Take Control of Asperger's Syndrome: The Official Strategy Guide for Teens with Asperger's Syndrome and Nonverbal Learning Disorders
Directly addressing teens diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome or Nonverbal Learning Disorder, two educational consultants experienced in special-needs issues lay out feasible strategies for success in school and in social interactions. The keys, they explain, are self-advocacy—clearly communicating “interests, desires, needs, and rights”—and also adopting systematic techniques for identifying and accomplishing specific “missions.” The authors reinforce their points with bulleted checklists, and also offer sample charts and forms. Along with presenting tips on a range of topics from managing homework and maintaining personal hygiene to making friends and coping with bullying, they firmly convey the message that spectrum disorders are not illnesses but “behavioral and learning profiles” that can be mapped, understood, and in many cases even leveraged into special strengths. A substantial annotated list of Web resources caps this useful manual. Grades 6-9. --John Peters