Customer Reviews

Navigating the Social World: A Curriculum for Individuals with Asperger's Syndrome, High Functioning Autism and Related Disorders

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I do some work experimenting with pragmatics teaching for autistic adolescents. This book is definitely a 'good' book in this regard. Importantly it is written by a parent for other parents. I have no doubt but that it has something for everyone, but I am less sure whether it has as much for parents with genuinely autistic as opposed to high functioning autistic children. I would still recommend the book but with that caveat.

The book seesm to be largely derived from observations and techniques related to Tony Attwood's practice in Australia. Fans of Attwood should be pleased with that. It doesn't hurt its marketing either.

The author is a medical doctor and while that may lend some authority to the text, it is her position as a parent of a high functioning autistic child that drives the text along. Many lesson plans and exercises are described in detail. A lot of form filling is recommended for recording behaviour (and hopefuly progress). Some aspects of these procedures may not be applicable to all parental situations (awkward, time consuming, presuming too much of parents, etc.) but one has to look first at what can be done, rather than ruling out options in advance.

It seems like a useful programme. I suspect it is would be very practical in the hands of extremely well organised parents.

While being as fairminded as possible, it is important to point out that the book doesn't dwell much on evaluation studies. Hence what is recommended is often the result of rewarding personal persistence and experience, rather than scientific validation.

Don't get me wrong. This is not a snake oil book by any means (and there are so many about), but evaluation studies are important to some parents in helping to choose between approaches.

Of course I would recommend this book. It is focused on the (very) able autistic child in my opinion however. However, for group work that includes teenagers and parents especially in the vital area of pragmatics I would recommnend also Succeeding with Interventions for Asperger Syndrome Adolescents.

I am a parent of a child with social skills difficulties akin to Aspergers. I ordered three books at the same time including this one. I found this the least approachable and chose to return it-- something I rarely do. You'd have to really sit down and dig into this book to get anything practical out of it for your child. The information is here, but it's not layed out well visually or in casual vocabulary.

Instead I was most impressed with and plan to start using Social Skills Training by Jed Baker. I also found useful Good Friends are Hard to Find by Frankel.

This book is excellent! Written in simple terminology for parents, school staffs or caregivers of High Functioning Autistic children. Contains detailed "how to" information on emotional development, communication/social skills, abstract thinking skills, and behaviorial issues. Finally a plan I can follow as a parent to help my child meet some of his developmental milestones.

This manual is very easy to follow and extreemly user friendly. This is part of the curriculum that my son is using in his school and I thought I'd get a copy to work with him at home. Best money I've spent in a long time!A must for anyone dealing with High-functioning Autism/Asperger's at home or in their classroom.

Being a school psychologist, I was most interested in reading this book. Dr. McAfee does a wonderful job providing practical tools teachers, therapists, and parents can use to help children diagnosed with high functioning autism or asperger's disorder. Dr. McAfee provides help in the areas most needed with these children, their social interactions. I am using her suggestions with my clients with good success.

This book contains valuable documentation of individuals with Asperger's or HFA, problems that arise and how many of the situations can be resolved. There are some great ideas on making worksheets and charts for the individual to track his/her own emotions. This book really helps someone to realize their potential as functioning members of society. It really gives the tools to one with Asperger's to understand and comprehend the world around them.

This is an excellent resource for parents of children with Asperger's Syndrome, HFA, or similar disorders such as NLD (Nonverbal Learning Disorder, a dual diagnosis of mine). Several of the techniques are of at least some potential use for adults on the spectrum.

Once the autistic traits that are academic barriers have been overcome, it is of secondary importance to overcome the social barriers that will make it difficult for your child to function in society. This book looks very useful for that purpose, though I suspect that educating the public as to the talents and the truly neurodevelopmental basis of our differences and getting society to accept these differences would be of greater and longer-lasting importance. Alas, lacking a perfect world where J.Q. Public would be knowledgable about every "disorder" that could prevent a person from acting like the average neurotypical (NT), this book runs a close second.

This book is probably not as helpful for parents with children on the lower functioning end of the autistic spectrum, since the academic barriers (especially sensory integration dysfunction) are still in place, and the child is frequently nonverbal. It is almost impossible for a nonverbal autistic child to master social techniques of any kind. Aspie, HFA, and NLD children and adults rely almost entirely upon language to achive even a minor level of social "success". I think it might be useful to note that the "best" way to pick out a child on the autistic spectrum at an early age, NO MATTER WHAT THE LEVEL OF FUNCTIONING is to (as a toddler) have the child spend time with other toddlers. I highly suggest this "early diagnostic tool" to families that have several people on the autistic spectrum - including families with multiple engineers and/or computer programers ;-). NT children can "communicate" with each other, somehow, without language. They can hold whole "conversations" preverbally (it is truly an amazing sight for adults on the spectrum). NT adults can do this to a great degree as well, and can "converse" with people who speak a different language from them by using body language. From LFA to HFA to Aspergers, children and adults on the spectrum do not have this ability. It is similarly lacking in people diagnosed with NLD.

For the academically advanced child, or for the high-functioning adult, a college-level class on primate behavior is also likely to be useful. I took one in an anthropology department that showed me some of the common characteristics between the body language of "lower" primates and humans and gave me some basic interpretation tools (even if I have to think of them cognitively, which is far slower than the instinctual reaction most people have to kinesics/body language). My class included time at a zoo and observation periods (mostly of other students from a balcony) in which we made cross-species comparisons (some of which were truly eye-opening, such as the degree of self-grooming female primates tend to subject themselves to when being regarded by a desirable male primate - a process which was drastically INCREASED in noticability in the college students).

I should mention, however, that no matter how early the intervention with an autistic child, skills such as the minimal amount of reading of body language/facial expression that can be achieved are still performed at a cognitive level, rather than at an instinctive level. This being the case, reaction/response time is markedly slower, leading to many "well-trained" children acting like social robots. Again, I am not entirely sure that this is more "functional" than educating people about the autistic spectrum and the various forms of social "blindness" that are an integral part of these disorders.

In many ways, my attempts of learning body language and their meaning to NTs has been characterized by an "intellectual-only" understanding. For me, characterizing the physical responses of NTs to the feeling of anger is like a blind person explaining that red is a color just below "infra-red" in the visual range, or that Monet is an impressionist painter noted for his wide range of color and paintings of flowers in France. This intellectual understanding of the subject does not mean that I can really utilize the information, just as the blind person cannot tell red from green or a Monet from a Picasso. All the techniques and explanations in this (or any other) book cannot change that.

Good luck!

Although I haven't purchased a copy of this book, I once read a copy that I borrowed from a library, and I found it very helpful.

As someone with Asperger's Syndrome myself, I know that if there had been books like this 30 years ago, I would have learned much earlier in life what things are appropriate to do and say in what situation. It's too bad that there were no books like this until recent years!

This is a fabulous resource for professionals working with children and teens with ASD. It well laid out and easy to implement. The activities are fun and educational for the kids.

This book is written by a mom of a girl with Asperger's, who just happened to be a pre-eminent neurologist before she put this together. In the world of diminishing cash available to districts, this book is a GREAT resource for training those kids who otherwise might slip through the cracks.