can anybody recommend some good books on Aspergers?
My DS just got diagnosed the other week and i would love to read some more about it so if you have any good links or books or blogs please let me know.
Ds has just turned 4. it took around 18 mths mostly due to the mis communication of the process of getting diagnosed.
We seen a GP 1st who referred us to a child pyscologist as we live in the NT there wasnt one available for a while so we had to wait, when one became available we had an extensive meeting with them and then back to the Gp we went who then referred us to the pediatrician. we seen him several times before the diagnosis was given.
hope this helps
There is a book we have at work which is more a book for explaining aspergers to kids like your sons friends or other students in his class which is great it is called "all cats have aspergers" by Kathy hoopman - tricky to find but u can buy online from bookonhand dot com dot au.
Kids love it and it makes them understand the children's reasons behind things with illustrations of kittens.
P.s there is also one called "all dogs have ADHD" as well which is fantastic too.
thank you to everyone who has replied so far. my local library has all cats have aspergers i seen it there this morning might go back and borrow it, its the only book they had that related directly to aspergers.
im hoping to purchase some but didnt want to rush and buy every book there.
There are 3 sections of books I found helpful.
1 was about sensory integration/processing (not all children who have problems with this are on the spectrum, but like 97% of children on the spectrum do) for children & for adults,
2. just about autism spectrum
3. general parenting
Books about this that are great for adults are: The Out of sync child - explains it all, what to look for, how the child feels etc The Out of sync child has fun - activities you can do with them to help and improve things - kind of like what to OT does but what you can do at home. But i think it is important to have a good understanding of what sensory processing is, and what areas your child is over/under sensitive (an OT can assess this) How does your engine run - a good way of explaining their energy levels, so that you are all using the same termanology (explaining it terms fo a red/high engine and to slow it down etc) Sensational Kids: Hope and Help for Children with Sensory Processing Disorder Take Five!: Staying Alert at Home and School*
Books about this for children to understand how they feel are: Arnie and His School Tools: Simple Sensory Solutions That Build Success (this one I have read which is great, the other titles below I haven't read in total, just excerpts from amazon but they also look good) Why Does Izzy Cover Her Ears? Dealing with Sensory Overload Squirmy Wormy: How I Learned to Help Myself
In terms of books about autism spectrum in general, the best I've read is: 1001 Great Ideas for Teaching and Raising Children with Autism or Asperger's, Revised and Expanded 2nd Edition - this just gives such an all round guide to both parents and teachers about ever aspect, from eating, sleeping, going out, school, anything & everything and how ASD can affect it, or what you can do to try and minimize and plan for things.
This other book isn't about autism spectrum, but because of it and the nature of DS personality, he is a very strong willed active child. This book I found incredible to give me parenting techniques that help defuse the situation (along with DS psychologist as a sounding board to know which ones in the book were for us and which ones weren;t)
Taming the Spirited Child: Strategies for Parenting Challenging Children Without Breaking Their Spirits
Most of these I got from Amazon as they were so much cheaper than here, but your local library might have some.
There are a couple of GREAT articles on the Tony Attwood website - but I will PM you with that link, cause I am not sure I'd be allowed to put a business link in here
Good luck, getting a diagnosis of any type is challenging, but if you try to maintain a routine and keep things as consistent as possible, while preparing your child for changes, things can go smoothly.
Ooooh, great topic. DH and I are both on the Aspie scale and it's looking like DS is more so than we initially thought (I am having to reconsider a diagnosis, but that's in discussion with the school atm as he's doing OK for now socially).
However, I took a look at the cat book. Seriously? A book with asinine sayings and cat pictures and that's supposed to relate to Asperger people? Yeah, that isn't on my wishlist. (Nor are "motivational" cat posters, they also annoy me.) Tony Attwood, on the other hand, I would happily second. "Can I Tell You About Asperger Syndrome?" by Jude Welton is a good guide for younger boys - although aimed at younger boys too.
For a lighthearted look, do you watch Big Bang Theory? Sheldon is a perfect example of a post-school Aspie without the label (and Amy for girls). And the label really does make a difference, even if it's not an official one.
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