The OASIS Guide to Asperger Syndrome: Advice, Support, Insight, and Inspiration - Hardcover

Bashe, Patricia Romanowski; Kirby, Barbara L.; Tony Attwood

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0609608118 ISBN 13: 9780609608111

Publisher: Crown, 2001

Synopsis

Whether your child has been diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome or troubling symptoms are just becoming apparent, this book will guide you in the right direction.

AS manifests itself in an array of characteristics, including average to high intelligence, obsessive behavior, intense special interests, and difficulty dealing with everyday social situations. Children with AS often have trouble processing and expressing emotions appropriately; they may be physically awkward or have unique learning styles. This can lead to isolation, inappropriate educational placement, misdiagnosis, and high risk for anxiety, depression, and even suicide.

As a parent of a boy diagnosed with AS in 1994, Barbara Kirby found scant resources and support. She developed the award-winning OASIS (Online Asperger Syndrome Information and Support) Web site in l995 to help other parents find the information they need. She teamed up with Patricia Romanowski Bashe, now co-owner of OASIS and herself the mother of a son with AS, to write The OASIS Guide to Asperger Syndrome, the most complete resource for parents and teachers of children with AS.

Romanowski Bashe and Kirby have gathered the most up-to-date information from leading AS authorities, including Dr. Tony Attwood, who wrote the foreword. They know firsthand the joys and frustrations of raising children with AS, and they share their own experiences as well as those of dozens of parents facing the same challenges. You’ll learn what AS looks like and how it is diagnosed; how parents can accept and work with the diagnosis; what interventions, therapies, and medications are available; how to navigate through the school system, including the ins and outs of special ed; how parents can raise their unique child, guiding him or her through the social, emotional, and intellectual challenges on the way to adulthood. The authors’ surveys of thousands of parents of kids with AS spotlight and address concerns you doubtless share. This practical, sympathetic guide will help you face the particular challenges of loving and raising a child with AS.

About this title

About the Author

Patricia Romanowski Bashe, co-owner of OASIS, has worked as an author and editor for over twenty years. She has cowritten more than twenty-three books, including four national bestsellers. She is a founding board member of The David Center, a Long Island–based not-for-profit organization dedicated to serving children and families facing autism spectrum disorders. She is currently studying for her master’s degree in special education/autism.

Barbara L. Kirby is the founder and webmaster of OASIS, the award-winning online source for AS information and support. She moderates several online support forums and was a founding member of ASC-US, Inc. (Asperger Syndrome Coalition of the United States) and serves on its advisory board. She is also on the board of Homes for Independence, an organization that helps adults with autism spectrum disorders achieve home ownership.

From the Back Cover

“A wonderful book—this volume will be an invaluable guide for parents and teachers.”
—Fred R. Volkmar, M.D., professor of child psychiatry, psychology, and pediatrics at Yale University’s Child Study Center

“OASIS has long been a tremendous resource for family members and professionals. The authors have thoughtfully organized a massive amount of critical information into a comprehensive and valuable guide. Every family and professional should have a copy of this book.”
—Dr. Cathy Pratt, Board of Directors, Autism Society of America

“Barbara L. Kirby and Patricia Romanowski Bashe have provided the community of Asperger Syndrome with more than a rainbow’s end of gold. They’ve opened a treasure chest brimming with understanding and support.”
—Liane Holliday Willey, Ed.D., author of Pretending to be Normal: Living With Asperger’s Syndrome and Asperger Syndrome in the Family: Redefining Normal

“If someone were to ask me to suggest the most useful resource about AS, I would not hesitate for an instant: The Oasis Guide to Asperger Syndrome. This is a must-read book for parents, educators, and individuals with AS alike.”
—Brenda Smith Myles, Ph.D., author of Asperger Syndrome and Difficult Moments: Practical Solutions for Tantrums, Rage, and Meltdowns

“This inspiring book offers sound advice, comforting support, and remarkable insights with such clarity of purpose, profound honesty, and depth of meaning. It’s destined to become a classic in its genre.”
—Diane Twachtman-Cullen, Ph.D., executive director, Autism & Developmental Disabilities Consultation Center

“Rarely does one find such a wealth of quality information all between the same two covers. This book has important work to do, and it is more than up to the task.”
—Carol Gray, director of the Gray Center for Social Learning and Understanding

“Incredible! The OASIS Guide to Asperger Syndrome contains tremendous advice, tips, and practical solutions to manage the confusion of special ed and Asperger Syndrome. The new parent and seasoned veteran should read the guide cover to cover. It is excellent.”
—Peter W. D. Wright, Esq., coauthor of Wrightslaw: Special Education Law and owner of wrightslaw.com

Reviews

Parents struggling to find answers about their children often have to wade through pedantic and confusing mazes. Frequently, books about medical or developmental conditions offer little more than the author's personal story or a textbookish monotone. Refreshingly, these authors delve into the shady, often misunderstood world of pervasive developmental disorders, of which perhaps the most well-known is autism, with clarity, warmth and amazing depth, focusing on Asperger Syndrome (AS). The authors present unfamiliar terms and jargon with full explanations, and with none of the patronizing tone sometimes encountered in the medical world. The reader is not left with the personal story alone, and forced to go off on her own expedition for information. The authors (both mothers of AS children) effectively trace this disorder from the onset of symptoms through adulthood. While most parents may be tempted to skip straight to Chapter 2 to devour the list of telltale signs and apply them to their own child, they would do well to start at the beginning. The book grew out of the authors' OASIS Web site (Online Asperger Syndrome Information and Support), which has furthered AS research immeasurably (the site's response rates alone provide important information about potential numbers of people with AS). These authors have certainly done their homework. Besides invaluable practical information, parents and other interested persons will find comfort in the book's welcoming tone and the knowledge that they are not alone.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Though few Americans have ever heard of Asperger Syndrome (AS), recent studies suggest its rate of occurrence may be as high as seven in 1000. Also known as high-functioning autism, AS is characterized by obsessive behavior, normal to high intelligence, and deficits in social interaction, communication, and imagination. Bashe and Kirby, both mothers of children with AS, rely heavily on professional literature for their book. However, they also draw upon the results of numerous parent surveys they have posted on their OASIS (Online Asperger Syndrome Information & Support) web site. Their text covers clinical aspects of AS in practical language. The authors also deal with taking control of your child's education and therapeutic program, as well looking at the whole child, including areas professionals tend to neglect. As awareness of AS grows among both professionals and the general public, so will the need for a book of this quality. A valuable purchase for most large and mid-sized collections. KellyJo Houtz Griffin, Eatonville, WA
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Both Bashe and Kirby have sons with Asperger Syndrome (AS), which is somewhat similar to autism. In this guide based on messages and discussions from the Online Asperger Syndrome Information and Support (OASIS) Web site, they point out early, and frequently underline, the fact that each AS sufferer is a person who deserves love and encouragement. After parents overcome the shock of AS diagnosis and realize that their child isn't bad, nor are they bad parents, they will have many questions, plans, ups, and downs. This guide aims to lead them through all those in a practical and understanding manner. It stresses that flexibility, resilience, and factual information are major needs of all involved with an AS person; discusses methods for dealing with individuals and institutions; and strongly advises parents not to try going it alone. This helpful book concludes with referral to sources of further information. William Beatty
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Edition details

• Publisher: Crown
• Publication date: 2001
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0609608118
• ISBN 13: 9780609608111
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 467