This unique visually-led guide helps parents to prepare a home environment that supports the development of children with Asperger syndrome. Jennifer O'Toole gives readers a walk-through tour of the home, showing, room by room, how physical surroundings affect Asperkids and highlighting the learning opportunities in every space and object.
For Asperkids, home is both their protected lair and their launch pad into success in a neurotypical world. Jennifer O'Toole provides parents with all the help they need in planning their home environment to encourage their Asperkid superheroes to soar. The Asperkid's Launch Pad is a visually-led guide to preparing a home environment that supports the development of children with Asperger syndrome. From a bedroom light switch that the child can easily reach, to a tucked-away safe place that he or she can retreat to when feeling overwhelmed or anxious, small changes in the home can boost the child's self-confidence, independence, comfort and life skills. Award-winning author Jennifer O'Toole gives readers a walk-through tour of the home, showing, room by room, how physical surroundings affect Asperkids and highlighting the learning opportunities in every space and object. Beautifully presented with color photographs throughout, this functional and fun book will win a place in the homes and hearts of all parents of children with Asperger syndrome.
Being a teen or tween isn't easy for anyone but it can be especially tough for Asperkids. Jennifer O'Toole knows; she was one! This book is a top secret guide to all of the hidden social rules in life that often seem strange and confusing to young people with Asperger syndrome. The Asperkid's (Secret) Book of Social Rules offers witty and wise insights into baffling social codes such as making and keeping friends, blending in versus standing out from the crowd, and common conversation pitfalls. Chock full of illustrations, logical explanations, and comic strip practice sessions, this is the handbook that every adult Aspie wishes they'd had growing up. Ideal for all 10-17 year olds with Asperger syndrome, this book provides inside information on over thirty social rules in bite-sized chunks that older children will enjoy, understand, and most importantly use daily to navigate the mysterious world around them.
The Asperkid's Game Plan looks from the inside at the learning style of children with Asperger syndrome and explains how to introduce structured play that engages Asperkids and explicitly addresses ASD weaknesses while reinforcing ASD strengths. Showing how just about anything can be turned into an opportunity for learning and growth, the book is full of go-to ideas for making simple play equipment in the home or classroom and using it to develop core skills that Asperkids struggle with, from fine motor and social skills, to planning and organization. Whether it's origami math, fried marbles, or a bug's eye view scavenger hunt, every game, project, and idea in the book is explained with clear directions and learning objectives and illustrated with color photographs. Jennifer O'Toole's enthusiastic approach and fun lessons, based on Montessori principles, will inspire and motivate parents, educators, and therapists to make purposeful play a part of every Asperkid's day.
Being a teen or tween is tough for anyone. And if you're on the Autism Spectrum, life can feel like a game you're playing without knowing the rules. Jennifer Cook knows - she's been there! Her internationally bestselling handbook is the key to unlocking those unwritten, often confusing, not-so-obvious social guidelines and bolstering confidence, all at once. Finally, teens can play the game of life with instructions. The 10th Anniversary Edition of The (Secret) Book of Social Rules reveals the essential secrets behind the baffling social codes surrounding making and keeping friends, dating, and catastrophic conversation pitfalls, with all-new content on social media and talking about neurodiversity. It's no wonder Jennifer's is the navigation tool tens of thousands of fans have come to love! Full of brand-new funny illustrations, take-it-from-me explanations, and comic strip examples, this Book of the Year award winner is real, positive, and speaks from the heart (without ever sounding like your mother's guide to manners). It's confidence, humor, and smarts. For the Human Spectrum.
Spectrum gals, ever wished you had a handbook to help navigate the confusing world of teenage girlhood? Look no further! Aspie-in-the-know, Jennifer Cook O'Toole provides just that with her inspirational guide to life for teenage girls with Asperger syndrome. Drawing on her own, real-life experiences rather than preaching from textbooks, she covers everything you need (and want!) to know, from body shapes and love interests to bullying, friendships and how to discover and celebrate your unique, beautiful self. With illustrations by an Aspie teen and inspirational quotes from well-known, female Aspie voices, including Temple Grandin, Rudy Simone, Robyn Steward, and Haley Moss, Sisterhood of the Spectrum is your perfect companion on the "yellow brick road" to womanhood. It will leave you empowered, informed and excited to be different.
The face of autism is changing. And more often than we realize, that face is wearing lipstick. Autism in Heels, an intimate memoir, reveals the woman inside one of autism’s most prominent figures, Jennifer O'Toole. At the age of thirty-five, Jennifer was diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome, and for the first time in her life, things made sense. Now, Jennifer exposes the constant struggle between carefully crafted persona and authentic existence, editing the autism script with wit, candor, passion, and power. Her journey is one of reverse-self-discovery not only as an Aspie but--more importantly--as a thoroughly modern woman. Beyond being a memoir, Autism in Heels is a love letter to all women. It’s a conversation starter. A game changer. And a firsthand account of what it is to walk in Jennifer's shoes (especially those iconic red stilettos). Whether it's bad perms or body image, sexuality or self-esteem, Jennifer's is as much a human journey as one on the spectrum. Because autism "looks a bit different in pink," most girls and women who fit the profile are not identified, facing years of avoidable anxiety, eating disorders, volatile relationships, self-harm, and stunted independence. Jennifer has been there, too. Autism in Heels takes that message to the mainstream. From her own struggles and self-discovery, she has built an empire of empowerment, inspiring women the world over to realize they aren't mistakes. They are misunderstood miracles.
As a parent, a teacher and an Aspie herself, Jennifer O'Toole provides the definitive insider's view of Asperger syndrome. She shows how to help children on the spectrum by understanding how they think and by exploiting their special interests to promote learning. Her strategies work because she thinks like the children that she teaches. This exciting book is full of effective and fun ways of engaging with children with Asperger syndrome. Jennifer explains how theory of mind difficulties create the need for concrete forms of communication, and provides original methods to inspire imagination through sensorial experiences. In particular she reveals the untapped power of special interests, showing how to harness these interests to encourage academic, social and emotional growth. Affirming that different doesn't mean defective, this book offers the insight and guidance that parents, educators, and other professionals need to connect with the Asperkids in their life and get them excited about learning.
Part of the Reading Well scheme. 35 books selected by young people and health professionals to provide 13 to 18 year olds with high-quality support, information and advice about common mental health issues and related conditions. Winner of the NASEN & TES Special Educational Needs Children's Book Award 2003 Have you ever been called a freak or a geek? Have you ever felt like one? Luke Jackson is 13 years old and has Asperger Syndrome. Over the years Luke has learned to laugh at such names but there are other aspects of life which are more difficult. Adolescence and the teenage years are a minefield of emotions, transitions and decisions and when a child has Asperger Syndrome, the result is often explosive. Luke has three sisters and one brother in various stages of their adolescent and teenage years but he is acutely aware of just how different he is and how little information is available for adolescents like himself. Drawing from his own experiences and gaining information from his teenage brother and sisters, he wrote this enlightening, honest and witty book in an attempt to address difficult topics such as bullying, friendships, when and how to tell others about AS, school problems, dating and relationships, and morality. Luke writes briefly about his younger autistic and AD/HD brothers, providing amusing insights into the antics of his younger years and advice for parents, carers and teachers of younger AS children. However, his main reason for writing was 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".
