Solutions for Adults with Asperger's Syndrome: Maximizing the Benefits, Minimizing the Drawbacks to Achieve Success (Hardcover)

by Juanita Lovett (Author)
Key Phrases: shy gorillas, strong drive for central coherence, weak central coherence, Mary Sue, Asperger Syndrome, The Theory of Central Coherence (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Thomas Edison. Albert Einstein. Half of NASA. These are all extremely intelligent, successful adults who made great contributions to society and who are also suspected of having the developmental disorder called Asperger Syndrome. This relatively new diagnosis is being increasingly applied to both children and adults-in fact, it is now seen as running in familes. There are a lot of books on how to successfully raise children with AS, but until now, adults were left to figure it out on their own.

Dr. Juanita Lovett specializes in treating adults with AS and working with their families. In this book she shows those adults and their loved ones how to maximize the benefits of AS (including intense concentration, above-average intelligence, and high creativity) while minimizing the drawbacks (including lack of social skill, inability to connect emotionally with others, and propensity toward rage).

This important new book will help thousands of adults with AS learn to live happier, more fulfilling lives.

About the Author

Juanita P. Lovett, Ph.D., is a practicing clinical psychologist who has taught at the graduate level at both Columbia and Rutgers University. She has held appointments on several New Jersey mental health boards, including the Board of the New Jersey Forensic Hospital.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Fair Winds Press (September 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1592331645
• ISBN-13: 978-1592331642
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.2 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #20,858 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

70 of 76 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Place of Honor, September 29, 2005

By	BeatleBangs1964 (United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

This book deserves special kudos for addressing issues directly involving adults with Asperger's Syndrome (AS), e.g. marriage and employment. For people who have AS or are directly involved with someone who does, make this book your best friend. I like the way the author says that AS "does not become fatal" nor is it miraculously cured by the time a person turns 18. AS is not limited to children; children with AS become adults with the condition. Lovett's darts hit the description, definition and issues in re AS right in the bull's eye and punctures neurotypical (NT) myths about AS. This book deserves a place of honor.

The chapters are logically laid out and clearly identified with the subject matter being covered. Helpful vignettes involving people with AS are included along with discussions about the vignettes and the issues involved.

One of the greatest services this book does is to state that AS, which is the spectrum partner of autism is not a mental illness, but a neurobiological condition. AS is NOT caused by poor parenting and neglect; there is no medication for it and stupid myths such as these have long been disproved as being the crocks of bull that they always were.

Examples of interaction; discussion of accomodations being made for people on the autism/Asperger's (a/A) spectrum on jobs and parents with AS are included. This is a book no adult with AS should be without. It is also an excellent teaching tool for the neurotypical (NT) population as well. This book has something for everybody and I can't recommend it highly enough.

26 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Written by NTs for NTs, August 19, 2007

By	LKL - See all my reviews

This book may be useful for someone who is a friend or family member of a person on the low-functioning end of AS. For Aspies themselves, however, it comes across as condescending and pitying; it refers to people with AS as 'childlike,' and is mostly written with that perspective. The author seems to have a lot of experience with how AS looks from the outside, but not a real understanding of how AS feels or how AS functions beyond the psychological/neurological theories of people without AS.

There are a handful of social tips for people with AS scattered throughout the book. Some of them may be useful, but for anyone who has learned to cope on their own as an adult, and is looking for help beyond what they have achieved by themselves, there is unlikely to be anything new.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Rare help for adult aspserger's sufferers, January 6, 2008

By	John E. Swindells (Bardstown, KY) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is an excellent review of Asperger's and other autistic spectrum diseases. There being so little available for adults, it is particularly useful for relatives and friends who need to understand their Asperger's friends/relatives. Not all Asperger's sufferers will be able to use the author's advice. Only the highest functioning, most self-aware individuals will be able to adopt the coping mechanisms the author suggests. The writing is quite repetitive, but perhaps this was intentional. Good education for those who know nothing about the spectrum of autistic diseases.