Chronicling her life from her earliest memories through her life as a university lecturer, writer, wife and mother, Liane Holliday Willey shares, with insight and warmth, the daily struggles and challenges that face many of those who have Asperger's Syndrome. Pretending to be Normal invites its readers to welcome the Asperger community with open acceptance, for it makes it clear that, more often than not, they are capable, viable, interesting and kind people who simply find unique ways to exhibit those qualities.The last part of the book consists of a series of substantial appendices which provide helpful coping strategies and guidance, based on the author's own experience, for a range of situations. This positive and humane book will provide not only insight into the Asperger world which will prove invaluable for the professionals who work with people with Asperger's Syndrome, but also hope and encouragement for other people with Asperger's Syndrome, their families, and their friends.

    And more often than we realize, that face is wearing lipstick. Autism in Heels , an intimate memoir, reveals the woman inside one of autism's most prominent figures, Jennifer O'Toole. At the age of thirty-five, Jennifer was diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome, and for the first time in her life, things made sense. Now, Jennifer exposes the constant struggle between carefully crafted persona and authentic existence, editing the autism script with wit, candor, passion, and power. Her journey is one of reverse-self-discovery not only as an Aspie but--more importantly--as a thoroughly modern woman.Beyond being a memoir, Autism in Heels is a love letter to all women. It's a conversation starter. A game changer. And a firsthand account of what it is to walk in Jennifer's shoes (especially those iconic red stilettos).Whether it's bad perms or body image, sexuality or self-esteem, Jennifer's is as much a human journey as one on the spectrum. Because autism "looks a bit different in pink," most girls and women who fit the profile are not identified, facing years of avoidable anxiety, eating disorders, volatile relationships, self-harm, and stunted independence. Jennifer has been there, too. Autism in Heels takes that message to the mainstream.From her own struggles and self-discovery, she has built an empire of empowerment, inspiring women the world over to realize they aren't mistakes. They are misunderstood miracles.

    Twirling Naked in the Streets will take you on a journey into the mind of a child on the autism spectrum; a child who grows into an adolescent, an adult, and becomes a wife, mother, student, and writer with autism. This is a gripping memoir of a quirky, weird, but gifted child who grows up never quite finding her niche. It took 38 years to discover that all the issues, problems, and weirdness she experienced were because she had Asperger's Syndrome (AS), a form of high-functioning autism.The tale begins at age three and takes us all the way through her diagnosis. Along the way she explains autism in a way that will have fellow "Aspies" crying tears of joy at being understood, and "neuro-typical" people really starting to grasp the challenges that autistic people face every moment of every day.

    In it you'll read candid stories written by the indomitable women who have lived them. You'll also hear from experts who discuss whether Aspie girls are slipping under the radar, undiagnosed; why many AS women feel like a minority within a minority (outnumbered by men 4:1); practical solutions school systems can implement for girls; social tips for teenage girls, navigating puberty, the transition to work or university, and the importance of careers. Helpful chapters include: The Pattern of Abilities and Development of Girls with Asperger's Syndrome Asperger's Syndrome in Women: A Different Set of Challenges? Educating the Female Student with Asperger's Girl to Girl: Advice on Friendship, Bullying, and Fitting In Preparing for Puberty and Beyond The Launch: Negotiating the Transition from High School to the Great Beyond Aspie Do's and Don'ts: Dating, Relationships, and Marriage Maternal Instincts in Asperger' Syndrome For Me, a Good Career Gave Life Meaning

    The image of coping well presented by AS females can often mask difficulties, deficits, challenges, & loneliness.

    But what if it's a world not necessarily made for you? Navigating adulthood is complicated for anyone, but it can be especially overwhelming for someone living with Asperger's. You're used to having things the way you want them, when you want them. You're really into history, or art, or gaming...but dating, small talk, or the workplace? Not so much. So what can you do?Fear not, dear Aspie! Let Asperger's and Adulthood guide you through the waters of adulthood living with Asperger's syndrome. Blythe Grossberg, best-selling author of Asperger's Rules!, provides workable strategies for navigating the ins-and-outs of balancing Asperger's with career goals, romance, and socializing. Learn step-by-step advice about leaving home or graduating from college, and discover the freedom of making your own way--and thriving--in the world. With an estimated half a million Aspies set to enter the workforce within the next decade, your participation in the institution of adulthood is required, and it's totally possible to do it on your own terms.Get out on your own and make the spectrum work for you!

    Parents and family members who never thought they could get inside the head of their autistic loved one, at last, have a way to break through to the curious, subtle, and complex life within.Using an alphabet grid to painstakingly construct words, sentences, and thoughts that he is unable to speak out loud, Naoki answers even the most delicate questions that people want to know. Questions such as: “Why do people with autism talk so loudly and weirdly?” “Why do you line up your toy cars and blocks?” “Why don’t you make eye contact when you’re talking?” and “What’s the reason you jump?” (Naoki’s answer: “When I’m jumping, it’s as if my feelings are going upward to the sky.”) With disarming honesty and a generous heart, Naoki shares his unique point of view on not only autism but life itself. His insights—into the mystery of words, the wonders of laughter, and the elusiveness of memory—are so startling, so strange, and so powerful that you will never look at the world the same way again.

    For people with Asperger Syndrome (AS), this stress can be particularly difficult to manage. On a daily basis people with AS must fit into a world that seems totally foreign to them and this can increase feelings of alienation and anxiety, making life's challenges especially hard to cope with.The first book on anxiety written specifically for adults with Asperger Syndrome, this book offers practical advice on how individuals with AS can manage their anxiety more effectively. As a person with AS who has struggled with feelings of anxiety and learnt how to overcome them, Nick Dubin shares his own tried and tested solutions along with up-to-date research on stress management for individuals with AS, including a chapter on Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT). Dubin explores the key problem areas that can lead to anxiety for people with AS such as lack of social skills, difficulties establishing romantic relationships and uncertainty about employment.Asperger Syndrome and Anxiety provides real solutions to a common problem and is essential reading for anyone with AS who has trouble managing stress. The book will also be of interest to family members, teachers and other professionals working with individuals with AS.

    This book endorses my clinical experiences in working with females in the autism spectrum and validates the importance of diagnosis at any time in a person's life. Therefore I would highly recommend this book for all professionals involved in diagnosis and supporting girls and women in the autism spectrum. --from the foreword by Dr Judith Gould, Consultant Clinical Psychologist and Director of The Lorna Wing Centre for Autism.

    This book covers all the concerns commonly faced by girls with ASDs and their parents, from periods and puberty to worries over friendships and "fitting in".1000Guide on what to expect and how to help girls on the spectrum as they grow up0600The authors unflinchingly address the most challenging issues of girls and puberty with grace and matter-of-fact discussions of pelvic exams, periods, eating disorders, healthy sexuality, and self-perception. The discussions range from choosing undergarments to the difference in boys' and girls' aggression in adolescence. Full of hints from other parents, research results, and suggestions from professionals, this book is an essential guide to adolescence for parents of girls on the spectrum (and it's also great for parents of boys!).the Spectrum, The Newsletter of The Autism Society of North Carolina, US0600This book provides a valuable insight into the concerns commonly faced by girls with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs), and their parents. It offers advice and coping strategies on a host of areas, including approaching adolescence, navigating puberty, self-perception and self-confidence, understanding friendships, looking at healthy sexuality, promoting personal safety and many more...The book has a warm and engaging reading style, and the may case studies of experiences from families, daughters and educators provide brave testimonies and excellent recommendations for support; a useful reference list is also provided. This book is a must have read for those interested in helping females on the autistic spectrum.Youth in Mind0600It gives me great pleasure to introduce ASQ readers to this terrific book!...Girls Growing Up on the Autism Spectrum is an A+ read!Liane Holliday Willey, EdD, Autism Spectrum Quarterly0600This book is not only reassuring; it is inspiring, and bursting with ideas and achievable strategies. The authors write with authority and conviction, and tackle even the most difficult and delicate of topics. If ever you needed to be convinced that girls with ASD can overcome the difficulties and challenges of puberty and adolescence, have successful friendships and relationships and enjoy a healthy sexuality, then take the time to read this book - it is a must-have for families, teachers and therapists alike.Sarah Attwood, author of Making Sense of Sex: A Forthright Guide to Puberty, Sex and Relationships for People with Asperger's Syndrome0600The authors tackle an important and sensitive issue for young people with ASC. The information presented is based in research and presented clearly in a most usable format. I would not hesitate to recommend this book to young people (it might even help a few boys!) with ASC and their parents.E. Veronica Bliss, psychologist and Director of Missing Link Support Services, Ltd0600Shana Nichols, Gina Marie Moravcik, and Samara Pulver Tetenbaum provide solid, specific advice on teen issues - social life, changing bodies, friendships, diet and nutrition, self-reliance, anxiety, and more. This is an excellent beginning, with resources listed (books, articles, Web sites, blogs) in every chapter and short case studies that break up the text throughout. The authors tackle the bigger issues of socialization and friendships, plus the nitty-gritty of raising an adolescent girl - periods, ob-gyn exams, weight, privacy, and hygiene.ForeWord0600There's really only one way to say this: If you have a daughter anywhere on the autism spectrum, or even with unexplainable quirky behaviour, this book is a must. While there are hundreds of good books about autism, girls have their own unique issues when it comes to this puzzling disorder. Dr. Nichols' book is a standout. Addressing girls on their own, and in such an insightful, scholarly and reader-friendly way, what 'Girls...' has done is invaluable. You'll be shocked at how easy it is to have a girl on the spectrum misdiagnosed or not therapeutically treated correctly, but you're not left on your own. Nichols provides great counsel. 'Girls...' offers not only important information about the child, but it also provides necessary strategies for parents (and medical professionals) to help improve the child's life, and not a single subject goes untouched. The teen years are tough enough for any girl, but for one who has spectrum challenges, it can be devastating. Nichols, the clinical director of the Fay J. Lindner Center for Autism and Developmental Disorders, provides expert advice that is practical and necessary, on topics ranging from cognitive concerns and everyday behaviours to sexuality and just fitting in, which for a teenaged girl can be the most important issue of all--on the spectrum or not. Nichols draws from many wells here - vast research, conversations and interviews with parents, teachers and medical experts, and most importantly, these young girls. This is one of those hallelujah books for which parents search high and low.Long Island Press0600Rather than constructing a "how-to" book, in which pre-planned lessons have been created focusing on puberty or sexuality issues, the authors provide a broad conceptual treatment of the relevant sociological and cultural issues. That is, not only do they address the social, communication, and behavioural vulnerabilities that these girls may display, but they place these vulnerabilities in the context of a girl's social world. From this vantage point, the authors describe concrete steps and processes which may be useful for working with girls on the spectrum to help them cope with the issues they confront as they mature...This volume continually reminds the reader to think about the challenges typically developing girls and young women face throughout the pre-teen and teenage years as the context for their understanding of a girl with an ASD.Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders0200This book covers the concerns faced by girls with ASDs and their parents, from periods and puberty to friendships and "fitting in". Looking at these issues within the context of specific areas of difficulty for girls with ASDs, the authors provide families with the knowledge and advice they need to help the whole family through the teenage years.0400Foreword. Acknowledgements. Author’s Notes. 1. What Do We Currently Know About Girls and Women with Autism Spectrum Disorders? 2. Approaching Adolescence: Anticipation, Anxiety, Adaptation and Acceptance? 3. Puberty or ‘Do My Parents Know You’re Here?’ 4. The Red Spot: Periods, Pads and Pelvic Exams. 5. Feeling Good Inside and Out: Self-perception and Self-confidence. 6. The Social Landscape of Adolescence: Friendships and Social Status. 7. Healthy Sexuality for Girls with ASDs. 8. Keeping Girls Safe: Promoting Personal Safety in the Real World. 9. Our Journey: A Mother and her Daughter with Asperger's Syndrome. Conclusion: Embracing Change. References. Index.01000301http://www.biblioimages.com/jkp/getim...

    If you have only just begun to discover why someone with Asperger's syndrome is different, this book will inform and entertain you. The descriptions provide an accurate balance between the qualities and difficulties associated with Asperger's syndrome, while the photographs will make the journey of discovery enjoyable and remarkable.'- Tony Attwood, author of Asperger's Syndrome and The Complete Guide to Asperger's Syndrome

    This perspective leads to therapies focused on ridding individuals of autistic symptoms. In Uniquely Human, Dr. Barry M. Prizant suggests a major shift in understanding autism: Instead of classifying "autistic" behaviors as signs of pathology, he sees them as strategies to cope with a world that feels chaotic and overwhelming. Rather than curb these behaviors, it's better to enhance abilities, build on strengths, and offer supports that will naturally lead to more desirable behavior and a better quality of life. In fact, argues Dr. Prizant, attempts to eliminate autistic behaviors may actually interfere with important developmental processes.Including inspiring stories and practical advice drawn from Dr. Prizant's four-decade career working in universities, schools, hospitals, and in private practice, Uniquely Human offers a compassionate and insightful perspective that parents, professionals, and family members will find uplifting and hopeful.

    A successful journalist and mother to four children, she had spent her whole life feeling as if she were running a different operating system to those around her. This book charts a year in her life and offers a unique insight into the autistic mind and the journey from diagnosis to acceptance. Drawing on personal experience, research and conversations with experts, she learns how 'different' doesn't need to mean 'less' and how it's never too late for any of us to find our place in the world. Laura explores how and why female autism is so under-diagnosed and very different to that seen in men and boys and explores difficulties and benefits neurodiversity can bring.

    This book will help you bring out those gifts.” In his bestselling memoir, Look Me in the Eye, John Elder Robison described growing up with Asperger’s syndrome at a time when the diagnosis didn’t exist. He was intelligent but socially isolated; his talents won him jobs with toy makers and rock bands but did little to endear him to authority figures and classmates, who were put off by his inclination to blurt out non sequiturs and avoid eye contact.By the time he was diagnosed at age forty, John had already developed a myriad of coping strategies that helped him achieve a seemingly normal, even highly successful, life. In Be Different, Robison shares a new batch of endearing stories about his childhood, adolescence, and young adult years, giving the reader a rare window into the Aspergian mind.In each story, he offers practical advice—for Aspergians and indeed for anyone who feels “different”—on how to improve the weak communication and social skills that keep so many people from taking full advantage of their often remarkable gifts. With his trademark honesty and unapologetic eccentricity, Robison addresses questions like:• How to read others and follow their behaviors when in uncertain social situations• Why manners matter• How to harness your powers of concentration to master difficult skills• How to deal with bullies• When to make an effort to fit in, and when to embrace eccentricity• How to identify special gifts and use them to your advantageEvery person, Aspergian or not, has something unique to offer the world, and every person has the capacity to create strong, loving bonds with their friends and family. Be Different will help readers and those they love find their path to success.

    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 examine:* 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.