The Boy Inside - An Asperger's Syndrome Success Story


Book Description

At a very young age, Eric Vardeman was displaying signs of unusual behavior. Not the least bit interested in things a child of his age should be interested in, Eric was fascinated with certain things--pieces of string, ceiling fans, animal tails. His parents began a quest to discover why their young son approached life differently from other children his age. Eric was diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome, a mild form of autism. With help from professionals, family and friends, Eric received the tools he needed to live a happy, productive life. This book chronicles the journey of Eric's life--from birth to college. It is told from his mother's point of view but is laced with Eric's own words as well as those of his therapist. The end result is a compelling narrative which shows that perseverance and conviction can overcome many obstacles and that success can be achieved. The Boy Inside is truly a success story.




Look Me in the Eye


Book Description

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER “As sweet and funny and sad and true and heartfelt a memoir as one could find.” —from the foreword by Augusten Burroughs Ever since he was young, John Robison longed to connect with other people, but by the time he was a teenager, his odd habits—an inclination to blurt out non sequiturs, avoid eye contact, dismantle radios, and dig five-foot holes (and stick his younger brother, Augusten Burroughs, in them)—had earned him the label “social deviant.” It was not until he was forty that he was diagnosed with a form of autism called Asperger’s syndrome. That understanding transformed the way he saw himself—and the world. A born storyteller, Robison has written a moving, darkly funny memoir about a life that has taken him from developing exploding guitars for KISS to building a family of his own. It’s a strange, sly, indelible account—sometimes alien yet always deeply human.




Transfer Boy


Book Description

The book explores what it is like to be an adolescent with AS through interviews with Teodor, a 'psychologically unusual' twelve-year-old. In this case study, Vuletic and Ferrari combine an autobiographical account with perspectives from other people who know Teodor, while simultaneously integrating psychiatric and psychological research on autism.




Love That Boy


Book Description

"[A]n eloquent, brave, big-hearted book…about the timeless anxieties and emotions of parenthood, and the modern twists thereon.” —James Fallows, The Atlantic Love That Boy is a uniquely personal story about 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 by National Journal’s Ron Fournier, who weaves his extraordinary journey to acceptance around the latest research on childhood development and stories of other loving-but-struggling parents.




Improve Your Social Skills


Book Description

Improve Your Social Skills is a comprehensive, practical guide to social skills.It contains 200+ pages of step-by-step, easy-to-understand explanations of social interaction, written by a professional social skills coach whose TEDx talk on overcoming the social challenges of Asperger's Syndrome has been viewed over 180,000 times.You'll learn how to: Make Conversation (and keep conversation flowing smoothly!) Read Body Language (and send positive signals with your own body language!) Meet New People (and make friends with them!) Tell Stories In Conversation (that don't bore your audience!) Combat Shyness And Social Anxiety (a little courage every day adds up!) Date Successfully (without manipulation or sneaky tricks!) And More! (lots more!)Ok, enough with the bullet points.I'm Dan Wendler, and I wrote the book. I wrote it because I believe everyone deserves a place to belong and I didn't want poor social skills to hold anyone back from friendship and community. even if they struggle with social skills. I know firsthand how hard it is to struggle socially. Growing up, I was bullied, harassed, and excluded -- no matter how hard I tried to fit in. It wasn't until I was diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome that I put the puzzle pieces together. I realized I struggled socially because I didn't have any social skills -- and just like any other skill, social skills can be learned. So I started to learn them. It took hard work, but I soon started to see improvement in my ability to interact with others. Eventually I was able to start making wonderful friends and today I feel comfortable and confident in all sorts of social interactions.On January 1st, 2012, I launched ImproveYourSocialSkills.com to share what I'd learned with the world. Hundreds of thousands of people visit the site every year, and I'm excited to help even more with the Improve Your Social Skills Kindle guide.The guide you're about to read is a compilation of the social principles I've learned during my lifetime of personal social skills study, as well as the techniques I developed while offering hundreds of hours of social skills coaching. These principles led me to a life full of close friendship, satisfying connection, and tender romance.I believe that with these principles, you can live a life full to the brim with friendship, connection, and love. I hope that after reading Improve Your Social Skills, you'll believe that too.




The Conscious Parent's Guide To Asperger's Syndrome


Book Description

"A guide for parents who have kids with Asperger's Syndrome"--




The Everything Parent's Guide to Children with Asperger's Syndrome


Book Description

The clinical diagnosis of Asperger's can be intimidating for parents. Often the focus is on their child's "disabilities" rather than his "abilities," and parents may be left wondering what they should expect as their child journeys through life. This guide helps you take the first steps toward understanding how this developmental disorder may impact your child. This uncomplicated handbook introduces you to Asperger's and helps you to: Get a diagnosis and understand the results Identify triggers that can lead to sensory overload Recognize symptoms of meltdowns and work to prevent them Educate family and friends about Asperger's Discover support groups for themselves and their child Now revised and updated, this new edition includes information on educational concerns and social interactions. This is the only resource you need to help your child overcome the obstacles of Asperger's and find success--and happiness.




Social Skills Success for Students With Asperger Syndrome and High-Functioning Autism


Book Description

Provide students the social skills instruction they need to succeed in school and in life! This practical resource provides evidence-based strategies for enhancing social skills of children and adolescents who have Asperger Disorder and other forms of high-functioning autism. Case studies, vignettes, classroom materials, checklists, and templates will help you: Deliver interventions that model desirable behaviors and provide opportunities for students to practice Support students in navigating social situations, forming relationships with peers and adults, and following rules and routines Develop, implement, and evaluate social skills intervention and support programs




Living Your Best Life with Asperger's Syndrome


Book Description

Effectively accommodating the social and academic needs of children on the autistic spectrum is an important task in every school. This book is a practical guide to benefit parents, teachers, Local Education Authorities and international autism organisations. Each chapter provides a summary followed by anecdotal stories that illustrate a point, describing how a young boy navigates his way through the social challenges that he faces every day. The focus of the writing is how to live your best life despite your difference. Book jacket.




Parallel Play


Book Description

An affecting memoir of life as a boy who didn’t know he had Asperger’s syndrome until he became a man. In 1997, Tim Page won the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism for his work as the chief classical music critic of The Washington Post, work that the Pulitzer board called “lucid and illuminating.” Three years later, at the age of 45, he was diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome–an autistic disorder characterized by often superior intellectual abilities but also by obsessive behavior, ineffective communication, and social awkwardness. In a personal chronicle that is by turns hilarious and heartbreaking, Page revisits his early days through the prism of newfound clarity. Here is the tale of a boy who could blithely recite the names and dates of all the United States’ presidents and their wives in order (backward upon request), yet lacked the coordination to participate in the simplest childhood games. It is the story of a child who memorized vast portions of the World Book Encyclopedia simply by skimming through its volumes, but was unable to pass elementary school math and science. And it is the triumphant account of a disadvantaged boy who grew into a high-functioning, highly successful adult—perhaps not despite his Asperger’s but because of it, as Page believes. For in the end, it was his all-consuming love of music that emerged as something around which to construct a life and a prodigious career. In graceful prose, Page recounts the eccentric behavior that withstood glucose-tolerance tests, anti-seizure medications, and sessions with the school psychiatrist, but which above all, eluded his own understanding. A poignant portrait of a lifelong search for answers, Parallel Play provides a unique perspective on Asperger’s and the well of creativity that can spring forth as a result of the condition.