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

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.

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.