Customer Reviews

Parenting Your Asperger Child: Individualized Solutions for Teaching Your Child Practical Skills

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

The title of this book would lead you to think it's about, well, parenting your AS child. However, it's much more focused than that---it's almost all about managing difficult behaviors that your child with AS shows. It's very good at what it does---the suggestions are very solid and very practical. However, they have the feel of ideas that would work much better in a classroom or a therapy session than at home. The book makes little to no mention of so many aspects of home life with Aspergers---siblings being one I find very significantly omitted, probably because you don't need to deal with siblings of a child at school or at therapy.

I liked the breakdown of different types of kids with AS (called things like Anxiety Boy). I haven't often seen it acknoledged how different kids with AS are from each other.


I think my main complaint about this book was its completely humorless tone. It seemed to see life with an AS child as an extremely serious and tough life---one where we must be vigilent every moment to make sure we handle the tough realities of their behavior correctly. That's not how I see my life, and I know a lot of other parents with kids with AS, and I can say that we mainly are a crowd that does enjoy life, even with our quirky kids!

I think this book is worth a read---it has great suggestions and is obviously well researched and written by professionals who care about kids. But it over-reaches if it aims to be a guide to parenting these complex and wonderful kids.

I have a son with Asperger's, not diagnosed until age thirteen, and I've probably bought every book out there on the subject. I have to say this book is far and away THE BEST and most useful one I've ever gotten. I just came across it a couple of weeks ago while browsing in a bookstore, and just flipping through it I could tell it was just what I'd been looking for. So many of the other books describe behaviors that seem to fit a majority of Aspies, but that didn't quite fit my son. I felt SO relieved to see the chapter on subtypes, to know that other children out there are like my son (no outburts, no impulsive behaviors or inappropriate communication, but very rigid, uninterested in friendships or independence at age 15, and with anxiety through the roof). To the authors: THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!!! I recommend this book to every Aspie parent I meet now, and tell them it's a 'must' for their libraries. Please write more!!!

This is the book I have been looking for. It seems to be written with the understanding that the parents of an Aspie may need to have material presented to them in the same way their child does (it is mainly genetic ... right?). The book offers helpful, practical and doable solutions to the everyday issues parents are handling with their Aspie child. All of us parents know when a writer/psychologist/doctor really "gets it" and believe me these two understand what it takes to help our children. This book has helped me calm MY anxiety about doing good by my son and to have a better picture of his future. You will not be able to put it down.

As with any book about helping children with Asperger's Syndrome, the suggestions/recommendations provided do not fit all children. There is simply too much diversity within the Asperger population to allow blanket statements or approaches to address more than a handful of people with this condition. The authors have done a very good job in presenting many approaches with the express reminder that all solutions will not apply to all children.

I found the book to be a confirmation of the approach I have taken with my child and an encouragement to expand on these solutions. Having Asperger's Syndrome myself, many of the suggestions were already in place due to my personal experiences growing up. Still, there were several new approaches or modifications that were helpful since there are differences between my child and me.

My wife found this book much more useful than I did since she does not have any personal experience to draw upon in dealing with social situations from an Asperger perspective. This book should prove helpful to parents who do not personally struggle with social skills de to Asperger's Syndrome; parents who face such struggles may also find value here.

I purchased this book because I was looking for a few ideas for assisting my son and got a lot more than I had even hoped for. This book gives an overview of the many types of asperger traits and how these traits might play out in real life. For instance, my son is an emotional high anxiety Aspie, and this book provides actual type conversations with each type of asperger child. I found the conversations helpful because they taught me the best method of asking questions and of assisting my son to a less emotional state.
I would highly recommend this book to anyone needing more directed information. Absolutely wonderful book; easy to read and comprehend.

The CSIT (Cognitive Social Integration Theory) that is the cornerstone of Alan Sohn and Cathy Grayson's approach is a brilliant one. It draws on the strength of the Asperger child's intelligence, and gives the parent/teacher real tools to both understand and work with the Asperger child. As parents of a very bright young boy, we've particularly incorporated the all-important concept of flexibility, and we can see real results. I highly recommend this book to everyone and have no doubt that it will become one of the most important and influential books written on Asperger's Syndrome.

WOW! This is by far the best book on AS I have ever read - and I have read a LOT of them in the 5 years since my son was diagnosed. Dr. Sohn has such a wonderful and tremendous insight into how people with AS view the world - and how those around them can help them the best. He has such simple practical strategies to offer - and I can tell you from experience now that they really do work! The world of AS would be a darker place without Dr. Sohn- This is a MUST have book for all parents and educators of AS kids!

I'd give it a ten, no doubt about that. This book, along with the Oasis Guide to AS have a permanent spot on my bookshelf. Actually, it is always laying around for me to pick up and look at again and again.

I love the practical language suggestions-
I'm a problem solver, and I'm here to help.
Let it go.
Move on.

Just the kind of language a child with AS can understand.

The strategies suggested in the book are overwhelming- at first. I found that our son has quickly learned ways to adapt and control his outbursts. I just wish I had known about this book five years ago!

Well worth any amount of money, and definately recommended!

Although this book is titled Parenting your Asperger's Child, do not be misled. This book does not explain how to parent a child with Asperger's. It merely tells stories about the parents and how they are coping, not the child. I thought it was a complete waste of money as it did not help me with raising a child with Asperger's.

The book has some really fabulous suggestions for parents of Asperger's children. How to calm your child, how to help you child make friends, how to stay on topic and have a give and take conversation. The section on personal space and the suggestion of using "conversation feet" makes this book an excellent choice. The suggestions are really simple, along the vein of: Hey why didn't I think of that. I highly recommend this book as it also gives parents insight into what makes their Asperger's child tick.