Aspergirls: Empowering Females With Asperger Syndrome [Paperback]

Rudy Simone (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 15, 2010

Girls with Asperger's Syndrome are less frequently diagnosed than boys, and even once symptoms have been recognised, help is often not readily available. The image of coping well presented by AS females of any age can often mask difficulties, deficits, challenges, and loneliness. This is a must-have handbook written by an Aspergirl for Aspergirls, young and old. Rudy Simone guides you through every aspect of both personal and professional life, from early recollections of blame, guilt, and savant skills, to friendships, romance and marriage. Employment, career, rituals and routines are also covered, along with depression, meltdowns and being misunderstood. Including the reflections of over thirty-five women diagnosed as on the spectrum, as well as some partners and parents, Rudy identifies recurring struggles and areas where Aspergirls need validation, information and advice. As they recount their stories, anecdotes, and wisdom, she highlights how differences between males and females on the spectrum are mostly a matter of perception, rejecting negative views of Aspergirls and empowering them to lead happy and fulfilled lives. This book will be essential reading for females of any age diagnosed with AS, and those who think they might be on the spectrum. It will also be of interest to partners and loved ones of Aspergirls, and anybody interested either professionally or academically in Asperger's Syndrome.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"I can highly recommend this book to all Aspergirls and their parents, family, partners and professionals, as well as to all members of our community. With humour, love, liking and respect Rudy opens our eyes to the World of the Aspergirl, providing powerful insights on love, learning, sex, career, marriage, having children, friendships, puberty, diagnosis, emotions, health, aging and more...For too many years we have missed Aspergirls due to our current understanding of Asperger's syndrome being largely based on a male presentation. Rudy generously provides, through deep personal insight and her interviews with other Aspergirls, a broader definition and understanding, one that will help bridge the gap between Aspergirls and the non-spectrum population." --Dr. Michelle Garnett MPsych(Clin) PhD MAPS MCCP, Clinic Director and Clinical Psychologist, Minds & Hearts: A Specialist Clinic for Asperger's Syndrome and Autism

"Aspergirls is an extraordinary read. It is an affirmation of the movement towards understanding AS in females, and a celebration of the culture of AS womanhood. Simone writes with passion, honesty and truth - sharing both the challenges and the joys of a woman's life on the spectrum through her own observations and the voices of other women. It is rich with stories and strategies to be read and re-read as reminders, mantras and as a map for embarking on the journey of being a woman with AS. Above all, it is a much-needed book about permission, empowerment, and as Simone so eloquently states, moving beyond the mutism. Bring all your color, girls, and paint the world!" --Shana Nichols, PhD, Licensed Psychologist, Researcher and Clinical Director of ASPIRE Center for Learning and Development, and author of Girls Growing Up on the Autism Spectrum

About the Author

Rudy Simone is an Aspergirl, writer and AS consultant who lives in the San Francisco Bay Area. She is the author of '22 Things a Woman Must Know If She Loves a Man with Asperger's Syndrome', also published by Jessica Kingsley Publishers.

Product Details

• Paperback: 236 pages
• Publisher: Jessica Kingsley Pub; 1 edition (May 15, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1849058261
• ISBN-13: 978-1849058261
• Product Dimensions: 6.1 x 0.6 x 9.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (71 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #16,524 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #25 in Books > Health, Fitness & Dieting > Children's Health > Autism & Asperger's Syndrome
  • #81 in Books > Parenting & Relationships > Special Needs

More About the Author

Rudy Simone is the author of four best-selling books on Asperger Syndrome: "Aspergirls: Empowering Females with Asperger Syndrome" (Jessica Kingsley Publishers 2010), "Asperger's on the Job: Must-have Advice" (Future Horizons 2010) "22 Things a Woman Must Know If She Loves a Man With Asperger Syndrome" (JKP 2009) and "22 Things a Woman with Aspergers Wants her Partner to Know" (JKP 2012). Three of her books have won awards, including the Independent Publishers Gold medal(Ippy), Foreword Review Gold medal and a Living Now Silver medal. Her books have been translated into several languages.

Ms. Simone lectures regularly at Autism/Asperger conferences around the world. Her website www.help4aspergers.com is the #1 resource in the world to find information on general Asperger traits, and on how AS manifests in females.

Rudy is also a singer/songwriter and performer, comic, screenwriter and fiction writer, with a fantasy epic soon to be published.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

63 of 63 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars If you think you might be an Aspergirl, you NEED to read this book. Today. July 22, 2010

By Jill Florio TOP 500 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

I was astounded to recognize myself in these pages. For decades I have been wrestling with self-diagnosing my non-normal neurological behaviors, but always sort of discounted Aspergers as an answer.

It makes sense now that I realize most previous studies on Aspergers Syndrome were based on studies of men and boys. It's a huge relief to realize that Aspergers presents differently among girls and women - and to realize I that have found myself within these pages.

It's at once incredibly freeing and a little sad. It's freeing to realize I am not alone, not some alien masquerading (poorly) as a human. It's freeing to know who I am, neurologically. But then, sad, to realize that the things that have been endless challenges for me - mainly work, relationships and finances - are NOT going to magically go away, no matter how hard or optimistically I try to fix them. They are part and parcel of me. I have to work *with* these things - allow for them - and give up on trying to *solve* them.

I wish I could make everyone I come into close contact with read Aspergirls. Friends and family would understand and hopefully tolerate my quirks better. And in fact, I am sure I would be more completely appreciated for my assets - the creativity, quirky humor, hyperfocus, passionate interests and engaging literacy...and the ability to spot patterns, amazing people with 'intuitive' leaps of logic that seem to spring from very few clues.

A few things in this book could be easily added to make it better: it seems that the author intends readers to be somewhat familiar with Autism in the first place, and I had to Google such terms as Mutism and Trainspotting. The terms Meltdown and Stimming were easier to determine from context - and opened my eyes to terms I can actually apply to my bad times/episodes of 'abnormal' public behavior. I would have appreciated more historical views on Aspergers, with more explanation of terms.

The chart at the end of the book is extremely useful; I am considering copying that part alone to hand out to friends and loved ones (which I'd then mark and highlight carefully for personal emphasis!).

In any case, I've highlighted and marked up many useful passages throughout the book for *myself* - I now keep the book by my bedside as a reminder that I might NOT have been an alien baby abandoned on this strange planet. I may not be able to pass as a nuerotypical human, but with this book I can start to head off a few meltdowns and start to feel better about myself.

If you are questioning whether you or a female loved one has AS, reading this book should provide you the insight you need. You will either light up with recognition, or sigh and move on to the next possible diagnosis.

32 of 33 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A Godsend! AsperGirl Power! April 26, 2010

By BeatleBangs1964 TOP 1000 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

This is one of the best books about girls and women on the autism/Asperger's spectrum that I have EVER read! No parent, educator or medical professional should be without this gem. Women and girls on the spectrum will certainly recognize themselves in this stellar masterpiece of a book. It is very empowering!

If you are a girl or woman on the spectrum, this book is truly your best friend. Rudy Simone, like Dr. Travis Thompson and Dr. Tony Attwood is the voice of tolerance and understanding in re the a/A experience. She really "gets" it!

I like the way she replaces harmful verbiage such as "stimming," which is a term I never liked either with the more tolerant and much more accurate term "soothing" behaviors. She dislikes the term "stimming" because to her it sounds "creepy." I dislike it because I think it trivializes or downplays the need to release excess tension when sensory input gets to be too much. After all, the neurotypical (NT) population "stims," by tapping and jingling things in their pockets and fidgeting, just to name a few.

Rudy Simone is a genius. It is as simple as that. She has interviewed women on the spectrum and included their thoughts in this masterpiece of a book. Liane Holliday Willey wrote the foreword and she has Asperger's and her daughter does as well.

Rudy Simone outlines critical points throught one's life, from birth to senior citizenship with Asperger's. She outlines with clearly written, easy to follow lists of key bullet items that help direct readers' focus on Aspergerian behaviors, reasons for same and mechanisms for coping. Each chapter closes with Advice to Parents and Advice to Aspergirls. I like the new terminology - Aspergirls. Liane Holliday Willey's daughter said it sounded like a superhero and she is right. I think we should get into raising our glasses and proposing a toast to Rudy Simone!

I strongly urge everyone to read this book and I would like to give people extra copies of it. It has truly been a major help to me personally and for that, I say a heartfelt "THANK YOU, RUDY SIMONE!"

35 of 37 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Likely Helpful to the Diagnosed and Their Families May 2, 2010

By Laurie Gold VINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

The symptoms of Asperger's are different in girls than in boys and most of the studies on the Syndrome have focused on boys. Doctors and other mental health care professionals simply don't know what to look for in girls and as a result, the number of undiagnosed girls is unknown but likely quite large. Rudy Simone's book, then, which focuses entirely on girls and women with AS, is like a breath of fresh air. Aspergirls gives girls and woman a way to positively own AS because, after all, it is what it is. But I found a line on the back cover blurb to be misleading: "If you...think you might be on the spectrum, this book will be essential reading."

Simone successfully utilizes interviews with girls and women with AS as the basis for the chapters in her book. These anecdotes personalize Aspergirls, but her failure to disclose the specific checklists provided in the DSM will leave in the dark those wondering if they or somebody they love may fall along the spectrum. As I read the book, I noted a number of similarities in myself and in those close to me with those diagnosed, but also differences. In the end it's not the answer for those looking to self-diagnose.

That said, the book offers useful insights and advice to girls and their parents about a variety of topics, including "stimming" (aka soothing), socializing, school, work, and romance. It also debunks long-held beliefs about people with AS, most particularly that those along the spectrum feel less than other people. And, like John Elder Robinson's Look Me in the Eye: My Life with Asperger's, the neurotypical reader will come away with a new understanding of the thought processes and quirks of those with AS.

Simone succeeds best when sharing the emotional pain suffered by Aspergirls. Her stories, and the stories of those she interviewed, offer acceptance to a group who have rarely found acceptance in their lives. Some of her advice is nebulous, but when talking about the importance of education and getting through college, or of parents advocating for their daughters, she provides specifics, which surely will achieve her goal of Empowering Females with Asperger Syndrome. What it won't do, alas, is offer definitive help to those looking for diagnostic answers.