Carol Hagland: Getting to Grips with Asperger Syndrome: Understanding Adults on the Autism Spectrum

In an era where the increase in the prevalence and incidence of autism spectrum disorders is the focus of every organization devoted to individuals diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders, amplified attention is given to those individuals who are entering the developmental stage of adulthood. The success of this book is truly in the author’s ability to convey in each chapter what Asperger Syndrome may look like on a day to day basis. Examples such as “may talk in an oddly formal, almost stilted fashion, often too loudly,” and “say or does the wrong thing, to the embarrassment of other” are on-target as they detach the clinical descriptions often given in books according to the DSM-IV-TR and bring the disorder to real life situations. One of the major points which keeps appearing throughout the book is the challenges individuals diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome have with relationships. The relationships mentioned are not just at home with family and friends but also in the work environment and later on with potential partners. In a remarkable way, the author is describing and illustrating the most insignificant and potentially trivial daily issues all of us encounter but through the eyes of the individual with Asperger Syndrome which transform these circumstances and situations into a true and rather different challenge. …