Luke Jackson, the thirteen-year-old author of this book, says he wrote it because “so many books are written about us, but none are written directly to adolescents with Asperger Syndrome. I thought I would write one in the hope that we could all learn together.” And he does an amazing job of appealing to his peers in a colloquial manner.

I bought this book because I thought that Nigel, as a mid- to high-functioning autistic teen, would understand it and benefit from it. We read it together, so that we could discuss it as we went along. Jackson is English, so I occasionally had to “translate” a few words and phrases for Nigel, such as “fancy” for liking something. As we read, many times Nigel’s attention wandered, I think because he found Jackson’s writing style a little hard to follow. But then, Nigel does not have Asperger’s. I have often read that many people view Asperger’s as high-functioning autism, but there are many differences, which I will discuss in a future post.

Back to the well-written and enlightening book. Jackson’s style is almost precocious at times, but effective. He begins by introducing his close-knit family of seven children and their mother. (There is no mention of his father, that I recall, and I felt dizzy at the thought of parenting seven children alone.) It was interesting to read about their background and personalities. Jackson moves on to a description of Asperger’s and discusses the pros and cons of telling others about it. He relates that when people don’t know he has AS, they refer to him as a freak, but when they know about it, they are tolerant.

Next is a discussion of obsessions, which he calls “specialist subjects,” and compulsions. (Nigel was only vaguely interested in this section, which tells me that he does not think of himself as having obsessions.) For the compulsions, Jackson speaks to any parent readers by suggesting that they try to control their child’s compulsions with rewards.

The following three chapters concern sensory perception, physiology, and sleep, and Nigel managed to extract some helpful tips for himself. In the area of sensory perception, he agreed that looking at someone while they are talking is often difficult, and he liked Jackson’s suggestion to look at people’s mouths when they’re talking, which is close enough to making eye contact. Of the many suggestions that Jackson made in the sleep chapter, Nigel liked the following metaphor: “My room and my things are familiar, my security. The dark creeps in and steals that familiarity and security away.” Nigel also agreed that listening to relaxing CDs and music, something that Jackson mentioned, helps him to sleep. The section on physiology discussed, among other things, the GF/CF diet, which was not helpful to us, but certainly has been for others.

Next Jackson writes about language difficulties, dealing with slang and idioms, and suggests to parents that they write out steps to complete a task (which I also find immensely helpful) and give clear and specific instructions. The next chapters deal with school problems and bullying. In the school problems chapter, Nigel identified with the fact that writing with a utensil actually hurts his hand, and this was the first time that the problem registered in my mind. The bullying chapter had some tips for dealing with bullies and stressed that it was important to tell someone. Jackson then mentions Taekwondo for self-defense, as well as the many other benefits it provides.

The next three chapters dealt with friendships, dating, and morals and principles. Nigel is just getting interested in the topic of dating and has been asking questions, so this book helped a lot in that area. The “morals and principles” chapter also was beneficial in that it stressed not to let people entice you to do something that is wrong, that you don’t need friends like that. It reinforced what I tried to teach Nigel at the end of the last school year.

The end of the book has a nice positive note about AS people being amazing in their own ways, even if not savants (after a discussion about the movie Rainman). It is certainly amazing for a thirteen-year-old to write such an organized, insightful book. We found it very helpful, including the appendices on idioms (with definitions of being “on cloud nine” and “don’t cry over spilled milk”) and references for further information (books, websites, and organizations). All in all, a worthwhile book for parents and kids alike.

Ten years since its initial publication (1998), Targeting Autism is in its third edition, a testament to the book’s importance and author Shirley Cohen’s excellent writing. I about cried with relief when I saw this book on the store’s shelf back in 1998. I needed something to help my extended family understand autism and what we were dealing with. I also needed something for myself that would give me a better picture of what to expect for my son’s future. Targeting Autism addressed both of those needs and more.

My first-edition copy is dog-eared and filled with underlined passages. It certainly made the rounds among my family and friends during the early years of my son’s diagnosis! I took a look online to see what changes had been made to the later edition, and it appears that Cohen provides specifics about new developments in the world of autism (including an appendix listing diagnostic criteria for Asperger’s, which was not widely known when the book was first published). Aside from those additions, the book still follows its original outline, starting off with a general description of autism and how the manifestations of it are so varied. It mentions hyperlexia (which my son exhibited) and other unusual abilities, and also compares autism to disorders such as Landau-Kleffner syndrome, Fragile X, and obsessive-compulsive disorder. The next chapter features insightful quotes from autistic individuals who describe what it is like to be autistic and how they felt growing up, fearful and unable to communicate, and later learning about emotions and social expectations. Following that is a chapter about how development progresses at various stages of life: infants and toddlers, preschool, middle childhood, adolescence and young adulthood. It discusses behavior patterns, sensory issues, echolalia, and language development, among other subjects. Here, Cohen inserts many quotes from parents about their autistic children at various ages and levels of severity, which is quite helpful. The next chapter specifically addresses family issues: the stress on parents and siblings and the importance of a support network. 

Part Two discusses treatment. The first chapter highlights the Lovaas treatment: intensive, 40-to-60-hours-a-week behavioral therapy once thought to be the road to recovery. However, as Cohen ends the chapter, “A distinguished psychiatrist . . . replies that in his contact with over eight hundred individuals with autism he has never seen a person who has recovered. What he has seen is symptom remission with near-normal functioning.” The next chapter mentions other types of less extreme behavioral and nonbehavioral treatments, such as mirroring and reciprocal play. It gets a bit technical while discussing the various intervention therapies and educational programs, including TEACHH (Treatment and Education of Autistic and Related Communication-Handicapped Children) and how it compares to the Lovaas method, but it is essential for parents wanting to know what is out there, so that they can continue to do their own research. The following chapter addresses the issue of treatment availability and funding, and the general topic of advocacy, and the last chapter of this section discusses various alternative therapies, such as supplements like B6 and magnesium and GF/CF diets, auditory integration training (AIT), sensory integration, and facilitated communication.

Part three begins with an interesting commentary on recovery and the different ways it can be interpreted and defined, including a discussion about the Son-Rise program. The final chapter of the book, Moving Toward Better Answers, discusses the future of autism research, treatment (including medication), and public resources. Overall, Targeting Autism is an impressive proponent of advocacy. Cohen ends by stressing educational planning on an individual basis, especially to meet the needs of adolescents and adults so that they may lead productive and satisfying lives.

I highly recommend this book. Even ten years after I first read it, I still pick up something new and valuable each time I reread it.  

Everybody Is Different , by Fiona Bleach, is a fantastic little book. At around 75 pages, it’s perfectly accessible for kids, as the subtitle indicates: A book for young people who have brothers or sisters with autism.  It’s written mostly in a question/answer format, divided into six parts: general information about autism, main characteristics of autism, odd behaviour (the author is English, hence the alternate spelling), sibling feelings, therapy and help, and a glossary at the end. It also features cute little illustrations by the author.

The book tackles some difficult questions, such as “Why do some people have autism?”, answering them in a way that kids can understand, without being too simplistic. One of the book’s strengths is that it not only answers questions, it also makes a point of discussing how the NT sibling feels and what they can do about it. This includes dealing with such emotions as anger, resentment, frustration, sadness, and embarrassment.

My younger son, Aidan, and I have consulted the book many times regarding various subjects and found it to be helpful and encouraging. Aidan benefitted from reading about why his brother makes strange noises, why he says and does the same things over and over again, why he throws or breaks things, and why he hurts himself. The book also listed some good tips for maintaining privacy and how to respond to an autistic sibling who doesn’t know what that means.

Of the many attributes of Everybody Is Different, one that really stands out is the encouragement of NT siblings to talk with their parents and friends about how they feel. I also appreciated the positive suggestions for interacting with autistic siblings and explaining their behavior to friends or others who are unfamiliar with them. I highly recommend this excellent book for any family with autism.