Aspie takes you into the life and mind of one man's struggle with Asperger's Syndrome, an autism spectrum disorder affecting approximately 1,000,000 Americans. Here you will see how common AS "symptoms" such as temper tantrums, depression, moral idealism, "hyperhonesty," and social awkwardness went unexplained before his AS diagnosis at age 40. Moreover, you will learn how AS influences such areas of life as employment, social relationships, and intellectual achievement. Written for both Aspies and the general public, Aspie illustrates for all both the blessings and burdens of AS.

Aspie takes you into the life and mind of one man’s struggle with Asperger’s Syndrome, an autism spectrum disorder affecting approximately 1,000,000 Americans. Here you will see how common AS “symptoms” such as temper tantrums, depression, moral idealism, “hyperhonesty,” and social awkwardness went unexplained before his AS diagnosis at age 40. Moreover, you will learn how AS influences such areas of life as employment, social relationships, and intellectual achievement. Written for both Aspies and the general public, Aspie illustrates for all both the blessings and burdens of AS.

"This book is a message from autistic people to their parents, friends, teachers, coworkers and doctors showing what life is like on the spectrum. It's also my love letter to autistic people. For too long, we have been forced to navigate a world where all the road signs are written in another language." With a reporter's eye and an insider's perspective, Eric Garcia shows what it's like to be autistic across America. Garcia began writing about autism because he was frustrated by the media's coverage of it; the myths that the disorder is caused by vaccines, the narrow portrayals of autistic people as white men working in Silicon Valley. His own life as an autistic person didn't look anything like that. He is Latino, a graduate of the University of North Carolina, and works as a journalist covering politics in Washington D.C. Garcia realized he needed to put into writing what so many autistic people have been saying for years; autism is a part of their identity, they don't need to be fixed. In We're Not Broken, Garcia uses his own life as a springboard to discuss the social and policy gaps that exist in supporting those on the spectrum. From education to healthcare, he explores how autistic people wrestle with systems that were not built with them in mind. At the same time, he shares the experiences of all types of autistic people, from those with higher support needs, to autistic people of color, to those in the LGBTQ community. In doing so, Garcia gives his community a platform to articulate their own needs, rather than having others speak for them, which has been the standard for far too long.

A comprehensive program that targets all four of the 4-A epidemics: autism, ADHD, asthma, and allergies “An easy-to-read commonsense guide to beneficial biomedical treatments.”—Temple Grandin Doctors have generally overlooked the connections among the 4-A disorders. For years the medical establishment has considered autism medically untreatable and utterly incurable, and has limited ADHD treatment mainly to symptom suppression. Dr. Kenneth Bock, a leading medical innovator, along with his colleagues, have discovered a solution that goes to the root of the problem. They have found that modern toxins, nutritional deficiencies, metabolic imbalances, genetic vulnerabilities, and assaults on the immune and gastrointestinal systems trigger most of the symptoms of the 4-A disorders, resulting in frequent misdiagnosis and untold mysteries. Dr. Bock’s remarkable Healing Program is an innovative biomedical approach that has changed the lives of more than a thousand children. Drawn from medical research and based on years of clinical success, this program offers a safe, sensible solution that is individualized to each child to help remedy the root causes. Dr. Bock also shares the dramatic true stories of parents and children that will inspire you to change the life of your own child. Hope is at last within reach.

This resource provides practical strategies for helping teenagers and adults with Asperger Syndrome to navigate social skills, friendships and relationships at home and in the community. The author offers advice and useful strategies for tackling day-to-day problems such as visits to the dentist or the doctor, searching for a job, sorting out personal finances, going on vacation, and dealing with public transport, as well as more intimate topics such as dating and acquiring and maintaining friendships. The chapters are structured around real-life scenarios and the challenges they present, followed by step-by-step solutions and suggestions. A final section provides a set of practical self-help tools, which encourage the reader to note down answers to the questions posed and record personal reflections. This accessible guide will be essential reading for teenagers and adults with Asperger Syndrome and their families, teachers, therapists, counsellors, carers, social and health work professionals.

@page { margin: 2cm } p { margin-bottom: 0.21cm } a:link { color: #0000ff } Thomas Clements has always been an outsider, preferring to fantasise about the exotic East and lose himself amongst the chaotic sights, sounds and smells of London’s Chinatown rather than face the reality of his existence in Western suburbia. Despite doing badly at school, his natural talent for memorising details and his extraordinary ability to master foreign languages lands him a place at university. But this is not a habitat in which he thrives. Following a stint in a psychiatric ward while on his year abroad in Germany, he secretly drops out from his studies, and from life. When his parents receive an invitation to Clement’s graduation ceremony, where they will discover their son has lied all along and has not attained a degree after all, he does what he always does. He hatches a plan to run away, rather than face reality. This time to a job teaching English in rural China, where he can hide from everyone and everything. But wherever Clements runs, things go from bad to worse: the teaching isn’t what he thought it would be, modern China is not as romantic as he had imagined, people he counts on as friends ultimately move on, and his first encounter with a girl leaves him questioning his identity as a man. It doesn’t matter where Clements tries to hide in the world, his anxiety and depression always get the better of him. Now he finally realises he has nowhere in the world to run, will Clements find a way to gain inner peace before he self-destructs? The Autistic Buddha is a stunning tale of the author’s extraordinary outer and inner journeys to make sense of the world – his world – which is at the same time bravely honest, despairing and inspiring.

*A New York Times Bestseller* A warm and hilarious memoir by a man diagnosed with Asperger syndrome who sets out to save his relationship. Five years after David Finch married Kristen, the love of his life, they learned that he has Asperger syndrome. The diagnosis explained David’s ever-growing list of quirks and compulsions, but it didn’t make him any easier to live with. Determined to change, David set out to understand Asperger syndrome and learn to be a better husband with an endearing zeal. His methods for improving his marriage involve excessive note-taking, performance reviews, and most of all, the Journal of Best Practices: a collection of hundreds of maxims and hard-won epiphanies, including “Don’t change the radio station when she’s singing along” and “Apologies do not count when you shout them.” David transforms himself from the world’s most trying husband to the husband who tries the hardest. He becomes the husband he’d always meant to be. Filled with humor and wisdom, The Journal of Best Practices is a candid story of ruthless self-improvement, a unique window into living with an autism spectrum condition, and proof that a true heart is the key to happy marriage.

If you've ever felt like you don't fit into American church culture... Brant Hansen has been there, too. Join Hansen as he explores modern Christianity, the beauty of being different, and the astonishing goodness of God. American church culture can feel designed for extroverted, emotional people -- so what does that mean for the rest of us? Brant Hansen gets it. Introverted, a natural skeptic, and an "Aspie," he often wondered how, even if, he fit into the Kingdom of God. But the good news is that the Good News is for all. Maybe "spiritual" doesn't always look like we expect. And maybe those of us whose lives aren't full of amazing or emotional spiritual stories, or those of us who struggle to be social, confident, or happy -- "misfits," really -- have a beautiful place in God's kingdom too. In his trademark dry, self-effacing humor, Brant addresses questions like: If I don't relate to God as emotionally or feel His presence as intensely, is there something wrong with me? What if I'm not good at talking to people about my faith -- or not good at talking to people at all? What if I'm terrible at praying and even struggle to want to pray? If I struggle with depression, does that mean I've failed spiritually? For anyone who has felt left out, anyone who has gone through the motions, or anyone who feels like they have more questions than answers, Blessed Are the Misfits is a breath of fresh air. Praise for Blessed are the Misfits: "This book is for those who feel disconnected, lonely, or spiritually dry. Brant's writing is honest, quirky, funny, and downright therapeutic. I can think of no one I'd rather have sit down with me and say, "You know what? It's okay to be you.'" --Benjamin C. Warf, MD, Professor of Neurosurgery, Harvard Medical School

@page { margin: 2cm } p { margin-bottom: 0.21cm } a:link { color: #0000ff } Through 150 entries, Samantha Craft presents a life of humorous faux pas, profound insights, and the everyday adventures of an autistic female. In her vivid world, nothing is simple and everything appears pertinent. Even an average trip to the grocery store is a feat and cause for reflection. From being a dyslexic cheerleader with dyspraxia going the wrong direction, to bathroom stalking, to figuring out if she can wear that panty-free dress, Craft explores the profoundness of daily living through hilarious anecdotes and heart-warming childhood memories. Ten years in the making, Craft’s revealing memoir brings Asperger’s Syndrome into a spectrum of brilliant light—exposing the day-to-day interactions and complex inner workings of an autistic female from childhood to midlife.

In this volume several of the major experts in the field discuss the diagnostic criteria of Asperger syndrome.