Customer Reviews

Autism and Asperger Syndrome (Facts)

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This autism/Asperger Syndrome(a/AS) includes a variety of things which is quite helpful to know the details of a/AS. Although the book doesn't have many pages, it sure provides us with many facts based on histories, neurodevelopments, diagnosis, Theory of Mind(ToM), and of course, the difference and similarities between classic autism(CA) and Asperger's.

The author indicated in the 1st chapter that those with CA have obvious speech delay and lower IQ's, which looks apparent to the neurotypicals(NT's),while those with AS don't have speech delay, but do have average or even higher IQ's than NT's. In this way those with AS seem normal because they talk as if they did almost the same as NT's. However, the trouble is people with AS have a lot of difficulties to catch social words. One of the problem is that both of them need ToM, which means the ability to understand or predict other people's feelings by non-verbal signals as well as words. Another thing I think perplexes NT's is lack of understanding figurative meanings and pragmatics. For example, most AS people may get confused if others use idioms like "Stop beating around the bush!" I suppose idioms and figurative expressions exist because most of them originated from social or historical backgrounds. I would say AS people miss this point and that's why they can't interact with other people.

I can see the similarities, too; both with CA and AS tend to stick to repetitions or the same, but they get agitated when things change out of the blue. For instance, I love listening to the same songs a whole bunch of times and it never bores me at all. On the other hand, some of my friends label this eccentric. They may want to say, "Don't you wanna try something different?", that's why. And weak central coherence is one of the things that bothers both with a/AS.They pay very close attention to tiny, tiny details and can't see the whole point. When I was in vocational school where I dealt with electricity, I was slower at getting things done than most people. I was so distressed that I tried to catch up with them, forgetting the purpose of learning. "I'm never gonna drop out" - That was all I had in mind. In short, I must have forgotten accuracy outweighed faster achievement. In retrospect, I couldn't see the forest for the trees, which showed explicitly I needed central coherence and still I do. I might have noticed this if I had been diagnosed with AS then.

I was amazed at The Extreme Male Brain Theory in Chapter 5. According to the author, a/AS people have extreme masculine brain function, and I guess it makes sense. Most experts say there are more males with a/AS than females, and the author hit the right nail on the head. This reminded me of Allan and Barbara Peace's Bestseller, "Why Men Don't Listen and Women Can't Read Maps". They said men show fewer facial expressions than women. In this respect, people with masculine brain functioning may not be good at showing or understanding emotions well enough. Particularly, a/AS people often find it very hard to catch or predict what other people may think or feel. Of course, male NT's literally have male brain functioning systems and that's no problem. The problem is that a/AS people have extreme male brains, which can cause lack of ToM.

Anyway, I find this book useful because I'm sure it helps us get the depth of autism/Asperger's.

Overall, Autism and Asperger Syndrome provides a good overview of the characteristics, symptoms, treatments, and intervention strategies for those suffering from ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorders). The book is an easy read and explains things in a clear and succinct manner which will certainly provide many with an excellent starting point when delving into the topic.

Unfortunately, there are several matters which also distract from the author's intent and which should have been dealt with prior to publication. The most obvious problem is that there are numerous editing errors throughout the book. Granted, the book uses British English, which should not present problems for most, the language remains stilted and contains an overabundance of archaic terms. The lack of a reference section is also very disturbing and, in at least one case, Wikipedia is considered as an appropriate source by the author! Under no circumstance should Wikipedia ever be used as a reference in a book that purports to present "the facts" on any topic.

The author's poor choice (and lack) of sources isn't the only problem as there are many other factual errors present. For example, page 64 states, "the musical note E is always five tones above the musical note A." (Which, as any musician will know, is incorrect.) Another example would include Baron-Cohen's statement on page 98 that wrongly states, "Another subgroup of people with autism and Asperger Syndrome have the opposite profile [of those with Attention Deficit Disorder] an excellent ability to concentrate on one topic for extended periods." As anyone who is familiar with ADD knows, the ability to hyperfocus on one topic for an extended period of time is one of the hallmark signs of ADD (especially Inattentive and Over-focused forms of ADD)!

Baron-Cohen's book does a fairly good job of providing an overview of ASD that, with a bit of editing, has the potential to be a far more useful book it is in its present form.

This compact (7.7 x 5 x 0.4 inches), yet highly accessible and informative text is a title from the "The Facts" series published by Oxford University press. A leading authority in the field of autism, Professor Baron-Cohen provides us with an comprehensive and readable summary of the current state of the research and science of autism spectrum disorders. Each chapter begins by listing key points of the relevant discussion and content. The first chapter introduces the reader to classic autism (autistic disorder) and Asperger syndrome by describing a child with each of the diagnoses. Subsequent chapters include a discussion of history and prevalence, assessment, neurobiological factors, major psychological theories, and intervention, education, and treatment. Autism and Asperger Syndrome (The Facts) is a valuable resource for both professionals and those touched by autism related conditions. It is an excellent companion to other research-based texts in the field and is highly recommended to experienced professionals, as well as those new to the field.

A Best Practice Guide to Assessment and Intervention for Autism and Asperger Syndrome

Even though I've read quite a few books on this subject now, this book was still quite enlightening. It contained a concise and well organized summary of pretty much all the other main topics I've read about as well as quite a few I've only encountered in vague references elsewhere. This book would probably be a fairly good starting point for someone just getting introduced to Autism and Asperger Syndrome. Thanks again Professor Baron-Cohen.