Asperger Syndrome and Adolescence: Practical Solutions for School Success [Paperback]

Diane Adreon (Author), Brenda Smith Myles (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0967251494 | ISBN-13: 978-0967251493 | Publication Date: May 17, 2001 | Edition: illustrated edition

The middle school years, and the transitions to middle and high school, pose challenges for all students. But for students with Asperger Syndrome the transition can be traumatic, leading to a downward emotional spiral and even depression. This comprehensive book starts with an overview of those characteristics of AS that make adolescence particularly challenging and difficult. The centerpiece of the book is a look at strategies and supports for a successful school experience for students with AS at the middle and secondary levels.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Myles and Adreon offer an array of practical, proven interventions to help address these challenges. -- Peter Gerhardt, Research assistant professor and division director- Rutgers University

Myles and Adreon offer an array of practical, proven interventions to help address these challenges. -- Peter Gerhardt, Research assistant professor and division director- Rutgers University

The subtitle 'practical solutions for school success' guarantees that this book will be eagerly sought and frequently consulted. -- Bernard Rimland, Director Autism Research Institute

This must-have resource is jam-packed with sensible and easy-to-implement solutions for teachers, aides, parents, and others. --Stephen Shore, Author of Beyond the Wall: Personal Experiences with Autism and Asperger Syndrome

The subtitle 'practical solutions for school success' guarantees that this book will be eagerly sought and frequently consulted. -- Bernard Rimland, Director Autism Research Institute

This must-have resource is jam-packed with sensible and easy-to-implement solutions for teachers, aides, parents, and others. --Stephen Shore, Author of Beyond the Wall: Personal Experiences with Autism and Asperger Syndrome

About the Author

Brenda Smith Myles Ph.D., a consultant with the Ziggurat Group, the National Professional Development Center on Autism Spectrum Disorders, and the Education and Treatment Services Project for Military Dependent Children with Autism, was the recipient of the Autism Society of America s Outstanding Professional Award; the Princeton Fellowship Award; and the Council for Exceptional Children, Division on Developmental Disabilities Burton Blatt Humanitarian Award. She has written over 150 articles and books on autism spectrum disorders, including Asperger Syndrome and Difficult Moments: Practical Solutions for Tantrums, Rage, and Meltdowns (with Southwick) and Asperger Syndrome and Adolescence: Practical Solutions for School Success (with Adreon). The latter was the winner of the Autism Society of America s Outstanding Literary Work. Brenda has made over 500 presentations all over the world, and served as the co-chair of the National ASD Teacher Standards Committee. Myles is also on the executive boards of several organizations, including the Organization for Autism Research and Maap Services Inc. In addition, she was recently acknowledged as the second most productive applied researcher in ASD in the world from 1997 to 2004.

Product Details

• Paperback: 227 pages
• Publisher: Autism Asperger Publishing Company; illustrated edition edition (May 17, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0967251494
• ISBN-13: 978-0967251493
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #256,122 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

83 of 84 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good scheduling advice but little on pragmatics, February 5, 2003

By 

John Harpur (Trim, Meath, IRELAND) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Asperger Syndrome and Adolescence: Practical Solutions for School Success (Paperback)

There is a wealth of advice in this book which all parents and teachers should find helpful. Plenty of checklists are offered and numerous cameo case histories are presented. The references are good but perhaps a bit limited (may be of importance only to researchers - no mention of central coherence deficit for instance). The main point of the book is the get schools to recognise and deal with stress build up in AS pupils before it boils over. Some of this will be familiar from Myles' other book on tantrum management.

The advice for high school transition is very practical. Make sure he knows the schedule, pin the timetable everywhere, fix routine reminders inside textbook covers, make sure he knows which teacher tolerates which behaviour, etc. It is all good sensible advice, though I wonder how deliverable it is in the ordinary school setting?

The authors touch on 'circle of friends', travelcards and a host of other supports, but ultimately pin their support hopes on resource teachers and an enlightened school policy. Unfortunately, this is where I begin to part company with the book. Few schools could make the quantum shifts expected, and the authors could have made much more of their advice if they had identified compromise strategies. Teachers are human, not superhuman. Also in my limited experience, parents of AS teenagers often have unrealistic expectations of their offspring's academic performance and that tends to obscure their grasp of daily school realities. The classic example here is the emphasis on the 'gifted' child who must attend a 'gifted' school irrespective of the impact that has on the school and child. The authors tend to cite gifted children examples a lot in their case studies. I don't think this is helpful.

Perhaps unconsciously the book also portrays the AS teenager as very much a ship in the night steering a lonely course from class to class, from teacher to teacher, etc. How to help out here? Again, while friendship strategies are touched upon, no elabaorated plan is developed. A weakness to my mind.

The book presents the AS teenager as very much a patient to be treated by the environment. I don't want to appear overly critical of the book. It is good that adolescent AS are being addressed, however, for the life of me I could not grasp why there is no section on teenage communication pragmatics - these are extensively treated in another book Succeeding with Interventions for Asperger Syndrome Adolescents. The authors simply skate by the whole problematic of communication skills. It seems that as long as your 'gifted' child is doing well academically and no one is hitting him, then we should be pleased. This struck me as a very lobsided developmental philosophy. Interestingly the book points out in footnote in the beginning that it will ignore sexuality and relationship issues. Ignore these? In a book dealing AS adolescents?

Overall this is a good book for advising on schedule construction and maintenance of the daily school routine. It has limitations and depending on your needs they may be significant or otherwise.

76 of 77 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Asperger Syndrome and Adolescence by Myles and Adreon, September 22, 2001

By 

Leia Francisco (Washington. D.C. area) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Asperger Syndrome and Adolescence: Practical Solutions for School Success (Paperback)

This book addresses a crucial need for parents, educators and children affected by Asperger's Syndrome. In clear, simple and solid terms the authors focus on the impact of Asperger's Syndrome(AS) in middle school and high school. Most important for those of us who are parents of AS children, it integrates specific classroom and support strategies. I used this book as the basis for my IEP meeting with my son's school committee. In fact, the school counselors were so impressed by some of the information that they are ordering the book for their department.

You will find very detailed examples of assessments, classroom setting needs, and organization supports ranging from homework checklists and graphic organizers to transitional checklists. A case study on "Michael" puts all the points into chronological action--with a hopeful outcome. I doubt that any parent with an AS child will not identify with the efforts and emotions associated with the case study.

The authors have managed something quite remarkable in making the rollercoaster teen years--thrown in with the unique challenges of Asperger's--understandable and they do, indeed, provide practical solutions.There are many fine books on AS, including Asperger's Syndrome, by Tony Attwood, but this gave me the concrete tools I needed at just the right time in my son's life.

To Brenda Smith Myles and Diane Adreon, thank you for this great resource. I will be using it often.

37 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great help for older children with Aspergers, July 10, 2001

By 

Ketty P. Gonzalez (Coral Gables, FL USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Asperger Syndrome and Adolescence: Practical Solutions for School Success (Paperback)

This book is a wonderful tool to help children who have Aspergers Syndrome and are about to enter, or are in, middle or high school. Although many times they can "keep it together" until then, many children with AS falter when the academic and social demands of school increase. One of the authors is not only an expert on the field, she is also the mother of a son with AS, so she has been there. A must buy for parents of children with AS.