This Ph.D. dissertation reviews the literature with a life-span perspective on autism and gives rise to the formulation of a general research problem: Can demographic factors, individual factors, & social factors explain some of the variance in autistic behaviour and social adaptation in adult life? Historic influences, such as the Acts on services for people with mental retardation, reflected in social factors are emphasized.

Asperger Syndrome (AS) has often been considered to be incompatible with love and relationships, but as the number of diagnoses increases, it is becoming apparent that people with AS can and do have full and intimate relationships. Maxine Aston frankly examines the fundamental aspects of relationships that are often complicated by the disorder. Illustrated with real-life examples, the book tackles issues such as attraction, trust, communication, intimacy and parenting and includes a section on frequently asked questions, making it a must for all those with AS and their partners, as well as for friends, family and counselors.

Based on academic research as a qualified couples counselor specializing in this area and from her own personal relationship experiences, the author uses quotations and real-life examples to illustrate her points with a compassionate understanding. Practical everyday topics include living and coping with AS, anger and AS, getting the message across, sex and AS, parenting, staying together and AS cannot be blamed for everything.

This guide for professionals working with students with autism spectrum conditions (ASCs) in further education meets the increasing demand for information and support on this subject. Christine Breakey provides useful guidelines and practical advice on teaching young adults successfully and confidently, emphasising the development of resources and practical skills for use specifically in FE colleges. The author covers all the key areas and offers strategies and solutions for communicating effectively, helping students to manage transition, and understanding and minimising the causes of ASC behaviours as well as teaching social skills and ASC self-awareness. The Autism Spectrum and Further Education will be a vital resource for professionals in FE institutions who have to meet the needs of young adults with ASCs.

Individuals with autism are seven times more likely than other people to come into contact with police and their responses to encounters with authority may not always be appropriate. Private investigator and autism advocate Dennis Debbaudt explains how typical manifestations of autism spectrum disorders, such as running away, unsteadiness, impulsive behavior or failure to respond, may be misunderstood by law enforcement professionals, with serious consequences. For parents or carers of those with autism, he offers advice on how to deal with problems arising from their encounters with professionals in positions of authority. Aimed at raising awareness and improving communication, this is a much-needed book.

Most people with Non-Verbal Learning Disorder (NLD) or Asperger Syndrome (AS) are underemployed. With practical and technical advice on everything from job-hunting to interview techniques, from 'fitting in' in the workplace to whether or not to disclose a diagnosis, this book guides people with NLD or AS successfully through the employment field. There is information for employers, agencies, and careers counsellors, including an analysis of typical strengths, and how to use these positively in the workplace. Practical information and resource material is supported by numerous case studies to inspire and advise. This is an essential resource for people with NLD or AS seeking or in employment, and their employers.

Marc Fleisher's new self-help guide for autistic teenagers and adults will help readers improve their quality of life and overcome many everyday challenges, be it through the acquisition of independent living skills, developing a more varied and fulfilling social life, or mastering a course in higher education and broadening one's opportunities for the future. Marc Fleisher speaks from first hand experience about the coping strategies he himself has had to learn - often the hard way. Written particularly for young people who are just beginning to become independent from their parents, perhaps living in their own home for the first time, this book shows how to approach apparent problems with hope and the expectation of an improved quality of life. Survival Strategies is an invaluable source of advice and reassurance for people with ASDs across a wide age range. Other readers such as relatives and friends of people on the autism spectrum, and professionals working with them in an educational or therapeutic capacity will find it provides a host of new insights.

Focuses on adult autism treated through the concepts used at Bittersweet Farms, an 80-acre farm in northwest Ohio. The innovative program is based on the premise that adults with autism continue to need special care and training throughout their lives. Available in paper also (057-1, $17.95). Annotation(c) 2003 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Steve Gutstein, psychologist and autism specialist, sought to discover why children with autism lack the social skills that come so easily to the rest of us. The result of his efforts is an innovative program - Relationship Development Intervention - that take social skills teaching to the next level. You'll learn about the social development pathway of the nondisabled child and the life-changing detour taken by children on the autism spectrum. However, instead of leaving you there, Autism/Aspergers: Solving the Relationship Puzzle describes ways to steer children with autism onto a bright new path of self discovery and social awareness, one that will ultimately bring them home to meaningful friendships, shared emotions and heartfelt connection with the people in their lives.

Published simultaneously as Physical and Occupational Therapy in Geriatrics, volume 18, number 1, 2000, this book explores research findings and practice implications pertaining to normative and disability-related aging experiences and issues. It discusses the effectiveness of specific interventions targeting aging adults with intellectual disabilities like Down's syndrome, cerebral palsy, autism, and epilepsy. Touching upon many areas of geriatric disability care and intervention, the book also offers suggestions for practice and for future research.

College life is particularly stressful for students with Asperger Syndrome (AS) and the resources that colleges provide for such students are often inadequate. This much needed guide provides information to help these students prepare successfully for the rites and rituals of studying, interact with staff and fellow students, cope with expectations and pressures, and understand their academic and domestic responsibilities. How will I cope with the workload? What do I do if I feel ill? How do I make friends and initiate relationships with the opposite sex? Drawing on first hand interviews with AS students and direct clinical experience, the authors address these and many other questions thoughtfully and thoroughly, making practical recommendations. Succeeding in College with Asperger Syndrome demystifies the range of college experiences for students with AS. It is a must for these students, their parents and counselors alike, providing benefits that will continue throughout the college years and beyond.

Playing the dating game is often tricky: all the more so for individuals with Asperger Syndrome. How do AS adolescents and their families cope with sexual feelings and behaviour? What help can be given if a man with AS oversteps the mark in expressing his sexuality? How do people with AS deal with intimacy and communication in sexual relationships? In this comprehensive and unique guide, Isabelle Hénault delivers practical information and advice on issues ranging from puberty and sexual development, gender identity disorders, couples' therapy to guidelines for sex education programs and maintaining sexual boundaries. This book will prove indispensable to parents, teachers, counsellors and individuals with AS themselves.

Working towards greater access and inclusion in education and employment for young people with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) continues to be a challenge with varying degrees of success. Matthew Hesmondhalgh outlines the inherent problems with improving services for people on the autism spectrum, from specialised schooling to supported living schemes and examines the social issues and attitudes that people with ASDs confront in so many aspects of life. The author draws on his own experience of working at The Integrated Resource, which offers educational opportunities for secondary school aged pupils with ASDs and provides a charity funded supported employment programme for young adults with ASDs. He includes a host of case examples of young people and their parents who have fought battles for inclusion, explaining the obstacles they faced, their failures and their inspiring successes. Autism, Access and Inclusion on the Front Line is a frank and honest appraisal of service provision for young people with ASDs that will both inform and encourage parents and professionals.

This report examines the needs of offenders with learning disabilities and identifies the most appropriate ways of meeting their requirements. A key principle is that offenders should receive care and treatment from the health and personal social services rather than in the criminal justice system.

Autism in Adulthood focuses on adults with autism and their families. By using information from research studies and treatment programs, it will provide a practical resource for parents, carers and autistic people themselves. The book discusses the problems and solutions related to educational and occupational attainments and ways of coping with psychiatric and other difficulties, and fostering independence in later life. The focus is not on cures or miracles but on the improvement in quality of life.

Asperger’s Syndrome (AS) affects as many as one in ten people. With humour, optimism and compelling honesty throughout, this is an insightful handbook that provides invaluable practical advice, including: AS Facts and figures; Asperger's questionnaires; Advice and guidelines on diagnosis; Asperger's and employment; How to handle the difficult times; and Personal accounts from people with Asperger's. By researching expert opinions and telling her own compelling human story, Barbara Jacobs reveals the truth about those with Asperger's and all those who love them.

In this study of women with mild and moderate learning disabilities, Michelle McCarthy investigates how these women experience their sexual lives, basing her research on interviews with the women themselves. She argues the importance of informing the work of those responsible at research, practice and policy levels with the voices of people with learning disabilities. In the interviews, women talk openly about what form their sexual activity takes and what it means for them, the circumstances in which it occurs, and the pleasures (or lack thereof) associated with it. These interviews directly shape the policy and practice recommendations the author makes. Michelle McCarthy's findings suggest that women with learning disabilities commonly find themselves engaged in sexual activity which is not to their liking and not of their choosing. A high level of sexual abuse was also reported. The author discusses this in relation to the cultural forces which have influenced Western perceptions of sexuality, feminism and theories and prejudices about learning disabilities. She also studied the impact of institutional and community settings on the sexuality of women with learning disabilities. In Sexuality and Women with Learning Disabilities, McCarthy makes recommendations for policy and practice which will protect this vulnerable group, and advises on education, support and seeking justice for abused women.

As many health care professionals will attest, there is a scarcity of literature that specifically addresses autism in adults. This volume sets out to fill this gap by providing practical help and guidance specifically for those caring for the growing recognized population of adults with autism. Throughout the first several chapters, the contributors to this volume probe issues of theory and practice from both local and international perspectives. Subsequent chapters analyze the implications that arise from thought and behavior inflexibility, with emphasis on the management of transition and bereavement. Later chapters explore themes such as models for practice in employment and further education, pharmacological and educational approaches to mental health problems, and epilepsy and challenging behavior. This work concludes with a chapter that develops many themes of this text as the basis for a medical training program. This is an essential guide for all those concerned with the care and well-being of adults with autism, including parents, researchers, practitioners, and community care workers.

An encouraging, educational, and often humorous guide for teens and young adults with Asperger's Syndrome or high-functioning autism. Jerry, a man with autism, gives advice on dating, money, traveling independently and more! This clever book will help others live fuller, more independent lives.

The realization that "our community seemed to know more about the first twenty years of an autistic person's life than it did about the rest of that life" leads the Newports to tell their own boy-meets-girl, boy-loses-girl, boy-finds-girl love story—but with a difference, for both suffer from Asperger's syndrome. At times, this "terminal cluelessness" seems both the cause of and the least of their problems: Jerry's life "had drifted from one failed vocation to the next, [among them] pot dealer, horse-race betting fanatic, taxi driver, Goodwill bell ringer, bookstore cashier, elementary school librarian." Mary's more traumatic experiences included a cult marriage, abusive lovers and mental hospital stints. Both grapple with anxiety and despair before epiphanies: for Jerry, when he sees Rain Man; for Mary, when her brother directs her to the Autistic Society. Love for the two slips in the day they meet at a party for adult autistics. Then they experienced media fame, becoming "Mr. and Mrs. Autism" (a front-page profile in the Los Angeles Times; a 60 Minutes visit; an eponymous movie). Boy loses girl again in a divorce, but love triumphs. Along the way, autistic readers will find comforting fellowship, and general readers will acquire valuable knowledge. (Publisher's Weekly)

Realizing the College Dream with Autism or Asperger Syndrome is both a practical and a personal account of one ASD student's successful experience of going to college. This accessible book focuses on how to get there and stay there: deciding to go, how to get in and how to get the most out of it. Ann Palmer advises parents and professionals how to prepare the student for the transition from school and home life to a new environment and educational challenge, and how to support them through potential problems such as academic pressure, living away from home, social integration and appropriate levels of participation in college. She offers helpful strategies that will encourage and inspire parents and students and show that college can be a suitable option for students with an autism spectrum disorder, as well as the basis for a successful independent life later. This book is essential reading for any parent considering college as an option for their child, disability service providers in colleges and for ASD students themselves.

Expecting Teryk is an intimate exploration, written in the form of a letter from a parent to her future son, that reclaims a rite of passage that modern society would strip of its magic. Dawn Prince-Hughes, renowed author of Songs of a Gorilla Nation: My Journey Through Autism, considers the ways her disabilities might inform her parenting. She candidly narrates her experience of becoming a parent as part of a lesbian couple-from meeting her partner and the questions they ask about their readiness to become parents, to the practical considerations of choosing a sperm donor. Expecting Teryk is expressed through the lens of autism as Prince-Hughes shares the unique way she sees and experiences.

The difficulties faced by people with Asperger Syndrome (AS) cannot be underestimated, but the emotional problems experienced by those around them - partners, family and friends - are often overlooked. Focusing on what is referred to as the Cassandra phenomenon, where the neurotypical partner often needs more emotional guidance than the AS partner, this volume gathers together letters, thoughts and poems to give voice to the loneliness, frustration and love felt by many individuals who are close to one or more people with AS. This collection provides the emotional support, insight and understanding needed to deal with the emotions that AS evokes within close relationships. FAAAS Inc. (Families of Adults Afflicted with Asperger's Syndrome) aims to offer support to the family members of adult individuals afflicted with Asperger's Syndrome.

This honest, courageous book, written by a person with high-functioning autism and Asperger Syndrome, offers so much more than the traditional autobiography. Drawing on personal and professional experience, Stephen Shore, who is currently completing his doctoral degree in special education at Boston University, combines three voices to create a touching and, at the same time, highly informative book. The autobiographical voice tells the story of Stephen's life, including his parents' frustrations with the educational and medical communities, his adolescence and now adult married life. The "time shifter" fills in background information about his life that is otherwise out of the chronological order of the events being related; finally the researcher's voice puts Stephen's personal life within the context of the research literature on autism and Asperger Syndrome. By using this triple lens, the book offers insights for parents, professionals as well as individuals who have Asperger Syndrome.

Written by the wife of a man with Asperger Syndrome (AS), this book will provide the answers to many of the questions asked by the increasing number of people in that situation. Ashley Stanford explains how behaviors that may have appeared odd - or even downright irritating - are the manifestation of AS, and shows how understanding can lead to change, or to greater tolerance. She provides a wealth of strategies for living successfully with characteristics that cannot be changed, pointing out that AS brings also enormous strengths to a relationship, and emphasizing the value of understanding. Including numerous quotes from people in long-term AS relationships, the book describes many positive solutions that have worked for other couples.

If you're the parent of a child with a disability, this book is of critical importance to you. Laying Community Foundations emphasizes the need to begin now to build a caring community of people who will provide emotional support and guidance for your child after your death. Chapters discuss: how to assess your child's needs; how to foster long-term relationships for your child; where to look for relationships; how to ask people for a commitment; and independent living arrangements.

How can a social worker assess the risk that an older person with dementia faces? How would a nurse or housing support worker decide on the balance between danger and safety? In cases of potentially serious harm, as in the examples of abused children or sex offenders, can risk taking work? In this practical and accessible book, Mike Titterton offers an innovative model of risk work in health and social care. He argues that a thoughtful risk-taking approach can lead to empowerment and greater independence for vulnerable individuals. The author explores the dilemmas frequently faced when working with older people, homeless persons, and people with physical or learning disabilities or with mental illness, and proposes a systematic framework for assessing and managing the risks involved. He also discusses contemporary theories and definitions of risk, and identifies the essential skills needed by professionals, with an emphasis on developing creative approaches to practice. Offering a wealth of case studies, examples of good practice and a clear overview of the legislative framework, this book is an invaluable resource for social work, health and housing practitioners, trainers and policy makers.

Four years ago, Chris Slater-Walker was diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome. For him this was an explanation of why he has always regarded himself as 'socially handicapped,' but for his wife Gisela it meant coming to terms with a marriage in which there would never be any intuitive understanding, despite Chris's good intentions. This book is an open and honest account of a long and still unfinished process of learning to live with a disability that some regard as incompatible with marriage. It is a story whose wider implications will be of compelling interest to anyone who has encountered autism spectrum conditions.

Exposure anxiety is increasingly understood as a crippling condition affecting a high proportion of people on the autism spectrum. To many it is an invisible cage, leaving the person suffering from it aware, but buried alive in their own involuntary responses and isolation. Exposure Anxiety: The Invisible Cage describes the condition and its underlying physiological causes, and presents a range of approaches and strategies that can be used to combat it. Based on personal experience, the book shows how people with autism can be shown how to emerge from the stranglehold of exposure anxiety and develop their individuality.