The books in our library were donated by friends of Asperger Works. Some we love; others, not so much. We just present them here; the rest is up to you.

If a title interests you, just click on it and read a short synopsis of its contents.

**Have you read a book that you think we should add to our library, please contact us and let us know.**

A comprehensive review and critical evaluation of the literature on learning disabilities in adults, this book outlines a conceptual framework for diagnosis and intervention and provides detailed guidelines for practice.

Issues covered include:

• Models for service delivery
• The perceptions of employers, counselors, and consumers
• the co-occurrence of psychiatric disorders with learning disabilities and
• the role of public policy

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Winner of the Gold Award in the 2006 ForeWord Book of the Year competition, this groundbreaking book describes the unique challenges of women and girls with Asperger’s Syndrome. 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.

 

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Michael John Carley was diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome at thirty-six-when his young son received the same diagnosis. This fascinating book reveals his personal experience with the confusion and trauma associated with this condition-and offers insights into living an independent and productive life.

In this book, Carley helps readers in such areas as:

• Social interactions
• Nurturing interests
• Whom to confide in and how
• Dealing with family and loved ones
• Finding work that suits your strengths and talents

 

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Up to 85% of the Asperger’s population are without full-time employment, though many have above-average intelligence. Rudy Simone, an adult with Asperger’s Syndrome and an accomplished author, consultant, and musician, created this insightful resource to help employers, educators, and therapists accommodate this growing population, and to help people with Asperger’s find and keep gainful employment. Rudy’s candid advice is based on her personal experiences and the experiences of over 50 adults with Asperger’s from all over the world, in addition to their employers and numerous experts in the field. Detailed lists of what the employee can do and employers and advocates provide balanced guidelines for success, while Rudy’s Interview Tips and Personal Job Map tools will help Aspergians, young or old, find their employment niche. There is more to a job than what the tasks are. From social blunders, to sensory issues, to bullying by coworkers, Simone presents solutions to difficult challenges. Readers will be enriched, enlightened, and ready to work together!

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Employment is an important part of a healthy, balanced and fulfilling life but less than 20 percent of people with Asperger Syndrome (AS) are in work at any one time. The adults with AS in this book explore the issues surrounding employment, providing advice and insights for others with AS, as well as their employers and colleagues.

Drawing on personal experience and lessons learned, Asperger Syndrome and Employment looks at:

• the transition from education to employment,
• the importance of matching skills to career choices,
• practical coping strategies for employees with AS in the workplace,
• advice for employers, including the need to make “reasonable adjustments” to avoid discrimination, and
• ways in which employment services ought to work for people with AS.

This is essential reading for adults with AS, their family and friends, employment services and career advisers, and companies needing to know how, in practical terms, to accommodate employees with AS.

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This practical manual will enable people diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome and high-functioning autism to deepen their self-understanding and appreciate their value as working individuals. Through step-by-step self-assessment, the reader is encouraged to engage actively in a self-paced exploration of their employment history, and ultimately to identify the work best suited to their personal needs, talents, and strengths. The workbook contains practical exercises, with clear explanations and examples of how to use them. The book is also an essential guide for professionals, career advisors, and vocational counselors as it provides in-depth guidance and research on fulfilling employment for adults and adolescents with Asperger Syndrome and high-functioning autism.

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In 2016, Garret Mathews discovered that he had Asperger’s Syndrome. Like many Aspie adults over 30 he knew that something was not quite right throughout his life, but neither he nor those who loved him knew what that something was. “It was a great relief,” says Garret, “to finally put a name on this ‘thing’ that has sat on top of my head for so long.” Mr. Matthews is a retired newspaper man and author of twelve books. He also maintains a blog An Aspie Comes Out of the Closet.

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The workplace can be a difficult environment for people with Asperger’s Syndrome (AS) and this often impedes their ability to make use of particular skills and sustain meaningful and fulfilling employment.

This is the definitive guide to surviving and thriving in the workplace for people with AS. It includes everything from realistic strategies for meeting employer expectations, to how to get along with your colleagues and work as part of a team, multitask and manage projects, and handle anxiety and effectively resolve problems. Common employment challenges are illustrated through examples from the author’s extensive experience coaching individuals with AS at all job levels, from entry-level to manager and professional positions.

The pragmatic recommendations in the book will benefit anyone with AS who is entering the workforce, as well as those who struggle to maintain employment, or who want to improve their performance and advance their careers.

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The Complete Guide to Asperger’s Syndrome is the definitive handbook for anyone affected by Asperger’s syndrome. It brings together a wealth of information on all aspects of the syndrome for children through adulthood. 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 the following:

• 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.

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Christopher John Francis Boone, fifteen years old, stands beside Mrs. Shears’s dead dog. It has been speared with a garden fork, it is seven minutes after midnight, and Christopher is under suspicion. He records each fact in the book he is writing to solve the mystery of who murdered Wellington. He has an extraordinary brain and is exceptional at math, but he is ill-equipped to interpret everyday life. He has never ventured alone beyond the end of his road, he detests being touched, and he distrusts strangers. But Christopher’s detective work, forbidden by his father, takes him on a frightening journey that turns his world upside-down.

Recently, this book was adapted for the stage by Simon Stephens.

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Most people with Non-Verbal Learning Disorder (NLD) or Asperger Syndrome (AS) are underemployed. This book sets out to change this. With practical and technical advice on everything from job hunting to interview techniques, from ‘fitting in’ in the workplace to whether or not to disclose a diagnosis, this book guides people with NLD or AS successfully through the employment minefield. There is also information for employers, agencies and careers counselors on AS and NLD as ‘invisible’ disabilities, including an analysis of the typical strengths of somebody with NLD or AS, and how to use these positively in the workplace. Practical information and lists of career resources are supported by numerous case studies to inspire and advise. An essential resource for people with NLD or AS seeking or in employment and their existing or potential employers.

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Samantha Craft presents a life and the everyday adventures of a woman with Asperger’s Syndrome. Ms. Craft is a former teacher, is married, and is the mother of three boys. She doesn’t experience ordinary everyday happenings like most neurotypicals (a term widely used in the Autistic community as a label for people who are not on the Autism Spectrum). In her world, nothing is simple and everything appears pertinent. From being a dyslexic cheerleader with dysgraphia going the wrong direction, to bathroom stalking, to figuring out if she can wear that panty-free dress, Craft explores the profoundness of daily living through hilarious anecdotes and heartwarming childhood memories.

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This is a story of fierce controversies—from the question of whether there is truly an autism “epidemic,” and whether vaccines played a part in it; to scandals involving “facilitated communication,” one of many treatments that have proved to be blind alleys; to stark disagreements about whether scientists should pursue a cure for autism. we learn about experimenters feeding LSD to children with autism, or shocking them with electricity to change their behavior; and the authors reveal compelling evidence that Hans Asperger, discoverer of the syndrome named after him, participated in the Nazi program that consigned disabled children to death.

In this book we learn about experimenters feeding LSD to children with autism, or shocking them with electricity to change their behavior; and the authors reveal compelling evidence that Hans Asperger, discoverer of the syndrome named after him, participated in the Nazi program that consigned disabled children to death (this assertion has yet to be proven).

By turns intimate and panoramic, In a Different Key takes the reader on a journey from an era when families were shamed and children were condemned to institutions to one in which people with autism push not simply for inclusion, but for a new understanding of autism: as difference rather than disability.

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Legal Planning for Special Needs is a must-have resource for parents of children with disabilities and the professionals and advocates who assist them. In an easy-to-read, conversational style, the author covers the essential elements of SSI, guardianship, and estate planning when there is a child with a disability in the family. This book covers the 2009 changes in the Massachusetts guardianship laws.

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Love That Boy is a uniquely personal story by National Journal’s Ron Fournier that delves into the causes and costs of outsized parental expectations. What we want for our children—popularity, normalcy, achievement, genius—and what they truly need—grit, empathy, character—are explored, The author weaves his extraordinary journey to acceptance around the latest research on childhood development and stories of other loving-but-struggling parents.

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The book shares the personal stories of several families fighting autism. These stories focus on alternative autism therapies that parents try to heal their children, as well as McCarthy’s own reminiscing about her autistic child and her outspoken and contentious activism. The book includes the daughter of the founder of Autism Speaks, who claims to have changed her son’s diet and improved his autism despite conspiratorial resistance from the organization, which, the book claims, until recently, rejected research into biomedical treatments; a mother who claims to have “healed” her son of his autism while taking on breast cancer; a father whose son was officially undiagnosed after allegedly undergoing treatment for a laundry list of debilitating autism symptoms and regressions; and a sixty-year-old woman who made attempts to fight to save her son (now thirty) in the 1980s. The book claims that she paved the way for the parents of today. The book also features a list of controversial autism resources and a directory of DAN! (Defeat Autism Now!) doctors who are sympathetic to the widely discredited theory that autism is caused by mercury in vaccines.

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“Cynthia Kim explores all the quirkyness of living with Asperger Syndrome (ASD) in this accessible, witty and honest guide looking from an insider perspective at some of the most challenging and intractable aspects of being autistic. Her own life presents many rich examples. From being labeled nerdy and shy as an undiagnosed child to redefining herself when diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome as an adult, she describes how her perspective shifted to understanding a previously confusing world and combines this with the results of extensive research to explore the ‘why’ of ASD traits. She explains how they impact on everything from self-care to holding down a job and offers typically practical and creative strategies to help manage them, including a section on the vestibular, sensory and social benefits of martial arts for people with autism.” – Amazon.com

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What is autism? A lifelong disability, or a naturally occurring form of cognitive difference akin to certain forms of genius? In truth, it is all of these things and more—and the future of our society depends on our understanding it. Wired reporter Steve Silberman unearths the secret history of autism, long suppressed by the same clinicians who became famous for discovering it, and finds surprising answers to the crucial question of why the number of diagnoses has soared in recent years.  Going back to the earliest days of autism research, Silberman offers a gripping narrative of Leo Kanner and Hans Asperger, the research pioneers who defined the scope of Autism in profoundly different ways; he then goes on to explore the game-changing concept of neurodiversity. NeuroTribes considers the idea that neurological differences such as autism, dyslexia, and ADHD are not errors of nature or products of the toxic modern world, but the result of natural variations in the human genome. This groundbreaking book will reshape our understanding of the history, meaning, function, and implications of neurodiversity in our world.

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“Having spent forty years as a social outcast, misreading others’ emotions or missing them completely, John [Elder Robinson] is suddenly able to sense a powerful range of feelings in other people. However, this newfound insight brings unforeseen problems and serious questions. As the emotional ground shifts beneath his feet, John struggles with the very real possibility that choosing to diminish his disability might also mean sacrificing his unique gifts and even some of his closest relationships. Switched On is a real-life Flowers for Algernon, a fascinating and intimate window into what it means to be neurologically different, and what happens when the world as you know it is upended overnight.” – Amazon.com

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“It’s unsettling when you know something about your child isn’t quite right,” writes Dr. Musarra in the introduction to a book that all parents of children with emotional or physical problems should read. “It’s even more unsettling when your child, at any age, seems perfectly healthy and then unexpectedly develops medical, emotional or physical illness – or is involved in a life-changing accident.”

What do you do when told your child has a disability? Or when you notice something isn’t quite right? Disabilities do not discriminate. Anyone’s child can be born with or develop a medical or mental health condition. Anyone’s child can be involved in an accident, resulting in a lifetime of challenges. The color of your skin, level of your education or size of your bank account won’t make a difference. In The New Normal, psychologist Nancy Musarra shares her challenges and triumphs as a mother of a child with special needs. Having interviewed hundreds of people — from parents to caregivers — who have walked the same path, Dr. Musarra shares their stories and reflections. Collectively their wisdom forms the foundation of The Seven Things You Need to Know to be prepared for your journey.

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Whether your child has been diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome or troubling symptoms are just becoming apparent, this book will guide you in the right direction.

Romanowski Bashe and Kirby have gathered the most up-to-date information from leading AS authorities, including Dr. Tony Attwood, who wrote the foreword. They know firsthand the joys and frustrations of raising children with AS, and they share their own experiences as well as those of dozens of parents facing the same challenges. You’ll learn what AS looks like and how it is diagnosed; how parents can accept and work with the diagnosis; what interventions, therapies, and medications are available; how to navigate through the school system, including the ins and outs of special ed; how parents can raise their unique child, guiding him or her through the social, emotional, and intellectual challenges on the way to adulthood. The authors’ surveys of thousands of parents of kids with AS spotlight and address concerns you doubtless share. This practical, sympathetic guide will help you face the particular challenges of loving and raising a child with AS.

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Over the course of her career, psychologist Joanne Ruthsatz has assembled the largest-ever research sample of child prodigies. Their accomplishments are amazing. Her investigation revealed that, though the prodigies aren’t autistic, many have autistic family members. For instance, each prodigy has an excellent memory and an eye for detail not found in neurotypicals but is well-known but often-overlooked strengths associated with autism.

In this book, Ruthsatz and her daughter and coauthor, Kimberly Stephens, propose the possibility the abilities of child prodigies may stem from a genetic link with autism. And she asks the question — could the children who have many of the strengths of autism but few of the challenges be the key to a long-awaited autism breakthrough?

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Jeannie grew up with autism, but no one around her knew it. 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.

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Autism therapy typically focuses on ridding individuals of “autistic” symptoms such as difficulties interacting socially, problems in communicating, sensory challenges, and repetitive behavior patterns. Dr. Barry M. Prizant offers a new and compelling paradigm: the most successful approaches to autism don’t aim at fixing a person by eliminating symptoms, but rather seeking to understand the individual’s experience and what underlies the behavior.

This book “offers inspiration and practical advice drawn from Dr. Prizant’s four-decade career. It conveys a deep respect for people with autism and their own unique qualities. Filled with humanity and wisdom, Uniquely Human ‘should reassure parents and caregivers of kids with autism and any other disability that their kids are not broken, but, indeed, special'” (Booklist, starred review).

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The question asked by this course is how good are we at reading other people. In this video and guide, Dr. Frank talks about the messages all of us send out, even when we don’t realize that we are doing so. The video discusses the following:

1. The science of Nonverbal Communication
2. The meaning of Personal Space
3. Space, Color, and Mood
4. What Body Type Doesn’t Tell You
5. Evolution’s Role in Nonverbal Communication
6. Secrets in Facial Expressions
7. Hidden Clues in Vocal Tones
8. Cues from Gestures and Gait
9. Interpreting Nonverbal Communication
10. Cultural Differences in Nonverbal Communication
11. Spotting Nonverbal Deception
12. Communicating Attraction

We must emphasize that this is not meant for people with Autism or Asperger’s. This is a course for all of us.

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As awareness and understanding of Asperger Syndrome and Autism Spectrum Disorder increase, more adults are identifying themselves as being on the spectrum and seeking a formal diagnosis. This book discusses the process, the pros and cons, and the after-effects of receiving an autism diagnosis in adulthood.

Outlining the likely stages of the journey to diagnosis, this book looks at what individuals may go through as they become aware of their Asperger characteristics and as they seek pre-assessment and diagnosis, as well as common reactions upon receiving a diagnosis – from depression and anger to relief and self-acceptance. Combining practical guidance with advice from personal experience and interviews and correspondence with specialists in the field, the book discusses if and when to disclose to family, friends, and employers, how to seek appropriate support services, and how to use the self-knowledge gained through diagnosis to live well in the future.

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Children who meet the diagnostic criteria for Asperger’s Disorder (AD) are characterized by an information processing deficit (IP) related to how they process the complex information inherent in non- verbal and verbal social tasks. To understand the specific type of IP deficit more precisely, this study investigated the IP deficit specific to working memory capacity. Working memory capacity demonstrates how the individual can interpret, store, and manipulate specific types of information (e.g., verbal, visual, and spatial) in isolation and simultaneously. This study compared the working memory capacity of adolescent males demonstrating AD with that of their typically developing peers. The findings revealed significant differences in working memory capacity between the two groups, suggesting that the IP deficit that occurs within the context of social interactions relates to working memory. These findings provide support for innovative interventions that focus on improving working memory capacity rather than interventions that focus on rote memory learning that is situation based within specific social contexts.

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