Customer Reviews

Asperger's Huh? A Child's Perspective

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Individuals with Asperger's Disorder experience the world differently from most people. They can't comprehend why their behaviour seems odd to others. "Asperger's Huh?" will help them to understand the mystery.

Numerous excellent books about Asperger's have been published within the last five years. Some explain this mild form of autism in clinical terms for professionals and others offer practical tips for parents and teachers.("Asperger's Syndrome, A Guide for Parents and Professionals"' Tony Attwood, 1998; "Asperger Syndrome, A Practical Guide for Teachers", Cumine, Leach and Stevenson). A couple of books are aimed at adolescents and adults with the condition. ("What is Asperger syndrome and how will it affect me? A guide for young people", Martine Ives of the NAS Autism Helpline in the United Kingdom; "Pretending to be Normal- Living with Asperger's Syndrome", Liane Holliday Willey, 1999).

"Asperger's Huh?" is the only book I know of that is geared specifically for children in the 6-12 age range when the diagnosis is frequently made.Written from the perspective of an 11-year-old boy who has just been diagnosed, the book explains the disorder, offers reassurance and gives practical suggestions. The child tells the story, familiar to many Asperger children and parents, of how he discovers he has Asperger's after many social blunders and endless trips to different doctors. In his own 11-year-old way he describes how he learns that those with Asperger's have a hard time making friends and they get upset easily. He talks about learning "social sillies" (social skills) and learning how to deal with being called a "weather weebie" because he likes to talk about the weather all the time. He finds out that like him, lots of kids with Asperger's aren't very good at team sports. He describes how he is really smart in some ways, like remembering complex words, but has a hard time with other things, like understanding what he has read. He learns "anxiety busters" which help him relax and deal with frustrations when things don't go right. He learns that he must try to be FAAT, which means to be Flexible, Adaptable, Appropriate and to Trust someone. Best of all, he finds out that having Asperger's Disorder isn't such a bad thing, especially if you have people you trust to help you out.

This 50-page soft cover book could be read one chapter at a time to younger readers or in one sitting by older children and adults. The positive, kid-friendly style of the book will appeal not only to a young audience but also to older children and adults who want to understand more about Asperger's without having to read a textbook. John Strachan's cartoon-style drawings are not only fun and helpful to the progression of the narrative, they enhance the points in each chapter for Asperger children who are often visual learners.

Since reading it last October, I have introduced the book to members of my Asperger Parent Support Group. Our parents have been buying copies to give to their children, grandparents, teachers and teachers' aides. My 17-year-old- son with Asperger's, who edited this review for me, commented that his "younger genetic compatriots" could learn a lot from the book. His grandfather liked the first person format because "it made it very real." Grandpa also observed that the author "does not talk down to the reader" but gets her message across in a very "user-friendly" non-technical style. Twelve-year-old Adam with Asperger's identified with the narrator-"The guy's like me-he only likes 'talking doctors' too." After reading the book, Adam's younger brother said,"I think I understand Adam's behaviour better now."

I highly recommend this book because it helps promote understanding and appreciation of a wonderfully unique group of children. Rosina Schnurr is to be commended for this excellent addition to the Asperger's bibliography.

My son (age 7) and I have enjoyed reading this book together. I considered buying it for over a year, but was discouraged by the negative reviews here.

When I finally got it, I was puzzled by some of the criticisms leveled at the book. I didn't find the introduction to be melodramatic; in fact, it struck me as being as matter-of-fact as an AS kid might be in the face of the situation (he has behaved extremely inappropriately at a dinner honoring his father). As for the mom crying, I would have cried in that situation, too (and I don't know another mother who has a kid with AS who hasn't cried over her child's behavior at some point).

As for the comments that this book presents a single view of AS: it's written in *first person*. Of course it only presents one view of the diagnosis! Going through the book with your child and pointing out the ways in which he/she is both similar to and different from the narrator is a great way to practice understanding similarities and differences among people in general.

I recommend this book highly. Also, I'd like to mention that it arrived much more quickly than I expected; I got it in about a week.

This is a book I wish had existed a generation ago. It had high and low points. The high points were the voice of acceptance that was being given to explaining Asperger's, which is a neurological condition on the autism spectrum to children. It is a good starter book for sharing with children on the spectrum who continue coping with "undefined differences."

One thing that bothered me was that the writing suggested a "uniform, one size fits all" approach and description of Asperger's. This can be misleading to readers. Still, it was a good faith effort and one that can be used to empower children on the spectrum and explain their "differences" in a clear cut, humane and frank way.

I found this book to be helplful in dealing with other children who will be dealing with my son. We take it into his class on the first day of school and have the teacher read it to his peers so they somewhat understand him and his behaviors. We also read it right after his diagnosis and it helped our son to relate and understand what AS is. I recomend this book.

I bought this book hoping to use it to tell my 11-year-old daughter about her Asberger's diagnosis; after 6 weeks or so, I still haven't given it to her. The book begins with a melodramatic account of how the narrator's behavior upsets his parents and his mother cries a lot over him (an Asbergers kid may find it a bit funny, actually - unless his or her mother cries a lot!) and how he has been taken to many specialists in hopes of a proper diagnosis (which may or not be true for other children). With him having been diagnosed, it then begins chapters about specific traits of Asbergers, which are largely well-done in my opinion; however,while the narrator does mention that not all with Asbergers have the same behaviors, he himself is notably talkative and has his obsessive interest (the weather). My feeling is that kids with different or less severe traits may find this to be negative and/or inspire them to reject the "label" as inaccurate (these are literal people!)

For the next edition: I would prefer the book without the melodramatic introductory narrative and with more on the variations within the diagnosis.

This book helped me get into my son's mind and understand why he does some of the things he does. It confronts some of the everyday problems that Asperger's kids have, and gives the disorder a face. It's not sugar-coated, which I appreciate; it accurately describes the difficulties these kids encounter. I highly recommend this book as a tool to help others understand the mind of an Asperger's child.

I waited almost 6 weeks to get this book for my 12 year old Asperger's son and was very disappointed. While there were a few pages that are good, it really describes the very autistic Asperger's child rather than those that are higher functioning.

This is the third book on my "So You'd Like to..." list, for parents introducing their child to his/her own Autism/Asperger Syndrome. This book is very blunt about some of the highly challenging aspects of having AS, not dainty or delicate at all. Also, the experiences of one child, the example in the story, may vary from the experiences of another AS child. Nevertheless, I found it really helped my son to read it around age 9. It really helped him get some sense of not being isolated and having reasons for the challenges he experiences. I found it useful to point out to my son that the boy in the story manifested some of the same issues as he himself did at the time, but also some he didn't, and that every AS child (and adult!) is unique, so he shouldn't feel any differences were of huge significance. Also, letting some family members and buddies read it was useful, as well, as it really opened people's eyes to the genuine hard work each day can be for someone with AS.

To me, it's all about helping the child learn to be comfortable in his or her own skin and learn to better self-advocate as they grow older. Of course, it's ALSO about educating people who stubbornly resist understanding neurobiologically-based behaviours, such as under-educated school district personnel, in-denial teachers, or crabby relatives who confuse disability-related behaviour with willful MISbehaviour. :-)

I bought this for my 8-y/o who was recently diagnosed with Asperger's. I read it first and thought it was a little on the juvenile side considering my son but gave it to him to read anyway. He HATED it and said it was stupid.

I had also bought "Can I Tell You About Asperger's?" which is also written on a younger reading level. It was MUCH more appealing to my son and he read it several times.

Each person with Aspergers is unique and wonderful. This book was disappointing because it makes generalizations when there is not a "cookie-cutter" description that fits across the board. My husband and I read it first and decided not to share it with our 7-year old Asperger child because most of it would be more confusing than enlightening.