Synopses & Reviews
Sex. Slang. Slumber parties. The preoccupations of adolescents with Asperger Syndrome are no different than those of other teens, but they can be much more confusing. The lack of social skills and ability to grasp conversational nuances that characterize AS make adolescence the most difficult life stage.
æWhy can I swear in front of my friends, but not in front of the teacher?Æ
æWhy do I have to pay attention when IÆm not interested in what my friend is saying?Æ
æWhat does it mean to ægo outÆ with somebody?Æ
Asperger Syndrome is characterized by a reliance on clear guidelines, and in adolescence the social guidelines become murky and confusing. In Asperger Syndrome and Adolescence, child psychologist Teresa Bolick presents strategies for helping the ten to eighteen-year-old achieve happiness and success by maximizing the benefits of AS and minimizing the drawbacks.
YouÆll Learn:
-How to work with the school to help the AS child learn and succeed.
-Strategies for turning common AS traits like preoccupations and routines into positive strengths.
-How to help the AS teen learn to manage unforeseen glitches with grace.
-The best ways to talk to your teen about friendship, love, romance, and sex.
Along the way, youÆll be inspired by success stories of dozens of AS teens. With the help of this book, youÆll learn that it is possible for an adolescent with Asperger Syndrome to achieve unimaginable success.
Synopsis
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.
About the Author
Teresa Bolick, Ph.D. is a clinical psychologist who specializes in autism spectrum disorders. She received a B.A. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and an M.A. and Ph.D. from Emory University. Dr. Bolick is a consultant to schools and maintains a private practice in Nashua, New Hampshire. She lives in Massachusetts with her family.