Customer Reviews

Why Does Chris Do That? Some Suggestions Regarding the Cause and Management of the Unusual Behavior of Children and Adults with Autism and Asperger Syndrome: REVISED 2003

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This is a quick read and a really great book for those struggling to cope with the oddities of a spouse with Asperger Syndrome. Some of the things that I read were just right on and helped me to realize that this is normal for those with Asperger's. I don't know that it helps with making anything better (I've heard that 80% of Asperger marriages don't work)other than, if you understand what is going on and learn to give much grace and realize that it is not you, but the complexities of the syndrome, it will help increase the odds of marriage to an Asperger spouse succeeding.

I found this little book practical and insightful. Tony Atwood knows his stuff and has compressed it into language that is easy to understand and can be read in a short period of time. This book is more of a booklet, and not intimidating for someone who may be novice to autism.

Comparing "Why Does Chris Do That?" with "The Complete Guide to Asperger's Syndrome", I noticed both have something in common: Dr. Attwood's writing style ends by suggesting the summaries of every chapter.
Ironically, however, "The Complete Guide to Asperger's Syndrome(CGAS)" is easier to read than "Why Does Chris Do That?(WDCDT)"
First, CGAS involves lots of specifics and other related symptoms, while WDCDT seems to focus mainly on Autistic Spectrum Disorder(ASD). Certainly, I thought WDCDT was easier to deal with in order to start learning about Asperger syndrome(AS) because I assumed it has fewer pages. But in retrospect, I'm afraid WDCDT seems to lack up-to-date information to tackle with ASD and AS. To be quite honest, WDCDT didn't attract me enough to enhance my knowledge.
Second, I found out CGAS would be better than WDCDT when it came to closer analysis on AS. On top of that, CGAS involves more plain and up-to-date sentences although CGAS has more pages than WDCDT. I dealt with WDCDT earlier than CGAS, yet honestly I didn't catch what WDCDT was all about even right after I read it through. Of course, I know it wasn't the author's fault. Rather than that, maybe I wasn't smart enough to comprehend it.
In the long run, CGAS is more suitable for me than WDCDT to strengthen my knowledge and strategies to know more about AS traits because I bet any developmental impairments have a lot to do with other specific symptoms.

This is a much needed work about autism and how autistic behaviors affect people of all ages. I like the way Dr. Attwood has explained autism and its related behaviors in adults.

Dr. Attwood is a leading expert and authority on autism/Asperger's Syndrome. Autism and its related condition Asperger's Syndrome are neurobiological conditions that affect sensory processing and integration as well as communication skills. The a/A spectrum covers a vast array of behaviors and this, as with any spectrum shows overlapping behaviors. No educator, parent, medical professional or other interested person should be without this book. This work is for everybody and does a sterling job of uniting the a/A and NT (neurotypical) population. It deserves a place of honor among all; it provides much needed insights into the rationale for certain responses and accompanying behaviors.

Let's raise our glasses to Dr. Attwood! THANK YOU, DR. ATTWOOD!