeit trafen mich viele Analysen emotional viel stärker. Auch konnte ich Attwoods Akribie besser wertschätzen, wie er dieses in so vielfältiger Form auftretende Persönlichkeits- und Wahrnehmungssyndrom beschreibt. Von den Asperger-Büchern, die ich bislang gelesen habe, ist das für mich definitiv das Beste. Besonders gefiel mir der letzte Abschnitt, in dem er dafür plädiert, Asperger als Syndrom und nicht als Störung zu bezeichnen. Ich bin anders. Ein negativer Glaubenssatz, der mein Schattenkind ein Leben lang mit sich trägt. Attwood zeigt Wege auf, diesen Satz positiv zu sehen. Dieser Weg wird kein leichter sein, ging mir im Kopf herum. Das Buch hat mir beim zweiten Lesen auf dem Weg zur mehr Selbstakzeptanz geholfen. Vom Ziel bin ich trotzdem noch weit entfernt.
November 21, 2013
I read this book hoping, like many others, to gain a grasp of my own responses to the neurotypical world, and its responses to me.
In that, I would consider it successful. It spent perhaps too much time discussing children, but it is supposed to be "complete", and this information would undoubtedly be of use to many parents finding these characteristics in their offspring.
The book describes Asperger syndrome, and goes on to talk about differences between aspies and neurotypicals in social understanding (with a specific chapter on bullying), Theory of Mind, emotions, special interests, language, cognition, coordination, and sensory sensitivity, from early childhood to adulthood It then goes on to discuss college (Asperger syndrome tends to come with heightened intelligence, so we have a higher average educational attainment than the general population) and the fraught question of long-term relationships. He also covers some of the issues surrounding some of the more common questions - including crime, which may help to set the minds of some readers at rest: we have no higher a rate of offending than the rest of you, and convictions for violent crime are lower than in the general population. The aspie population does have a different profile of offending, often involving the morally right (or at least, to the aspie mind, defensible, which isn't necessarily the same thing) colliding with the legally wrong: think Lisbeth Salander. An awareness of this may help at least some of us stay out of jail - a place we are less able to handle than most neurotypical crooks.
It is a very practical book, although it perhaps didn't come down strongly enough against the seal-training "therapies" of ABA and IBI, and will certainly be of great value to parents, among others.
As someone who was diagnosed as an adult, I found myself recognising - and sometimes wincing at - many of the descriptions of the aspie child. It is possible to gain important insights into this from reading the assorted blogs on the subject, and engaging with online communities such as Wrong Planet, but Attwood's book is deliberately comprehensive, discussing subjects and placing them into contexts that I might not otherwise have considered. It is, however, somewhat less practical for those identified as adults. I don't think this is the author's fault - the interventions simply are not there and, as I've found the hard way, trying to implement what might otherwise be sensible strategies tend to fail in the face of neurotypical aversion to the unfamiliar. In this sense I think the author overestimates the capacity of your average NT to accept anyone who is "different".
It was however a refreshing change from the perspectives offered by scientists like Simon Baron-Cohen. Baron-Cohen's work is of value, but I found his somewhat artificial distinctions between "male" and "female" brains somewhat oversimplistic, and Attwood successfully overcomes this.
It's not what I would call complete. The Markrams' Intense World Theory was proposed after this book was published, and I would hope a second edition would discuss this. Perhaps of greater concern is that there is no proper discussion of the problems of shutdown and meltdown, characteristics that can cause problems and, in the case of meltdown, even be potentially dangerous if mishandled. Attwood comes very close to comparing meltdown to the temper tantrum that it superficially resembles. I suspect, given the paucity of research on the subject, that he doesn't know much about it, although it is well documented, indeed intensively discussed, within the community.
All in all, however, I would recommend this book, particularly to parents and teachers (I wish both my parents and my teachers would have had something like this when I was growing up. It will also have value to adolescent and adult aspies as well as to spouses and to those wishing to gain a better understanding of the aspie in your life.
In that, I would consider it successful. It spent perhaps too much time discussing children, but it is supposed to be "complete", and this information would undoubtedly be of use to many parents finding these characteristics in their offspring.
The book describes Asperger syndrome, and goes on to talk about differences between aspies and neurotypicals in social understanding (with a specific chapter on bullying), Theory of Mind, emotions, special interests, language, cognition, coordination, and sensory sensitivity, from early childhood to adulthood It then goes on to discuss college (Asperger syndrome tends to come with heightened intelligence, so we have a higher average educational attainment than the general population) and the fraught question of long-term relationships. He also covers some of the issues surrounding some of the more common questions - including crime, which may help to set the minds of some readers at rest: we have no higher a rate of offending than the rest of you, and convictions for violent crime are lower than in the general population. The aspie population does have a different profile of offending, often involving the morally right (or at least, to the aspie mind, defensible, which isn't necessarily the same thing) colliding with the legally wrong: think Lisbeth Salander. An awareness of this may help at least some of us stay out of jail - a place we are less able to handle than most neurotypical crooks.
It is a very practical book, although it perhaps didn't come down strongly enough against the seal-training "therapies" of ABA and IBI, and will certainly be of great value to parents, among others.
As someone who was diagnosed as an adult, I found myself recognising - and sometimes wincing at - many of the descriptions of the aspie child. It is possible to gain important insights into this from reading the assorted blogs on the subject, and engaging with online communities such as Wrong Planet, but Attwood's book is deliberately comprehensive, discussing subjects and placing them into contexts that I might not otherwise have considered. It is, however, somewhat less practical for those identified as adults. I don't think this is the author's fault - the interventions simply are not there and, as I've found the hard way, trying to implement what might otherwise be sensible strategies tend to fail in the face of neurotypical aversion to the unfamiliar. In this sense I think the author overestimates the capacity of your average NT to accept anyone who is "different".
It was however a refreshing change from the perspectives offered by scientists like Simon Baron-Cohen. Baron-Cohen's work is of value, but I found his somewhat artificial distinctions between "male" and "female" brains somewhat oversimplistic, and Attwood successfully overcomes this.
It's not what I would call complete. The Markrams' Intense World Theory was proposed after this book was published, and I would hope a second edition would discuss this. Perhaps of greater concern is that there is no proper discussion of the problems of shutdown and meltdown, characteristics that can cause problems and, in the case of meltdown, even be potentially dangerous if mishandled. Attwood comes very close to comparing meltdown to the temper tantrum that it superficially resembles. I suspect, given the paucity of research on the subject, that he doesn't know much about it, although it is well documented, indeed intensively discussed, within the community.
All in all, however, I would recommend this book, particularly to parents and teachers (I wish both my parents and my teachers would have had something like this when I was growing up. It will also have value to adolescent and adult aspies as well as to spouses and to those wishing to gain a better understanding of the aspie in your life.
February 12, 2016
Tony Attwood is a therapist rather than a researcher and that is reflected in this somewhat incomplete Guide to Asperger's Syndrome. If you want a comprehensive description of the Syndrome, the ever-changing diagnostic guidelines and the individual symptoms, this is the book for you. If you want an extremely thorough over-view of all available therapies/interventions/support services and their efficacy this is most certainly the book for you. If you want a summary of the current state of research into causes of autistic behaviour, you will need to look elsewhere as there's a total of less than two pages on the subject.
The book focuses heavily on childhood and adolescence but does not completely ignore adulthood; I think this just reflects where the effort has been put with regard to helping Aspies - there's just much less support for adults available. Because of the focus on ways of helping Aspies with their social problems, there is comparatively little discussion of their strengths, but Attwood is clearly aware of these strengths, appreciative of the positive things Aspies can offer society and sympathetic to their cause. Nevertheless, particularly early on he does make quite a few value-judgements that I feel are entirely subjective and out of place. He also use "empathy" in a technical sense that is not what non-psychologists would generally assume it means - but doesn't explain this specialised usage for several more chapters. This potentially helps fuel an incorrect and very negative stereotype about Aspies - that they have no empathy - which is completely without foundation.
The tone is quite dry, somewhat academic, but not excruciatingly dull. It is heavily referenced for those who wish to dive into the research literature. Various case histories and anecdotes leaven the text and for the most part I think it's readily accessible to the general reader. The book will be of most use to parents of Aspies and I believe Attwood had that readership in mind when he wrote it.
The book focuses heavily on childhood and adolescence but does not completely ignore adulthood; I think this just reflects where the effort has been put with regard to helping Aspies - there's just much less support for adults available. Because of the focus on ways of helping Aspies with their social problems, there is comparatively little discussion of their strengths, but Attwood is clearly aware of these strengths, appreciative of the positive things Aspies can offer society and sympathetic to their cause. Nevertheless, particularly early on he does make quite a few value-judgements that I feel are entirely subjective and out of place. He also use "empathy" in a technical sense that is not what non-psychologists would generally assume it means - but doesn't explain this specialised usage for several more chapters. This potentially helps fuel an incorrect and very negative stereotype about Aspies - that they have no empathy - which is completely without foundation.
The tone is quite dry, somewhat academic, but not excruciatingly dull. It is heavily referenced for those who wish to dive into the research literature. Various case histories and anecdotes leaven the text and for the most part I think it's readily accessible to the general reader. The book will be of most use to parents of Aspies and I believe Attwood had that readership in mind when he wrote it.
May 21, 2022
A bit dry, very heteronormative, and mostly focused on children and teenagers, although adults are not completely ignored. I learned some things, about alexithymia and apraxia especially. I'm glad dyscalculia was mentioned because I've never read about it in combination with Asperger's before.
Author used the word 'asexual' when he should have used 'celibate', which bothers me greatly as an asexual person.
Overall, this guide is not very complete (as the title implies), and a bit outdated. Also, I mentally threw up every time I saw Simon Baron-Cohen mentioned (we don't like him), and that was A LOT.
This would not be the first book about Asperger's I'd recommend. So far, Rudy Simone's Aspergirls has been the best! (Only focused on women though!)
Author used the word 'asexual' when he should have used 'celibate', which bothers me greatly as an asexual person.
Overall, this guide is not very complete (as the title implies), and a bit outdated. Also, I mentally threw up every time I saw Simon Baron-Cohen mentioned (we don't like him), and that was A LOT.
This would not be the first book about Asperger's I'd recommend. So far, Rudy Simone's Aspergirls has been the best! (Only focused on women though!)
March 5, 2024
Yra labai didelė tikimybė, kad savo rate turime nediagnozuotų aspergerio sindromą turinčių žmonių, kurie susikūrė tam tikrus maskuojamus ir kompensacinius savo sutrikimo mechanizmus, bet tai nereiškia, kad jiems lengva, o mus tai gali nerūpėti. Šiems žmonėms nėra paprasta nuskaityti mūsų siunčiamus socialinius signalus, o mūsų gebėjimas lanksčiai prisitaikyti gali labai padėti. Skaitydamas mintyse galvojau net apie šešis žmones savo aplinkoje, kur galiu įtarti aspergerį ir tai iš esmės keičia mano požiūrį į santykius, kontaktą ir drauge patirtas neįprastas situacijas.
Šis sindromas vis dažniau sutinkamas ir nustatomas mūsų visuomenėje, todėl man atrodo svarbu, kad aplinkiai būtų pasiruošę atliepti jų poreikius, priimti su natūralumu ir atidumu, o knyga padeda detaliai ir nuosekliai viską suprasti. Suvokimas, kad kažkas tiesiog negali, o ne nenori kažko duoti yra pamatinis, ir žinojimas, kad kažkas tiesiog nesupranta ar nespėja, o ne sąmoningai daro kažką netinkamo - gali radikaliai pakeisti pačią situaciją.
Šis sindromas vis dažniau sutinkamas ir nustatomas mūsų visuomenėje, todėl man atrodo svarbu, kad aplinkiai būtų pasiruošę atliepti jų poreikius, priimti su natūralumu ir atidumu, o knyga padeda detaliai ir nuosekliai viską suprasti. Suvokimas, kad kažkas tiesiog negali, o ne nenori kažko duoti yra pamatinis, ir žinojimas, kad kažkas tiesiog nesupranta ar nespėja, o ne sąmoningai daro kažką netinkamo - gali radikaliai pakeisti pačią situaciją.
September 18, 2021
I thought long about if I should rate this book and if so how I should rate it. One star means: I didn't like it. Well, I didn't.
Why?
1. The problematic approach on gender: Attwood thinks, that a child might "become" trans, when hanging out with the "opposite" gender. He wrote that autistic boys often hang out with girls when they see how popular girls are, then might start to act feminine and "develop a problematic gender identity". Likewise he wrote that girls who develop self-hatred might start to hang out with boys and the same thing might happen. This is wrong, wrong, wrong. And transphobic. Attwood should stop writing about topics he obviously didn't study enough to know anything about them. Additional I know many neurodivergent/autistic people who are trans/nonbinary/agender. We don't tend to be peer pressured into stuff easily and that also includes the enforced gender binary. Also even a cis boy acting more feminine or a cis girl acting more masculine is not problematic, claiming this is homophobic.
2. A child will not think it's gay because others insult it with the term (not "fa**ot like in my former note, sorry). Of course "gay" should not be used as insult, that's true - and an autistic child might also take people seriously. But again Attwood sounded a bit concerned. And a child questioning their sexuality is not concerning - if the child isn't gay it will find out. If it's gay it's gay. Also nobody "becomes" asexual. Asexuality is, well, a sexuality (pun fully intended).
3. The use of the world "normal" for neurotypical children. This was used through the whole book and I honestly don't get it, because there were even autists cited, that they don't like this. This always gave me a little angry stab while reading, I'm neurodivergent myself and was perceived "freaky" or "anormal" for long enough, experts don't have to reproduce this bullshit in their books!
4. Suggesting acting lessons for children so they can mask better. As far as I am informed masking is proven to contribute to depression and anxiety. As neurodivergent person I can confirm that masking is exhausting and many things that people ask neurodivergent people to mask (like not looking one in the eyes) are not harmful.
5. The weird approach that, in love relationships, autistic people might be attractive for others because they cause mommy/daddy feelings wtffff - I mean, I see where this is coming from, but neurodivergent people are lovely and sexy af for so many more reasons. That one made me role my eyes through my skull and back to be honest. Also it's not the most healthy reationship suggestion because unbalanced power dynamics can come into play. But that's someone I can ramble on about for hours I guess.
There were other things that I found informative, helpful and that encourage me even more to search for late diagnosis (only my ADHD got confirmed yet). But all these points make this book unrecommendable for me as they can cause harm. Also it's mostly about children (about 90%), which I wasn't aware of when I grabbed it in the library.
Why?
1. The problematic approach on gender: Attwood thinks, that a child might "become" trans, when hanging out with the "opposite" gender. He wrote that autistic boys often hang out with girls when they see how popular girls are, then might start to act feminine and "develop a problematic gender identity". Likewise he wrote that girls who develop self-hatred might start to hang out with boys and the same thing might happen. This is wrong, wrong, wrong. And transphobic. Attwood should stop writing about topics he obviously didn't study enough to know anything about them. Additional I know many neurodivergent/autistic people who are trans/nonbinary/agender. We don't tend to be peer pressured into stuff easily and that also includes the enforced gender binary. Also even a cis boy acting more feminine or a cis girl acting more masculine is not problematic, claiming this is homophobic.
2. A child will not think it's gay because others insult it with the term (not "fa**ot like in my former note, sorry). Of course "gay" should not be used as insult, that's true - and an autistic child might also take people seriously. But again Attwood sounded a bit concerned. And a child questioning their sexuality is not concerning - if the child isn't gay it will find out. If it's gay it's gay. Also nobody "becomes" asexual. Asexuality is, well, a sexuality (pun fully intended).
3. The use of the world "normal" for neurotypical children. This was used through the whole book and I honestly don't get it, because there were even autists cited, that they don't like this. This always gave me a little angry stab while reading, I'm neurodivergent myself and was perceived "freaky" or "anormal" for long enough, experts don't have to reproduce this bullshit in their books!
4. Suggesting acting lessons for children so they can mask better. As far as I am informed masking is proven to contribute to depression and anxiety. As neurodivergent person I can confirm that masking is exhausting and many things that people ask neurodivergent people to mask (like not looking one in the eyes) are not harmful.
5. The weird approach that, in love relationships, autistic people might be attractive for others because they cause mommy/daddy feelings wtffff - I mean, I see where this is coming from, but neurodivergent people are lovely and sexy af for so many more reasons. That one made me role my eyes through my skull and back to be honest. Also it's not the most healthy reationship suggestion because unbalanced power dynamics can come into play. But that's someone I can ramble on about for hours I guess.
There were other things that I found informative, helpful and that encourage me even more to search for late diagnosis (only my ADHD got confirmed yet). But all these points make this book unrecommendable for me as they can cause harm. Also it's mostly about children (about 90%), which I wasn't aware of when I grabbed it in the library.
June 29, 2017
This was absolutely horrible. Well, it was for me. Apparently the person who recommended it thought it was great, and thought it was a great fit for me. After having followed every single recommendation that person has given me, I can say very clearly this person either has insufficient knowledge of the "field" of Autism Spectrum Disorder resources, or honestly has/had no clue whatsoever about what would work for *me*.
Let's start with formatting. Clearly the author, his editors, the publisher, well quite literally everyone couldn't figure out if they wanted to say, "quotation marks belong on the outside of punctuation," or "quotation marks belong on the inside of punctuation". While I can't say I saw both formats used on the same page, I can say in *very* close proximity they used both.
Really, I probably wouldn't really have noticed that if I didn't keep reading it and going "Clearly I am not the person he is describing, nor are most of the aspies, autistics that I interact with."
I did find a few sentences in the book that taken out of context could be *hugely* inspiring. But I am pretty sure the total count in the over 350 pages was about 3.
Goodreads calls a 1 star "I did not like it." Saying I did not like it, is a bit like saying that I did not like eating excrement. That I did not like going through months of periodic shaking from psychiatric drugs. I have been told that "hate is a strong word" (by people who were using "love" for the same "activity" but that wasn't at all a strong word), I'm not sure hate is exactly an overstatement for this book.
As an example (warning spoilers...) he has a section about criminal activities. This section he spends about the first 100 or so words saying quite clearly "no" to criminal activities being more common. The next 8 pages? All the problems that lead aspies to commit crimes, and the types of crimes they commit. And just how horrible aspies are in terms of their criminal behaviour.
I am exaggerating somewhat in "how horrible aspies are in terms of their criminal behaviour," he presents what he is saying as "neutral fact" and would probably say that he's not promoting the idea that criminal behaviour is a *common problem* but rather that when it does come up, that people should be aware of these things.
The "problem" with how he presents it? This is common throughout the whole book, he spends a little bit being explicate about "things are good" then spends 4 to 40 times as much time talking about the "problems to look out for."
I could well write more. I'm not sure if I could say anything more that would be helpful.
Let's start with formatting. Clearly the author, his editors, the publisher, well quite literally everyone couldn't figure out if they wanted to say, "quotation marks belong on the outside of punctuation," or "quotation marks belong on the inside of punctuation". While I can't say I saw both formats used on the same page, I can say in *very* close proximity they used both.
Really, I probably wouldn't really have noticed that if I didn't keep reading it and going "Clearly I am not the person he is describing, nor are most of the aspies, autistics that I interact with."
I did find a few sentences in the book that taken out of context could be *hugely* inspiring. But I am pretty sure the total count in the over 350 pages was about 3.
Goodreads calls a 1 star "I did not like it." Saying I did not like it, is a bit like saying that I did not like eating excrement. That I did not like going through months of periodic shaking from psychiatric drugs. I have been told that "hate is a strong word" (by people who were using "love" for the same "activity" but that wasn't at all a strong word), I'm not sure hate is exactly an overstatement for this book.
As an example (warning spoilers...) he has a section about criminal activities. This section he spends about the first 100 or so words saying quite clearly "no" to criminal activities being more common. The next 8 pages? All the problems that lead aspies to commit crimes, and the types of crimes they commit. And just how horrible aspies are in terms of their criminal behaviour.
I am exaggerating somewhat in "how horrible aspies are in terms of their criminal behaviour," he presents what he is saying as "neutral fact" and would probably say that he's not promoting the idea that criminal behaviour is a *common problem* but rather that when it does come up, that people should be aware of these things.
The "problem" with how he presents it? This is common throughout the whole book, he spends a little bit being explicate about "things are good" then spends 4 to 40 times as much time talking about the "problems to look out for."
I could well write more. I'm not sure if I could say anything more that would be helpful.
June 2, 2013
I read this book in the hope that I would gain a clearer understanding of two people in my circle. I wanted something a bit more detailed than the (helpful) information I had been given by the National Autistic Society - that would include references to the research findings into this condition. I was also hoping to avoid a book that made a lot of assumptions about what 'masculinity' and 'femininity' might be. I have read one of Simon Baron Cohen's books on autism and felt somewhat irked by his perspective.
I found the book extremely enlightening, because Tony Attwood is very good at explaining how people with Asperger's syndrome are likely to operate in a social world that they find confusing/overwhelming/threatening. It provided me with some logical explanations for behaviours that - in my personal life - I have found extremely confusing and distresing.
At various points I found the book slightly repetitive. My impression was that the book may have been - at least partly - put together from a variety of previously written articles. I wished that the author (or an editor) had weeded out the repetitions. However the quotations from people who had Asperger's Syndrome as well as those from Hans Asperger himself were very illuminating.
A lot of the emphasis of the book was practical. How do parents - and others in a caring role - work with children and young people who have Asperger's to enable them to survive in a world which operates differently than they do? Maybe there is another book to be written about how 'non-Aspies' might deal with older people who grew up in a world where very little was known about Asperger's and/or deal with issues around denial.
Overall though, I found this an extremely useful and insightful book.
I found the book extremely enlightening, because Tony Attwood is very good at explaining how people with Asperger's syndrome are likely to operate in a social world that they find confusing/overwhelming/threatening. It provided me with some logical explanations for behaviours that - in my personal life - I have found extremely confusing and distresing.
At various points I found the book slightly repetitive. My impression was that the book may have been - at least partly - put together from a variety of previously written articles. I wished that the author (or an editor) had weeded out the repetitions. However the quotations from people who had Asperger's Syndrome as well as those from Hans Asperger himself were very illuminating.
A lot of the emphasis of the book was practical. How do parents - and others in a caring role - work with children and young people who have Asperger's to enable them to survive in a world which operates differently than they do? Maybe there is another book to be written about how 'non-Aspies' might deal with older people who grew up in a world where very little was known about Asperger's and/or deal with issues around denial.
Overall though, I found this an extremely useful and insightful book.
January 19, 2021
This book comes highly recommended by professionals (not by autistic people or parents of autistic children). I bought this when my son was diagnosed as autistic when he was 8. I took it to the charity shop shortly afterwards. They say if you've met one autistic person then you've met one autistic person (meaning you can't make assumptions and generalize. Well Tony Atwood does the opposite - he makes references throughout to his autistic sister-in-law. WHY??? ridiculous to draw conclusions based on conversations with one person.
The whole book is depressing and focuses upon deficits. It goes no deeper than all of the insulting and untrue stereotypes which maintain the stigma surrounding autism. For example, lacking empathy or sense of humour. Would you reply to a personal ad if someone said they had no empathy and no sense of humour??? Makes them sound very unappealing doesn't it.
Tony Atwood famously missed the fact that his son was autistic. I find this unsurprising based on his limited and stereotyped view in this flimsy and uninspiring book.
Read Neurotribes or Uniquely Human - far more inspiring (and well written, compassionate, interesting etc etc).
The whole book is depressing and focuses upon deficits. It goes no deeper than all of the insulting and untrue stereotypes which maintain the stigma surrounding autism. For example, lacking empathy or sense of humour. Would you reply to a personal ad if someone said they had no empathy and no sense of humour??? Makes them sound very unappealing doesn't it.
Tony Atwood famously missed the fact that his son was autistic. I find this unsurprising based on his limited and stereotyped view in this flimsy and uninspiring book.
Read Neurotribes or Uniquely Human - far more inspiring (and well written, compassionate, interesting etc etc).
January 4, 2019
Tony Attwood's "The Complete Guide to Asperger's Syndrome" is more like a textbook, than a guide, beautifully written and easy to understand. I cannot recommend this book more highly, especially for children, adolescents, and adults diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome, parents, relatives or friends who suspect someone close to them as possibly having Asperger's syndrome, teachers, educators, medical and psychological professionals, criminal justice and law enforcement personnel, and people simply interested in this fascinating syndrome that has produced so many engineers, mathematicians, geniuses (Albert Einstein exhibited symptoms of Aspergers) musicians, artists, and tech innovators.
I read this book from cover to cover, but it is written in such a way that one could easily jump from chapter to chapter depending on your interest in the syndrome. Each chapter is dedicated to a specific subject related to Asperger's Syndrome, from the diagnosis, to interpersonal relationships, to bullying, and to fields that individuals with the syndrome most likely excel, and how to improve social and family relationships. I loved this book.
I read this book from cover to cover, but it is written in such a way that one could easily jump from chapter to chapter depending on your interest in the syndrome. Each chapter is dedicated to a specific subject related to Asperger's Syndrome, from the diagnosis, to interpersonal relationships, to bullying, and to fields that individuals with the syndrome most likely excel, and how to improve social and family relationships. I loved this book.
December 2, 2011
A complete guide to Asperger's system, just like the title says. I'm sure it's not 100% complete, nothing ever is - but it's as close as you're going to get. Attwood discusses every life stage from early childhood to adulthood, and gives strategies for working with aspergers and overcoming some of the challenges those on the autistic spectrum face.
I learned a lot about my aspergers from reading this book, and have been working on a few new strategies based on the reading. I also found the resources section to be helpful, if not entirely affordable - some of the programs mentioned like the CAT-kit and Emotional Mind Reading were in the range of $200 dollars to purchase which is is just outrageously expensive for home use.
I learned a lot about my aspergers from reading this book, and have been working on a few new strategies based on the reading. I also found the resources section to be helpful, if not entirely affordable - some of the programs mentioned like the CAT-kit and Emotional Mind Reading were in the range of $200 dollars to purchase which is is just outrageously expensive for home use.
November 6, 2012
I thought this book was very detailed in regards to Asperger's Syndrome. I bought it to learn about the condition because my son was recently diagnosed with it. I read it seeing myself lurking through the pages. I had hoped to find out how to cope with someone who thinks differently than other people do. I figured out there was a reason why my son and I are so close.
If you are looking for a complete guide to understanding Asperger's I recommend this book. You will learn how it is diagnosed, theory of mind thoughts about why people with Asperger's have problems with certain executive functions especially in regards to social behavior, ways to cope with learning to deal with social problems, typical Asperger's people at different ages, psychological techniques that work best for helping Aspies, and an extensive bibliography.
If you have a relative with Asperger's or you have it, go read this book. It will help immensely.
If you are looking for a complete guide to understanding Asperger's I recommend this book. You will learn how it is diagnosed, theory of mind thoughts about why people with Asperger's have problems with certain executive functions especially in regards to social behavior, ways to cope with learning to deal with social problems, typical Asperger's people at different ages, psychological techniques that work best for helping Aspies, and an extensive bibliography.
If you have a relative with Asperger's or you have it, go read this book. It will help immensely.
February 20, 2017
I decided to read this book because of my suspicions that I have Asperger's. I did find that it contained a decent amount of useful information, though it definitely seemed far more focused on children---and far more addressed to the parents of children---than I would have liked.
I also got the definite impression from the chapter on romantic relationships that his impression is that people with Asperger's shouldn't have romantic relationships with neurotypicals, though I'm not sure that's the author's point. (I am curious whether he thinks that relationships between two people with Asperger's can work better; he never mentions them as a possibility.)
I also got the definite impression from the chapter on romantic relationships that his impression is that people with Asperger's shouldn't have romantic relationships with neurotypicals, though I'm not sure that's the author's point. (I am curious whether he thinks that relationships between two people with Asperger's can work better; he never mentions them as a possibility.)
April 5, 2017
This review feels a bit like coming out, but so be it. First, some background in case there are other adult readers like me (diagnosed in adulthood and/or some time ago), who may find this context helpful.
My husband recommended I read this after seeing it referenced in one of his video games. For 20 years (yes, really), I've basically ignored an ASD diagnosis I received because I received it in totally unplanned fashion in college. Briefly, a psychology professor told our class we could receive extra credit by taking IQ tests administered by the grad students in the Psych department, who needed to do however many of these during the course of their studies. I didn't need the extra credit, but thought I might later. I also hadn't had an IQ test since before kindergarten, and was curious to see if my number would change.
I took it and, when the school called with my results, they asked if I wanted to come in for a follow-up test. They did not tell me anything about it but said it was "similar" to the IQ test. I don't recall many details of the test itself. I remember that it was primarily comprised of interview questions, took a few hours, and was conducted not just by the grad student but with one of his advising professors as well. It took place on another campus where I had an evening class, and I went directly from the test to class. That was that.
At some point they called, and I received my diagnosis in person, from the professor who had helped administer the test, right before my evening class. I don't remember much about this aside from the anger in my own head. I was confused, and I remember writing them off (as Attwood notes is a typical response, by the way) as not knowing what they were talking about. They weren't exactly helpful. I felt surprised and I HATE that; I had no health care at the time and did not know what was I supposed to do with a diagnosis anyway (who, exactly, would be footing a therapist bill?). I was already weird enough without any label implying disability attached to me, I was very worried about being saddled with a pre-existing condition that would prevent me from getting insurance at a later date, and I was barely on the spectrum anyway. If I told anyone (and I'm honestly not sure I did), I probably told the woman I was living with who is still one of my nearest and dearest friends.
Fast forward 20 years, though, and a lot has changed. So, based on my sweet husband's advice (he's in a similar boat but had many more and better resources during his life), I picked up this book to see if there might be anything to my husband's thoughts and that past diagnosis. It was illuminating, and upsetting. Which brings me to a note of caution to other adults who might read this book: You may find that this book describes you, and worse, the parts deep inside your brain that only you experience, to such an uncomfortable level of detail that it feels violating, while also feeling like a relief.
I was not prepared to read about how many aspects of my brain, physiological perceptions, and life ASD could be responsible for. It was very... jarring. After reading a few chapters, I felt like there was none of "me" left, or rather, as if all of me was due to ASD: my almost maddening verbal ability, my love of knitting (so wonderfully repetitive and soothing), the extreme intolerance of noise that I struggled to hide forever so I could have a social life, having utterly no idea what is happening in business meetings and other strange social situations, and myriad other "quirks" that I thought made me who I am... Now, these all feel more like a disease profile now than what I thought was my personality.
All a long way of saying that the flash of recognition can be somewhat brutal (though I am certain Attwood does not intend it), and that it is something to be prepared for that I was not, at all.
I am particularly grateful to Attwood for taking the time to point out how ASD can vary in women; how women cope differently; the extensive resources at the back of the book; and for his explaining the specific aspects of IQ tests that can point to possible ASD. I now understand what it was about mine that flagged me for further testing, and not knowing has always bugged me. As others have noted, the book is more heavily focused on children, but I skimmed some of those sections. I found others interesting, however, especially as they pertained to issues my parents and I had with teachers and certain school subjects when I was younger. Sharing some of those points with my parents also helped them, who did not have an easy child to deal with in some ways (please, no zoo or children's birthday parties -- I smiled at Attwood's advice on the latter!), and were first-time parents. I believe one of my parents has since gotten this book from the library.
I still don't know what, if anything, I will do with all of this information or if there's any good in doing so, but it is a relief to have more clarity on some many things about my brain that have seemed insurmountable.
My husband recommended I read this after seeing it referenced in one of his video games. For 20 years (yes, really), I've basically ignored an ASD diagnosis I received because I received it in totally unplanned fashion in college. Briefly, a psychology professor told our class we could receive extra credit by taking IQ tests administered by the grad students in the Psych department, who needed to do however many of these during the course of their studies. I didn't need the extra credit, but thought I might later. I also hadn't had an IQ test since before kindergarten, and was curious to see if my number would change.
I took it and, when the school called with my results, they asked if I wanted to come in for a follow-up test. They did not tell me anything about it but said it was "similar" to the IQ test. I don't recall many details of the test itself. I remember that it was primarily comprised of interview questions, took a few hours, and was conducted not just by the grad student but with one of his advising professors as well. It took place on another campus where I had an evening class, and I went directly from the test to class. That was that.
At some point they called, and I received my diagnosis in person, from the professor who had helped administer the test, right before my evening class. I don't remember much about this aside from the anger in my own head. I was confused, and I remember writing them off (as Attwood notes is a typical response, by the way) as not knowing what they were talking about. They weren't exactly helpful. I felt surprised and I HATE that; I had no health care at the time and did not know what was I supposed to do with a diagnosis anyway (who, exactly, would be footing a therapist bill?). I was already weird enough without any label implying disability attached to me, I was very worried about being saddled with a pre-existing condition that would prevent me from getting insurance at a later date, and I was barely on the spectrum anyway. If I told anyone (and I'm honestly not sure I did), I probably told the woman I was living with who is still one of my nearest and dearest friends.
Fast forward 20 years, though, and a lot has changed. So, based on my sweet husband's advice (he's in a similar boat but had many more and better resources during his life), I picked up this book to see if there might be anything to my husband's thoughts and that past diagnosis. It was illuminating, and upsetting. Which brings me to a note of caution to other adults who might read this book: You may find that this book describes you, and worse, the parts deep inside your brain that only you experience, to such an uncomfortable level of detail that it feels violating, while also feeling like a relief.
I was not prepared to read about how many aspects of my brain, physiological perceptions, and life ASD could be responsible for. It was very... jarring. After reading a few chapters, I felt like there was none of "me" left, or rather, as if all of me was due to ASD: my almost maddening verbal ability, my love of knitting (so wonderfully repetitive and soothing), the extreme intolerance of noise that I struggled to hide forever so I could have a social life, having utterly no idea what is happening in business meetings and other strange social situations, and myriad other "quirks" that I thought made me who I am... Now, these all feel more like a disease profile now than what I thought was my personality.
All a long way of saying that the flash of recognition can be somewhat brutal (though I am certain Attwood does not intend it), and that it is something to be prepared for that I was not, at all.
I am particularly grateful to Attwood for taking the time to point out how ASD can vary in women; how women cope differently; the extensive resources at the back of the book; and for his explaining the specific aspects of IQ tests that can point to possible ASD. I now understand what it was about mine that flagged me for further testing, and not knowing has always bugged me. As others have noted, the book is more heavily focused on children, but I skimmed some of those sections. I found others interesting, however, especially as they pertained to issues my parents and I had with teachers and certain school subjects when I was younger. Sharing some of those points with my parents also helped them, who did not have an easy child to deal with in some ways (please, no zoo or children's birthday parties -- I smiled at Attwood's advice on the latter!), and were first-time parents. I believe one of my parents has since gotten this book from the library.
I still don't know what, if anything, I will do with all of this information or if there's any good in doing so, but it is a relief to have more clarity on some many things about my brain that have seemed insurmountable.
March 2, 2008
This book is considerably different from Attwood's 1998 book, in that it's more addressed to the general public, and has much more material about adult Aspies. A great many scholarly papers and books have been distilled to make up a good portion of the material. There is a great deal of encouraging material about materials developed to help Aspies navigate society, such as the Social Stories and Comic Strip Conversations of Carol Gray, and the Interactive Guide to Emotions by Simon Baron-Cohen and his associates. Another stream of material is from the autobiographies of Aspies such as Liane Halliday Willie, Temple Grandin, Stephen Shore, Luke Jackson and Nita Jackson. It's great to have a human face on the phenomenon of AS.
There seems to be a running thread through the book that sensory sensitivity is a bigger deal for Aspies than previously considered. When I read the chapter on sensory sensitivity, I recalled autism books that suggested autism was a response to body chemistry equivalent to a non-stop drug trip. I grasped that the sensory sensitivity that Aspies feel is a milder version of what autistic people feel. I don't know if that's true, but that's what I grasped.
This book has a few chapters near the end dealing specifically with adult Aspies, chapters on career prospects and long-term relationships. This is a welcome addition.
This will be a good first book for some time to come for anyone with an Aspie in their life. It's not the last book, but it isn't really meant to be the last book. It's meant to be the State of the Aspie Union address for 2007. The message of the book is "We know more about AS than ever before. We know more about what works for Aspie kids than ever before. With a little help, Aspies can get along with society, leverage their talents and interests, and work around their weaknesses."
There seems to be a running thread through the book that sensory sensitivity is a bigger deal for Aspies than previously considered. When I read the chapter on sensory sensitivity, I recalled autism books that suggested autism was a response to body chemistry equivalent to a non-stop drug trip. I grasped that the sensory sensitivity that Aspies feel is a milder version of what autistic people feel. I don't know if that's true, but that's what I grasped.
This book has a few chapters near the end dealing specifically with adult Aspies, chapters on career prospects and long-term relationships. This is a welcome addition.
This will be a good first book for some time to come for anyone with an Aspie in their life. It's not the last book, but it isn't really meant to be the last book. It's meant to be the State of the Aspie Union address for 2007. The message of the book is "We know more about AS than ever before. We know more about what works for Aspie kids than ever before. With a little help, Aspies can get along with society, leverage their talents and interests, and work around their weaknesses."
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 16, 2013
E' il primo libro che un genitore di un bambino con sindrome di Asperger dovrebbe leggere. E' un libro completo, ricco di aneddoti e di casi clinici.
Quando si dice che un bambino ha la sindrome di Asperger, la risposta in genere è: "Non ne ho mai sentito parlare. Di cosa si tratta?". La risposta può essere semplicemente che il bambino è affetto da un disturbo neurologico che comporta difficoltà a socializzare e a comprendere i pensieri e i sentimenti delle altre persone, ad avviare una conversazione naturale, e portare a un'intensa attrazione per una particolare area di interesse, ed essere un poco goffo."
Nella mia esperienza posso dire di aver trovato che tra le qualità della persona Asperger ci sono l'onestà, la lealtà, l'affidabilità, la schiettezza e l'avere un forte codice morale e senso di giustizia. Le qualità cognitive includono una memoria eccezionale, entusiasmo e conoscenze approfondite sul loro interesse speciale, un modo originale di pensare, una buona immaginazione e una notevole abilità di pensare per immagini.
June 19, 2012
I don't know if I'd say this is the only book on Asperger's Syndrome I'd recommend, but it's certainly a great place to start. Lots of information, easy to read, and doesn't make you wince. There's no complete guide mostly because just as every person is unique, each person's experiences with AS are unique.
October 3, 2017
MY NOTES/QUOTES/AND USEFUL BITS:
Asperger considered that the characteristics could be identified in some children as young as two and three years, although for some children, the characteristics only became conspicuous some years later. He also noticed that some of the parents, especially the fathers of such children, appeared to share some of the personality characteristics of their child. He wrote that the condition was probably due to genetic or neurological, rather than psychological or environmental, factors.
p13
The advantage of acknowledging and understanding the diagnosis for parents is that, at last, they have an explanation for their son's or daughter's unusual behaviors and abilities, and knowledge that the condition is not caused by faulty parenting. ... There may also be greater acceptance of the child within the extended family and family friends. The parents can now provide an acceptable explanation to other people regarding the child's unusual behavior.
p29
When parents complete a standardized assessment of self-care skills and adaptive functioning, such abilities in children with Asperger's syndrome are below the level expected for their age and intellectual ability. Clinicians have also recognized significant problems with adaptive behaviour, especially with regard to anger management, anxiety and depression.
p43
In typical children, the acquisition of friendship skills is based on an innate ability that develops throughout childhood in association with progressive changes in cognitive ability, and modified and matured through social experiences. Unfortunately, children with Asperger's syndrome are not able to rely on intuitive abilities in social settings as well as their peers and must rely more on their cognitive abilities and experiences.
p63
One way to describe a person with Asperger's syndrome is someone who comes from a different culture and has a different way of perceiving and thinking about the world.
p77
Children with Asperger's syndrome work twice as hard at school as their peers, as they are learning both the academic and the social curriculum. Unlike other children, they are using cognitive abilities rather than intuition to socialize and make friends. At the end of the school day, the child has usually had enough social experiences and desperately needs to relax in solitude.
p78
While other boys at this age would usually shun girls, using derogatory and sexist remarks, he can be recruited into the play of girls and actively welcomed. If the boy with Asperger's syndrome is unsure what to do when socializing with girls, his female friends are more likely to be supportive than critical - 'He's a boy so he wouldn't understand, so I'll help him.' There can be the development of genuine 'opposite-gender' friendships.
p80
Children with Asperger's syndrome are less likely than their peers to report being a target for bullying or teasing as they have impaired Theory of Mind abilities; that is, they have difficulty determining the thoughts and intentions of others in comparison to their peers. Children with Asperger's syndrome may not intuitively know that the acts of other children are examples of bullying. They sometimes consider that such behaviour is typiecal play and something that they have come to accept as yet another example of the confusing behaviour of their peers.
p100
Research has confirmed that typical children who are the target of bullying are at great risk for low self-esteem, increased levels of anxiety and depression, lower academic achievement, and increased social isolation. The psychological consequences of bullying in the typical population can last for more than ten years. Children with Asperger's syndrome are more prone to these consequences because of their already low self-esteem, predisposition to anxiety and difficulty understanding why someone would behave that way, questioning why they were the target and what else they could have done to stop it.
pp101-2
An adult often needs to provide guidance for the child with Asperger's syndrome in conflict resolution at all stages of childhood, but during adolescence the child is expected to be able to compromise, identify and acknowledge the point of view of the other person, negotiate and forgive and forget conflicts. These attributes can be elusive for the child with Asperger's syndrome, who can be considered as displaying signs similar to Oppositional and Defiant Disorder.
p119
We all feel a little anxious sometimes, but many children and adults with Asperger's syndrome appear to be prone to being anxious for much of their day, or to be extremely anxious about a specific event.
p136
People with Asperger's syndrome are often perfectionists, tend to be exceptionally good at noticing mistakes, and have a conspicuous fear of failure. There can be a relative lack of optimism, with a tendency to expect failure and not to be able to control events.
p141
Teachers soon realize that the child with Asperger's syndrome may intensely dislike public praise that includes gestures or words of affection. The person with Asperger's syndrome has a limited tolerance of affectionate and sentimental behaviour in others.
p150
People with Asperger's syndrome are often very confused by teasing, irony and sarcasm. Research has confirmed that the understanding of idioms is less advanced than one would expect considering the child's intellectual and linguistic abilities.
p217
Research has indicated that children with Asperger's syndrome tend to continue using incorrect strategies and are less likely to learn from their mistakes, even when they know their strategy isn't working. This explains the frequent comment from parents and teachers that the child with Asperger's syndrome does not appear to learn from his or her mistakes. We now recognize this characteristic as an example of impaired executive function that is due to a problem of neurology (the functioning of the frontal lobes), rather than being the child's choice.
p235
The learning profile of children and adults with Asperger's syndrome can include a tendency to focus on errors, a need to fix an irregularity and a desire to be a perfectionist. This can lead to a fear of making a mistake and the child's refusal to commence an activity unless he or she can complete it perfectly. The avoidance of errors can mean that children with Asperger's syndrome prefer accuracy rather than speed, which can affect performance in timed tests and lead to their thinking being described as pedantic.
p238
When children have an overall IQ within the normal range, school authorities tend to assume such children do not qualify for in-class support for learning problems. However, many children with Asperger's syndrome have an overall IQ within the normal range but an extremely uneven profile of intellectual or cognitive skills.
p245
Children with Asperger's syndrome are more socially and emotionally immature than their peers, which contributes towards their being socially isolated, ridiculed and tormented. Having considerably advanced intellectual maturity in comparison to one's peers can further increase social isolation and alienation. The child may have no peer group in his or her classroom, socially or intellectually. Having an impressive vocabulary and knowledge can lead adults to expect an equivalent maturity in social reasoning, emotion management and behaviour; they may be unjustly critical of the child who is unable to express these abilities as maturely as his or her age peers.
p254
The physical education teacher needs to be aware of the nature of Asperger's syndrome and how to adapt PE activities. The adaptations should include an emphasis on physical fitness rather than competitive team sports. When requiring the child to participate in ball games, the teach should discourage other children from laughing if the child fumbles with the ball, and should not have team leaders select team members, which so often results both in the child with Asperger's syndrome being chosen last, an din groans from the other children that they must have such a clumsy child as a member of their team.
p265
...but one of the attributes of Asperger's syndrome, clearly identified in autobiographies and parents' description of their child, is a hyper- and hyposensitivity to specific sensory experiences.
p271
The most common sensitivity is to very specific sounds but there can also be sensitivity to tactile experiences, light intensity, the taste and texture of food and specific aromas. There can be an under- or over-reaction to the experience of pain and discomfort, and the sense of balance, movement perception and body orientation can be unusual.
pp271-2
The non-Asperger's syndrome partner suffers affection deprivation which can be a contributory factor to low self-esteem and depression. The typical partner is metaphorically a rose trying to blossom in an affection desert. The partner with Asperger's syndrome wants to be a friend and a lover but has little idea of how to do either.
p307
Probably for the majority of people with Asperger's syndrome, the reason is due to genetic factors. ... Subsequent research has confirmed that for some families there are strikingly similar characteristics in family members. Research has indicated that, using strict diagnostic criteria for Asperger's syndrome, about 20 per cent of fathers and 5 per cent of mothers of a child with Asperger's syndrome have the syndrome themselves.
p328
We recognize that Asperger's syndrome is part of the autism spectrum, and research on the aetiology or causes of autism may provide information on the causes of Asperger's syndrome. Thus, future research may indicate whether Asperger's syndrome could be caused by infections during pregnancy and in the child's early infancy, inborn errors of metabolism such that the digestion of specific food produces toxins that affect brain development, or other biological factors that could affect brain development.
At present we cannot state with any certainty the specific cause of Asperger's syndrome in any child or adult, but at least we have some idea as to the possible causes, and know that parents can rest assured that it is not due to faulty parenting.
pp329-330
Asperger considered that the characteristics could be identified in some children as young as two and three years, although for some children, the characteristics only became conspicuous some years later. He also noticed that some of the parents, especially the fathers of such children, appeared to share some of the personality characteristics of their child. He wrote that the condition was probably due to genetic or neurological, rather than psychological or environmental, factors.
p13
The advantage of acknowledging and understanding the diagnosis for parents is that, at last, they have an explanation for their son's or daughter's unusual behaviors and abilities, and knowledge that the condition is not caused by faulty parenting. ... There may also be greater acceptance of the child within the extended family and family friends. The parents can now provide an acceptable explanation to other people regarding the child's unusual behavior.
p29
When parents complete a standardized assessment of self-care skills and adaptive functioning, such abilities in children with Asperger's syndrome are below the level expected for their age and intellectual ability. Clinicians have also recognized significant problems with adaptive behaviour, especially with regard to anger management, anxiety and depression.
p43
In typical children, the acquisition of friendship skills is based on an innate ability that develops throughout childhood in association with progressive changes in cognitive ability, and modified and matured through social experiences. Unfortunately, children with Asperger's syndrome are not able to rely on intuitive abilities in social settings as well as their peers and must rely more on their cognitive abilities and experiences.
p63
One way to describe a person with Asperger's syndrome is someone who comes from a different culture and has a different way of perceiving and thinking about the world.
p77
Children with Asperger's syndrome work twice as hard at school as their peers, as they are learning both the academic and the social curriculum. Unlike other children, they are using cognitive abilities rather than intuition to socialize and make friends. At the end of the school day, the child has usually had enough social experiences and desperately needs to relax in solitude.
p78
While other boys at this age would usually shun girls, using derogatory and sexist remarks, he can be recruited into the play of girls and actively welcomed. If the boy with Asperger's syndrome is unsure what to do when socializing with girls, his female friends are more likely to be supportive than critical - 'He's a boy so he wouldn't understand, so I'll help him.' There can be the development of genuine 'opposite-gender' friendships.
p80
Children with Asperger's syndrome are less likely than their peers to report being a target for bullying or teasing as they have impaired Theory of Mind abilities; that is, they have difficulty determining the thoughts and intentions of others in comparison to their peers. Children with Asperger's syndrome may not intuitively know that the acts of other children are examples of bullying. They sometimes consider that such behaviour is typiecal play and something that they have come to accept as yet another example of the confusing behaviour of their peers.
p100
Research has confirmed that typical children who are the target of bullying are at great risk for low self-esteem, increased levels of anxiety and depression, lower academic achievement, and increased social isolation. The psychological consequences of bullying in the typical population can last for more than ten years. Children with Asperger's syndrome are more prone to these consequences because of their already low self-esteem, predisposition to anxiety and difficulty understanding why someone would behave that way, questioning why they were the target and what else they could have done to stop it.
pp101-2
An adult often needs to provide guidance for the child with Asperger's syndrome in conflict resolution at all stages of childhood, but during adolescence the child is expected to be able to compromise, identify and acknowledge the point of view of the other person, negotiate and forgive and forget conflicts. These attributes can be elusive for the child with Asperger's syndrome, who can be considered as displaying signs similar to Oppositional and Defiant Disorder.
p119
We all feel a little anxious sometimes, but many children and adults with Asperger's syndrome appear to be prone to being anxious for much of their day, or to be extremely anxious about a specific event.
p136
People with Asperger's syndrome are often perfectionists, tend to be exceptionally good at noticing mistakes, and have a conspicuous fear of failure. There can be a relative lack of optimism, with a tendency to expect failure and not to be able to control events.
p141
Teachers soon realize that the child with Asperger's syndrome may intensely dislike public praise that includes gestures or words of affection. The person with Asperger's syndrome has a limited tolerance of affectionate and sentimental behaviour in others.
p150
People with Asperger's syndrome are often very confused by teasing, irony and sarcasm. Research has confirmed that the understanding of idioms is less advanced than one would expect considering the child's intellectual and linguistic abilities.
p217
Research has indicated that children with Asperger's syndrome tend to continue using incorrect strategies and are less likely to learn from their mistakes, even when they know their strategy isn't working. This explains the frequent comment from parents and teachers that the child with Asperger's syndrome does not appear to learn from his or her mistakes. We now recognize this characteristic as an example of impaired executive function that is due to a problem of neurology (the functioning of the frontal lobes), rather than being the child's choice.
p235
The learning profile of children and adults with Asperger's syndrome can include a tendency to focus on errors, a need to fix an irregularity and a desire to be a perfectionist. This can lead to a fear of making a mistake and the child's refusal to commence an activity unless he or she can complete it perfectly. The avoidance of errors can mean that children with Asperger's syndrome prefer accuracy rather than speed, which can affect performance in timed tests and lead to their thinking being described as pedantic.
p238
When children have an overall IQ within the normal range, school authorities tend to assume such children do not qualify for in-class support for learning problems. However, many children with Asperger's syndrome have an overall IQ within the normal range but an extremely uneven profile of intellectual or cognitive skills.
p245
Children with Asperger's syndrome are more socially and emotionally immature than their peers, which contributes towards their being socially isolated, ridiculed and tormented. Having considerably advanced intellectual maturity in comparison to one's peers can further increase social isolation and alienation. The child may have no peer group in his or her classroom, socially or intellectually. Having an impressive vocabulary and knowledge can lead adults to expect an equivalent maturity in social reasoning, emotion management and behaviour; they may be unjustly critical of the child who is unable to express these abilities as maturely as his or her age peers.
p254
The physical education teacher needs to be aware of the nature of Asperger's syndrome and how to adapt PE activities. The adaptations should include an emphasis on physical fitness rather than competitive team sports. When requiring the child to participate in ball games, the teach should discourage other children from laughing if the child fumbles with the ball, and should not have team leaders select team members, which so often results both in the child with Asperger's syndrome being chosen last, an din groans from the other children that they must have such a clumsy child as a member of their team.
p265
...but one of the attributes of Asperger's syndrome, clearly identified in autobiographies and parents' description of their child, is a hyper- and hyposensitivity to specific sensory experiences.
p271
The most common sensitivity is to very specific sounds but there can also be sensitivity to tactile experiences, light intensity, the taste and texture of food and specific aromas. There can be an under- or over-reaction to the experience of pain and discomfort, and the sense of balance, movement perception and body orientation can be unusual.
pp271-2
The non-Asperger's syndrome partner suffers affection deprivation which can be a contributory factor to low self-esteem and depression. The typical partner is metaphorically a rose trying to blossom in an affection desert. The partner with Asperger's syndrome wants to be a friend and a lover but has little idea of how to do either.
p307
Probably for the majority of people with Asperger's syndrome, the reason is due to genetic factors. ... Subsequent research has confirmed that for some families there are strikingly similar characteristics in family members. Research has indicated that, using strict diagnostic criteria for Asperger's syndrome, about 20 per cent of fathers and 5 per cent of mothers of a child with Asperger's syndrome have the syndrome themselves.
p328
We recognize that Asperger's syndrome is part of the autism spectrum, and research on the aetiology or causes of autism may provide information on the causes of Asperger's syndrome. Thus, future research may indicate whether Asperger's syndrome could be caused by infections during pregnancy and in the child's early infancy, inborn errors of metabolism such that the digestion of specific food produces toxins that affect brain development, or other biological factors that could affect brain development.
At present we cannot state with any certainty the specific cause of Asperger's syndrome in any child or adult, but at least we have some idea as to the possible causes, and know that parents can rest assured that it is not due to faulty parenting.
pp329-330
October 12, 2023
A super interesting read by a world-renowned clinician/expert in the syndrome formerly known as Aspergers.
December 31, 2022
The missing manual many have probably been looking for, though like most manuals a bit out of date and it can't substitute for actual experience.
I've had the notion to find and read something like this for several years, primarily to understand friends, family and colleagues better, and I shouldn't have waited so long. Of course reading it is like starting in an abyssal mirror and it has as much you say about my own behaviour as everyone else's. It is exactly what it sells itself as, and so it can be a bit repetitive but that's probably to its merit.
It's big weakness is really a reflection on the state of autism diagnosis at large: DSM5 collapsed Asperger's and autism together into a broader Autism Spectrum Disorder diagnosis which better reflects the reality of current research, but the book keeps using the previous terminology as that transition had only just begun. At this point a lot of water has gone under the bridge and there is both a dated understanding of what autism is in the popular culture and an extremely nuanced and complex understanding among the autistic community, which this book is at best stuck in the middle of.
That said it is still a great resource, and perhaps there will be a successor that better reflects cutting edge research and sentiments in the future.
I've had the notion to find and read something like this for several years, primarily to understand friends, family and colleagues better, and I shouldn't have waited so long. Of course reading it is like starting in an abyssal mirror and it has as much you say about my own behaviour as everyone else's. It is exactly what it sells itself as, and so it can be a bit repetitive but that's probably to its merit.
It's big weakness is really a reflection on the state of autism diagnosis at large: DSM5 collapsed Asperger's and autism together into a broader Autism Spectrum Disorder diagnosis which better reflects the reality of current research, but the book keeps using the previous terminology as that transition had only just begun. At this point a lot of water has gone under the bridge and there is both a dated understanding of what autism is in the popular culture and an extremely nuanced and complex understanding among the autistic community, which this book is at best stuck in the middle of.
That said it is still a great resource, and perhaps there will be a successor that better reflects cutting edge research and sentiments in the future.
April 29, 2019
I'm not going to lie, some of this went over my head. It's a lot to process, but I'm sure as the parent of someone with Asperger's, it will make more sense with time and effort to understand and create the right environment for him.
Some parts were electrifyingly enlightening, answering some mysteries no one had identified for me as yet. Or maybe they had but it just didn't click until I read certain parts of this book. I hear there are courses that Tony Attwood runs on Aspergers, and I'm definitely going to look out for those. I don't know what I'm doing but I'll just keep trying.
I think I'll just have to re-read this every year or something.
Some parts were electrifyingly enlightening, answering some mysteries no one had identified for me as yet. Or maybe they had but it just didn't click until I read certain parts of this book. I hear there are courses that Tony Attwood runs on Aspergers, and I'm definitely going to look out for those. I don't know what I'm doing but I'll just keep trying.
I think I'll just have to re-read this every year or something.
September 25, 2017
Definitely not a ‘read-through’ and not every aspect will be relevant.
Having just received a diagnosis for son, this was a good starting point. Plenty of information and some useful pointers to consider.
Unfortunately the style was a little academic for a complete starter into the process. Don’t think you’ll ever cover everything, so this is more of a comprehensive guide in my mind.
Did think the links to other texts was a good idea.
Having just received a diagnosis for son, this was a good starting point. Plenty of information and some useful pointers to consider.
Unfortunately the style was a little academic for a complete starter into the process. Don’t think you’ll ever cover everything, so this is more of a comprehensive guide in my mind.
Did think the links to other texts was a good idea.
March 30, 2018
This book is very informative but it was difficult for me to read on many levels because it is written like a textbook. The long lengthy sentences and the repetition of the word Asperger's Syndrome in basically every sentence contained in the book made my brain want to scream. The book was also very depressing. It puts Asperger's Syndrome in a very bad light and stressed the negatives of the condition.
March 30, 2021
This book is very informative for parents of a child with Asperger syndrome or for teachers. For me, however, a woman of thirty-five years old, self-diagnosed Asperger, this guide appeared technical and its tone too formal. I prefer autobiographies of autistic women, which doesn’t make me feel inadequate like this one.
dnf
September 20, 2022dnf
read maybe 20% but it was really outdated, transphobic and quoted a lot from Hans Asperger
I'd rather recommend Autism: A New Introduction to Psychological Theory and Current Debate by Sue Fletcher-Watson, Francesca Happé
read maybe 20% but it was really outdated, transphobic and quoted a lot from Hans Asperger
I'd rather recommend Autism: A New Introduction to Psychological Theory and Current Debate by Sue Fletcher-Watson, Francesca Happé
December 20, 2024
this was a long and informative read for me. although i don't like the fact that the language of the book is generally based on childhood experiences and that the solutions at the end of the chapters become the same after a certain point (drawing speech bubbles about our feelings may not be the best solution at all ages and in all contexts?), i can say that it is a very good resource for understanding asperger's syndrome.
December 4, 2017
My copy from the library must have been an older edition. It didn't have the introduction about how Asperger's fits into the new diagnostic criteria for ASD in the DSM-V. I was curious about that exact topic the entire time that I was reading the book. It had a lot of great information and I loved that it talked specifically about girls with the diagnosis and what to expect beyond childhood.
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