Asperger Syndrome and Adolescence: Helping Preteens & Teens Get Ready for the Real World
Asperger Syndrome and Adolescence: Helping Preteens & Teens Get Ready for the Real World
Asperger Syndrome is on the high-functioning end of the autism spectrum and is characterized by a lack of social skills, abnormal preoccupation with certain objects or tasks, and the inability to control one?s rage. It is also characterized by high creativity and passion that can be too often squelched in a parent?s or teacher?s efforts to manage the behavior of the AS child. There is no specific treatment or cure. This is a relatively new diagnosis, and has been retroactively applied to geniuses like Vladimir Nabokov. But for the modern kid, who has to follow the social norms of the day, which include sitting for long periods of time in a chair, AS can be excruciatingly difficult.
There are several books on AS that sell very well with little or no promotion. There is not one for teens, however. The author sees a lot of AS adolescents, and they encounter a unique set of problems as they need to assert their independence without the social intuition their peers possess. This book addresses those needs in a practical, positive way, ensuring that the reader recognizes and celebrates the benefits of AS as well as its drawbacks. The book is full of fascinating, inspiring anecdotes of AS teens.
Teresa Bolick, Ph.D is a clinical psychologist who has worked with school systems and HMOs and specializes in kids with AS and autism. She speaks regularly on the subject and has a private practice in Nashua, New Hampshire, where she is a consultant to several school districts on kids with autism and AS.
User Ratings and Reviews
5 Stars HIGHLY RECOMMEND!!!!
I have a son with Aspergers. This book is a great help!
5 Stars Excellent - Must Have !
More and more books are addressing the problems ASD kids encounter in their latter years . Teresa Bolick has written a well thought out and structured book that answers many of the concerns that parents and teachers have. Would you need another book dealing with this area ? I would say…yes. It is such an important time in these kids lives that a comprehensive knowledge is needed by all those that care for these yound adults.
reviewed by Special Education Teacher and father of ASD child.
5 Stars Insightful, Useful, and Enlightening
This book is one of the best I’ve seen about the transitional issues that arise when someone with Aspergers reaches their teens. With my son, we find each developmental step has its own challenges, but the movement into middle school, with the increased expectations of self-management and the early teen student issues among peers has been a bigger challenge than most. This book helped me frame these issues as they apply to my son, improving my understanding. Then I could apply many of the ideas provided both directly and through the school. My biggest problem is that this is such a slow read … not because it is hard to read (to the contrary, its very understandable and straightforward.) Its a “slow go” because of all of the underlining and page marking I am doing to track the “good stuff.” Dr Bolick has done those of use living in these situation a major service with this work! I fully recommend it.
5 Stars Extremely Helpful Resource!
I haven’t finished reading this book, but so far what I’ve read completely fits. My AS teen needs all the help he can get with organization, social skills, etc. This book gives real life examples and excerps from real parents and adolescents with AS. This book is helping me to better understand my child and to help him develop strategies and coping mechanisms so he can have a successful life. Definitely a good addition to my AS library!
4 Stars So Helpful
As the parent of an adolescent child with Asperger’s, I found this book to be just what was needed — a no nonsense approach to helping our kids with a sense of humor. This is the second book by this author that I have purchased. I will purchase more, I am sure.
Filed under: Mental Health Book Reviews