Good spectrum-related books?

[. . .]

I've been thinking of getting one or two good books on autism spectrum disorders. Which books do you recommend?

I've heard good things about The Complete Guide to Asperger's Syndrome by Tony Attwood so I think I'll start with that:

The Complete Guide to Asperger's Syndrome, authored by Tony Attwood, deals with different issues of Asperger's syndrome. The book with around 400 pages has 15 chapters as indicated below:

Chapter 1 - What is Asperger's Syndrome?
Chapter 2 - The Diagnosis
Chapter 3 - Social Understanding and friendship
Chapter 4 - Teasing and Bullying
Chapter 5 - Theory of Mind
Chapter 6 - The Understanding and Expression of Emotions
Chapter 7 - Special interests
Chapter 8 - Language
Chapter 9 - Cognitive Abilities
Chapter 10 - Movement and Coordination
Chapter 11 - Sensory Sensitivity
Chapter 12 - Life After School: College and Career
Chapter 13 - Long-term Relationships
Chapter 14 - Psychotherapy
Chapter 15 - Frequently Asked Questions

The book has a preface at the beginning, and sections on glossary, resources, references, subject index and author index complete the book.

Has anyone here read this book before? If so, what did you think of it?

Are any other autism spectrum disorder-related books out there worth reading?

I skimmed through various spectrum-related books many years ago but can't recall the titles of any of them. They were useful in helping me figure out that I'm on the spectrum.

 

[Droopy]

I'm not a fan of reading books but that one does seem interesting. I have also heard many good things about it and Tony Attwood does seem to be very popular with Aspies. If I were to buy a book relating to the spectrum then I would definitely start with that.

 

[eon]

Yeah, that book is the total must read. Attwood is a supreme genius. It was the book I couldn't stop reading once I got into the first chapter describing the basic "life history" scenarios that he's seen to lead aspies to their discovery result. I say discovery because in the book he will say diagnosis, however on his site, there is a resource called criteria for discovery of aspies. This is the only critique of the book I have. It really should be presenting that thinking model in the first chapter.

Anyway, get that book absolutely asap. The way he describes the core components that define the spectrum provides a very broad view of each one, to provide readers the understanding of the vast level if variance from person to person on the spectrum.

The next book I read was a book about social thinking that I found very fascinating - socially curious & curiously social

 

[Occasional_Demon]

I agree, I really like Tony Attwood. It's a great read about Asperger's and he covers a lot of ground. When I first read the book, I was really surprised about how much I could relate to the experiences. It was like, you mean there are other people out there who do similar things to me?

Another book that I liked is Autism and Asperger Syndrome - preparing for adulthood, by Patricia Howlin. It's one of the few books out there that I've seen which talk specifically about adult-related matters. It's a bit UK-centric but it makes some interesting points about living as an adult with Asperger's.

There's another book called Aspergirls, which talks about the experiences of being a female on the spectrum. I found that quite insightful.

 

[Geordie]

if u could read eric chen's 'star child on earth', tt would make a good read

 

[IContainMultitudes]

I've probably already mentioned it a few other places, but Atypical by Jesse Saperstein is one that I liked quite a bit. Be Different by John Elder Robison is another recent AS-related book that's good.

 

[kasmanaft08]

I've been thinking of getting one or two good books on autism spectrum disorders. Which books do you recommend?

I've heard good things about The Complete Guide to Asperger's Syndrome by Tony Attwood so I think I'll start with that:

Has anyone here read this book before? If so, what did you think of it?

I have this one, and felt it was extremely comprehensive. After reading it I didn't feel like I needed another one.
So perhaps others are good, but I'm not sure.
Regardless, this one is worth getting in my opinion and what I would recommend to people who want to understand Aspberger's.

 

[Withnail88]

I've probably already mentioned it a few other places, but Atypical by Jesse Saperstein is one that I liked quite a bit. Be Different by John Elder Robison is another recent AS-related book that's good.

My speech therapist just recommended Elder Robinson's Look Me In The Eye. Have you read that one?


Has anyone read that one?

 

[Occasional_Demon]

I haven't read Look Me In The Eye but I've heard good things about it. It's a book that I'm interested in getting, once I start having money in my bank account.

I like Donna Williams. Her book, Nobody Nowhere, was a book that changed my life. I remember first reading it when I was a teenager. Up until I read that book, I thought I was the only person who had my experiences. To have someone else write of similar experiences was amazing.

 

[Withnail88]

I haven't read Look Me In The Eye but I've heard good things about it. It's a book that I'm interested in getting, once I start having money in my bank account.

Yup, got the same problem. And I can't find work. There are so many not only Aspie related books but books and other things I want that I can't get until I have a job.
It makes me feel better that someone else is broke too :lol:

 

[IContainMultitudes]

My speech therapist just recommended Elder Robinson's Look Me In The Eye. Have you read that one?


Has anyone read that one?

Yes, I have, and I would say it's worth reading. The psychiatrist who gave me my semi-official AS diagnosis about a year ago recommended it to me.

If you can't afford to buy a copy, you might want to check the nearest public library. That's how I found a copy of it to read.

 

[Nesspie]

I'm reading the Tony Attwood one at the moment. It's taking me a while though! Alot of information. I got it from my local library.

I also got Look Me In The Eye from the library. That book and his other one Be Different are what led me to pursuing a diagnosis.

I've also recently read the Aspergirls one which was very good for the female perspective.

I'm interested in reading one called Solutions for Adults with Aspergers (can't remember the author) but it was out at my local library, so hopefully I can get it next time.

 

[IContainMultitudes]

I've also recently read the Aspergirls one which was very good for the female perspective.

I would be interested in reading that one (I'd probably at least check it out from the library and skim through it if I could) even though I'm male (the author of that book, Rudy Simone, also wrote a book on employment for AS adults that I thought was good). With all the attention on males with AS (which is sometimes called having an "extreme male brain"), I suspect that lots of people don't know that females with AS even exist, so I'm glad for that side of the AS experience to get some attention. I think it's interesting that, while I keep reading that males are much more likely to be diagnosed with AS, the membership of the AS forums that I'm on (mainly this one and Spectrumville) seems to be pretty evenly divided between males and females.