Aspergers and Adulthood: A Guide to Working, Loving, and Living With Aspergers Syndrome

I am a speech therapist and regularly work with children on the autism spectrum. High functioning autism (HFA) is being more and more understood and diagnosed. When working with these children I often wondered how they would turn out as adults and I found this book to be an interesting read. This book is written in easy to understand terms and gives valuable advice to adults living with autism. One thing I noticed was in some instances the author provides generalized statements regarding HFA and other times it appears to be a "How to" type book with chapters devoted to romance, work, social scene etc. Even the chapter names make this a more interesting read (i.e., "Romance, Anyone?"). Another nice feature I found was that throughout the book there were stories of real people who have HFA and their experience. The author used these personal experiences to provide a teachable moment and advice. It was nice to find out that nearly half the of the students I work with will one day hold a job as an adult. While adults with autism will face a number of challenges, this book was fairly optimistic about their outcomes and provided some useful advice that parents and other professionals can benefit from. For example from one of the anecdotes it showed an individual who was capable of holding a job but not equipped to handle every day finances, and the surmounting pressures of every day life. Overall I found this book to be an interesting read, which left me feeling optimistic for the future of my current students diagnosed with HFA. I received this book at a discounted rate exchange for my honest and unbiased feedback.

Here are my impressions on the book, from packaging to content and everything in between. NOTE - I was paid to purchase the book in return for this review, but it's a book I had on my wishlist for a while before that opportunity came along. Basically I found a way to get the book for free and all I had to do was give a review so of course I jumped on that. • Packaging - Padded envelope. If it were a hardback I would prefer a box, but this was paperback so it was just fine and protected it well. • Binding - Seems sturdy. The only gripe so far is that the cover has a matte finish to it and it attracts dirt easily. If it were glossy it would be easier to keep clean.Content - (I wrote this section as I read the book so the early part is before I finished) • Great so far. It's aimed mainly at teenagers but it also applies well to everyone on the spectrum. And it is a great resource for those off the spectrum that are trying to help understand those they know on the spectrum. • Humor can be nice in the right amount. This feels like it's just a little too much. • Something about the advice on page 35 hits me as a bit off. Seems a little too close to telling us to try to pass as normal and we'll be fine. • On page 46 there's a reference to materials provided by Autism Speaks. That is a terrible organization that shouldn't be promoted like that. Look to ASAN instead, they have a lot of far better reference materials. • I won't comment on the morals shown in the book other than that I disagree that sex should be discussed in the context of dating, but in my opinion holding the disclosure of Asperger's until it becomes absolutely necessary such as when discussing your comfort level in the matter of nonsexual touch until the moment you're negotiating the physicality of the sexual experience is plain stupid. If the person doesn't know something that central to who you are well before that act is part of the relationship, it isn't a relationship built on the kind of trust needed to make it last. Not to mention how much the rest of the advice on dating seems to be saying more of the "just act normal" script so many try to force on us from a young age that can do so much damage. • This book literally says That there is no way around it, you as an aspie are *going* to experience a breakup. You literally cannot, according to this book on page 71, find lifelong happiness on your first try. Here's the direct quote, "You will inevitably experience a breakup." That is not only hurtful, it is factually incorrect. Is it likely? Yes, of course. It is guaranteed? Not at all! People of any neurotype have found an ideal partner on their first try, and aspies are particularly likely to do more to make a relationship work and to not give up easily on one. • The advice to aspie women on page 72 is great advice for aspies of any gender. And it is the first time I've seen in the book the advice to make sure not to act like others and be yourself. Why is it given so late, and why only to aspie women? Is literally the second to last page of the romance chapter. • And speaking of the last page of that chapter, that's where the advice to disclose your diagnosis early in a relationship is. Literally the last paragraph of the romance chapter. Again I have to wonder why it's so late and so little of the conversation when *not* disclosing until right before sex was a bigger paragraph much earlier in the chapter. • I think my biggest gripe with the book is how many chapters (over half) start with a story, but none of them are good stories. They're all bad examples. It comes off as a scare tactic. Not one of them is a good example of how to do something right or an example of someone that did their research and knew what to do. Every one was someone that did no research (unlikely for aspies) and had a bad time when they tried to do something new. One of them eventually made some moves towards doing it right but out of 7 chapters, 4 of them have failure stories with no stories at the end of someone doing it right that give any hope. • Also, I would add ASAN to the resources page. It's the Autistic Self Advocacy Network and it is amazing, with a lot of great resources. It was started by John Elder Robison (whose work was also the basis of some of the info in the book) after his time at autism speaks ended (and it ended badly because they wouldn't allow autistics to speak for themselves). It's about self empowerment and helping autistic people to make a success of their lives. Which is also what this book is about, so it seems a natural addition. • It's a shame they used Autism Speaks resources in the making if the book. That organization is terrible for autistic people. I have a lot to say on the subject but this is a review of the book, not AS. And they used Wrong Planet, whose founder used to be for all the same things as ASAN until he started getting paid by Autism Speaks and now the site he runs is not a good resource anymore either. It's full of the same eugenics and hatred as AS and they silence people with a contrary opinion. I hope to see another edition with those references pulled out.In conclusion, this is a decent resource for the teenager/young adult aspies out there that are looking for advice on how to successfully navigate the path to independent adult. Not perfect, and there is some big things I would have done different, but a lot better than some of the resources I've seen out there. It needs some different bookbinding techniques too. But overall I would say it's worth the cost. And if you go for the Kindle version you don't have to worry about the binding getting dirty all the time like I do.

I purchased this book to give to a friends son who was diagnosed with Aspergers as a child. They had done everything they thougth was possible to prepare hms for life. He was a good student throughout school and graduated college a few years ago. Their best efforts made him a very polite, personable and educated young man with Aspergers. Aspergers is part of who he is and those characteristics can not be fixed with and amount of good intentions. He thinks differently than other people and reacts to situations that he has a hard time processing differently than other people might. There is no training for the challenges that life throws at all of us.I made sure to read it before giving it to him. It is written in an easy to process friendly manner, not a "here do this and you will live happily ever after" directive. This book speaks to the aspie in an understanding but direct manner, giving guidance through life's tough situations. I have no doubt that he willl take the advice it gives and apply it in his own way. I also think the reference listing is a very vaulabe tool for continued growth. I look forward to seeing this young man go on to this own form of greatness with confidence! Nice work Ms. Grossberg

Muito nom

Perfecto. Lo amo. Nos ayuda mucho a la familia.

This book is for the person with Aspergers that is ready to begin the job force. Finding the job that is right for you. Going for interviews and starting in the workforce. Also the next step in finding friends and possible partners in life. Highly recommend

The book is aimed at teens to young adults with Asperger’s and deals with issues such as finding suitable jobs, dealing with interviews, moving out and relationships.Being slightly older than that target market, some of the information such as finding a job and moving out didn’t apply but I feel would have been useful at the time.The book itself is quite a short read (114 pages) and covers the main areas that affect people with Asperger’s and addresses many of the problems faced in everyday life.Important messages and take away ideas are clearly marked in blue boxes and the question and answer section make for a very useful quick reference if you prefer to read that way.Overall, I’d recommend the book to a young adult with Asperger’s and even parents of children with the condition.I received this product for free in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

Este libro es muy útil para las personas adultas con Síndrome de Asperger, ya que provee tips prácticos y sencillos de seguir para funcionar en la vida diaria puede ser útil para familiares, amigos y toda persona cercana de un Aspie. El detalle que tiene y es comprensible, es que muchas referencias de instituciones y organizaciones citadas en el libro son aplicables sólo para los que viven en USA. Para los que no vivimos en ese país puede ser un buen referente de cómo llevar la condición y de las instituciones a buscar en nuestros propios países o crearlas si no existen.TIENE MI VISTO BUENO.