Customer Reviews

The OASIS Guide to Asperger Syndrome: Completely Revised and Updated: Advice, Support, Insight, and Inspiration

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From the time that my son was diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome, at the age of 3 ½, our family knew that the idyllic life we had anticipated, would never be. At that time, in 1998, there wasn't a lot written about Asperser's Syndrome. Fortunately, I was just becoming a little more knowledgeable about the internet and quickly found my way to OASIS, the Online Asperger Syndrome Information and Support network.

Barb Kirby was there from my first day to help smooth the pathways for other families as no one was really there to help smooth her way. She soon found Patty Romanowski Bashe and together they have created the complete guide to help families through the maze of diagnoses, acronyms, treatments, diets, and educational interventions applicable to those with Asperger's Syndrome, with the publishing of the OASIS Guide to Asperger Syndrome.

Because of Barb's reputation, as soon as I saw this book, I knew that it would be thorough. What I didn't realize is how easy it would be to pick the book up and turn to any page and find information that would prove to be helpful to parents and other family members dealing with the overwhelming issues related to having a child on the autism spectrum.

It is difficult to point to which section of the book is most helpful, because at different times, the various chapters have guided me to my child. At various times, I thought "Why me....why did this happen to ME?" But as this book states, "... the person who is working the hardest in all of this is ....your child". Easy to forget with my parental self-pitying. After I read that, I began to stop feeling sorry for myself and instead began thinking of myself as a "team member". From then, we could begin to regain some of our hopefulness and took on the challenge as a family team goal.

This new edition has been brought up-to-date to include some of the newer ideas, research and treatments related to Asperger's Syndrome. They include various treatments, medications and discussions of a range of products available to families like ours that are desperately seeking the magic bullet for our child (there are none unfortunately).

However what Barb and Patty have given us with this, is what I consider, the COMPLETE manual for all things related to Asperger's Syndrome; it is the bright ray of optimism that although there are certainly many difficult times ahead, there is also a lot of hope. There are many of us parents and professionals that Barb has brought together under the OASIS umbrella and are working arm in arm to find out more and share those successes with others.

Thank you for the NEW "OASIS Guide to Asperger Syndrome". I thought the original was as good as it gets, but this one is even better!

~Ellen T

"The OASIS Guide to AS" was our first book on Asperger Syndrome and it's the best overall. We came across the first edition accidently and miraculously about 3.5 years ago, just after our daughter's pediatrician referred her to a specialist. It helped us to quickly transform ourselves from confused parents in denial to advocates for therapy and educational support.

It is very comprehensive and thoughtfully put together in modular form to make it easy to skip things you might not be interested in. (For us, it was medication.) The OASIS Guide often refers to the results of informal parent polls, which give you an idea of just how common a particular presentation is. And the chapter devoted to parents with new DXs is especially comforting and motivating. This is where both authors' first hand experiences of raising children with AS is most evident.

I read both the first edition and this new edition. While both are great, the new edition is updated to include more recent developments in research. One section in particular benefits from this -- the one that describes ABA, or Applied Behavior Analysis. One of the authors (Patty) recently became certified as a special education teacher. Her first-hand expertise with ABA comes through well.

There were certainly other, more specialized books (on sensory integration, for example) that also helped us along the way. But without The Guide, it would've have taken several precious months to learn about them. I'm grateful to Ms. Kirby and Ms. Romanowski Bashe for taking so much time to share their knowledge and experiences with us.

Of the several I've read, this book is absolutely the most comprehensive and well written available on the subject of Asperger's Syndrome.

Thanks to the foresight and dedication of Barb Kirby in establishing the OASIS website and on-line forum, parents from all over the world are able to come together and compare notes on behavior and strategies, resulting in an enormous knowledge bank to draw from. Along with that, the authors present the combined wisdom of the various "experts" and discuss pros and cons of various treatment options, based primarily on actual experience and outcomes, with plenty of surveys, official statistics, and scientific studies.

I had to laugh out loud early on when the authors state that if nothing else, it is an impressive book to plunk down on the table at school meetings!

What really makes this book different from any other, is that the authors are both also mothers of kids on the spectrum, so you feel connected and understood while reading the book - truly an OASIS for anyone struggling to understand, respect, protect and champion their Aspie kids!

This isn't a book, it is a "good deed" (no, make that GREAT deed). And even that isn't high enough praise. Page by page, we have found answers to dozens of questions that we have been asking, but previously finding no answers. We went to therapists, psychiatrists & psychologists, but until Barbara & Patricia came along with this book, our family was sinking fast.
We are buying additional copies to give to family members and for the staff where our kid goes to school.

Upon receiving the diagnosis Autism for our son, our world collapsed. But when this book arrived in the mail, the tears I cried were not sorrow, but relief. Here were Mothers who understood.
The facts and information are presented in an easy to read format, and it has given us new hope for our son.
Life will not be easy, but it has not ended either.

If anyone is thinking of purchasing any book on Aspergers, this would be the one and only book I would recommend.

I picked this book up when my 7 yr old son was diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome. I quickly discovered that I'm just as Asperger's as he is. This book has taught me more about Asperger's than my son's school or even his psychologist. If you truly want to understand Asperger's in all of it's flavors you must read this book. I've begun to understand myself in a whole new light and have found this book to be as comforting and reassuring as it is educational.

I read the book to clarify some suspicions that my daughter might have this syndrome. It gave me answers to questions that have puzzled me about my daughter for a long time.
I have started the process to getting her accurately diagnosed.
Now I know how to better understand her, help her and find others to help her grow into a happy adult.
The book gives examples of how to tell relatives and inform teachers and others that might wonder about some of her behavior. I believe this is a must read for all parents of children with AS.

If you or someone you know has just been dx with Asperger's then this should be your first book! It is the basics of everything. It is very inclusive and goes into great detail. It is writen for a parent of AS children and included issues such as special education and medication. It is a bit of a read - but well worth it. There is one issue I would like to bring up. It is deffinatly writen with the assumption that the parent of the AS child does not have AS themselves. Althought this is not a major issue it is daunting to be told that you understand everything that your child has issues with. How do you teach social skills to a child when you don't have a good grasp of them yourselves. It is not a major part of the book but it would be a nice section to be added to a future addition expecially since most people with AS have family that also has AS.

This book was INVALUABLE for comforting my fears and holding my hand through the IEP process, understanding all the different "titles" of people you will be interfacing with. I highly recommend it!

The OASIS Guide to Aspergers Syndrome is the most comprehensive book of its kind. It is a must read for anyone who cares for a child with AS. Barb Kirby and Patty Romanowski Bashe offer support, solutions and hope.

The book has unbiased and up to date information on issues such as schooling, medications and therapies. It is a book that I refer to regularly and one that I recommend to other parents.