Resources
BOOK REVIEWS
Publishers often send us books to review. Individual
foundation members will review the books and give their
personal views. Please note that these views are not the
official views of the Foundation.
If you
wish to write your own review of a book please email the
Foundation by
clicking here.
Blue
Bottle Mystery: An Asperger Adventure. By Kathy Hoopmann
Review
by Helen Whitcombe - Special Needs Support Services
Ben and
Andy are best friends. Andy likes sbasketball and most
other sports while Ben doesn't like sports at all. Andy
would often explain things to Ben that Ben got confused
about; that's what friends do.
Finding a bottle in the
school garden led to mysterious happenings and what was
that strange blue smoke that kept following the boys.
You'll have to read the book to find out more.
This book
would be best suited to those with a reading ability of
12-17 years of age. Although older persons who were
interested in a short story with a touch of Asperger's may
also enjoy it. Only having 90 pages and slightly larger
print than normal it took me one hour to read the entire
book. A story to give readers an introduction to Asperger's
Syndrome.
Build Your Own Life: A Self-Help Guide for Individuals With
Asperger's Syndrome, by Wendy Lawson
Review
by Hilary Stace (Foundation member - parent)
Wendy
Lawson is an Australian woman with Asperger's Syndrome who
was born in 1952. For much of her life she was misdiagnosed
with intellectual disability and schizophrenia. She is now
a counsellor, academic and autism consultant with her own
business. Some may have heard her at autism conferences or
visited her website.
As the title suggests this little
book is a self-development manual. But it is written from
an Asperger's standpoint, and includes such useful sections
as a glossary of colloquial sayings which often confuse
those with Asperger's. She explains that 'neurotypicals'
(those without Asperger's) are polytropic meaning they can
do more than one thing at once, while those with Asperger's
are more likely to be monotropic finding it easier to
concentrate on one thing at a time. They also tend to think
visually and literally in their understanding of the
world.
The chapters follow the metaphor of house
construction such as building firm foundations, strong
walls, good infrastructure, and maintenance, relationships
with the neighbours, and even realising when it is time to
move on.
There is a lot of emphasis on building
self-esteem through visualising techniques such as
imagining pouring weedkiller on negative comments by
others. Other topics include keeping control of your life
and decisionmaking, understanding signals from others and
coping with being different. Each chapter has a useful
summary list of pointers and cute line drawings. Her own
poems add to the text.
Although clearly written it is
quite a sophisticated approach so would probably be of most
interest to older teenagers or adults. Actually this book
could be useful for anyone attempting to make their way in
the world.
Congratulations!
It's Asperger Syndrome by Jen Birch
Review
by Vivienne Coppell (Foundation member - parent)
This
book is a fascinating personal account of Jen's life. She
describes her struggles to "be normal" from childhood,
through the vulnerablilty and exploitation of adulthood, to
the revelation of diagnosis with Asperger's syndrome. It's
all there - seeking for purpose, sexual identity,
employment, family, a horrendous exoerience of psychiatric
services, friendship, education, and finally acceptance and
understanding of oneself. It's not all serious though. Jen
pokes fun at herself, and the hilarious chicken stories
reflect Jen's delightful eccentricity.
I actually found
this a really hard book to read. Firstly, because the
honesty and sometimes embarrassingly intimate details were
a bit overwhelming in parts. Secondly, because I found it
confusing to follow the association of ideas (perhaps not
so different from how Jen felt in her dealings with
others!). Jen explains in the prologue that she has
interwoven the chronological with the thematic chapters to
better identify life issues. I feel a bit disloyal to Jen,
therefore, when I find it easier to separate out the
sequence of events first and then try to make sense of them
later. Also the more theoretical sections about Aspergers
syndrome and "helping hints" didn't "connect" with me. I
guess it just goes to show - different people think in
different ways, and isn't that exactly what it's all
about!
So, was the book enjoyable? Hmm…yes and no. It made
me uncomfortable and it made me think. I felt ashamed of
the health profession ( to which I belong) and frightened
for my child with Aspergers syndrome. There has been a lot
of hurt in Jen's life, and I hope it wouldn't happen like
that again. Was the book worth reading? Most definitely!
Jen's is a remarkable life story, narrated with great
insight. The experiences come to life as you
read.
Congratulations Jen Birch! You're a survivor!
Review
by Hilary Stace (Foundation member - parent)
Jen
Birch is a brave and articulate advocate for community
understanding of Asperger's Syndrome, so much so she's
becoming a bit of a media star. She was recently
interviewed on National Radio and she also featured on a
television documentary in 2000 about Asperger's Syndrome
called Life Among Strangers. She regularly speaks to
groups. This book is her story in print and for the sake of
our whole community I hope it is widely read.
Jen
diagnosed herself in 1997 at the age of 43 after attending
a university lecture by a psychologist on AS. It explained
why she had felt different all her life. The speaker then
wrote her a 'reference' to take to tutors and potential
employers explaining AS and how it affected her learning
and working.
This book is particularly valuable as it is a
New Zealand story of AS. Jen grew up on a New Zealand farm,
survived and later thrived in the New Zealand education
system and endured employment in New Zealand workplaces.
She reflects on her life and experiences in an endearingly
open and honest way.
Her experiences illustrate the
traps a vulnerable person with AS can get into such as
becoming victims of bullying, abuse and deceit. She also
suffered shocking treatment by the mental health system and
lack of support from health professionals. Her personal
devastation after the death of her father was not
recognised. More recently she has coped with bowel
cancer.
But she also emphasises the positive aspects
of AS such as visual, creative and independent thinking. AS
people are blind to prejudice, lack malice and often have
special abilities in various areas. This is a great book
for parents of a child with AS as Jen's success in life
emphasises the importance of a supportive parent. It is
also reassuring for parents that children with AS can live
independent lives as adults.
Even though AS varies from
person to person there were flashes of recognition for me
as a parent throughout this book, such as the difficulties
and anxieties caused for the person with AS by
multi-tasking and sensory overload. She explains why there
is the need to ask the same question repeatedly and the
pleasure of repetitive tasks, and reinforces the need to
break tasks into small chunks.
There are also
numerous hints here for adults with AS including a useful
guide to tertiary study. And Jen brings in some of her own
theories of AS relating to linguistic and evolutionary
development.
It is a pity this book is so expensive,
retailing in NZ for over $50, as I would recommend it as
essential reading for a family or anyone involved with AS,
along with Tony Attwood's invaluable guide Asperger's
Syndrome from the same publisher. So get your local library
and local school to buy it.
Thanks Jen for writing
this for us.
Haze,
by Kathy Hoopmann
Review
by Andrew Gray (Foundation member)
'Haze'
is Australian author Kathy Hoopmann's fourth book featuring
a main character with Asperger's Syndrome. It tells the
story of Seb Taylor, a teenage computer genius who
struggles with social interaction - 'brilliant with
numbers, hopeless with people', as one character describes
him. The story line revolves around the development of
Seb's character, fostered by his growing friendship with
his classmates Kristie, Jen and Madeline.
At the beginning of the book, Seb is locked into a daily
grind, bored at school, tormented by bullies, and alienated
from his parents. His only relief comes from his
fascination with computers and his long-standing friendship
with Guzzle. At this stage of the book, I have to say that
I did not find Seb a very likeable or sympathetic
character. He seems rather cold and not very engaging. But
as his friendship with the girls grows, he develops a more
human side. Early on, he fails dismally in his attempts to
make conversation with Kristie, and feels humiliated.
Towards the end of the book, he comforts Madeline, who is
traumatised by abuse from her mother, an emotionally barren
control freak. In these episodes, the reader can relate to
Seb, as he is experiencing identifiable emotions.
Unlikely as it appears at first, I also found Seb's
friendship with Guzzle realistic and moving. Guzzle is a
cool and confident sports hero, but it is believable that
he would appreciate Seb's loyalty and reliability,
especially given his turbulent home life.
Asperger's seems to be a pet topic of Hoopmann's, although
I don't know if she has had any personal experience with it
- she lists Tony Attwood in her acknowledgements. In any
case, I found the portrayal of Seb's Asperger's rather
clumsy and unconvincing. Researching Asperger's on the
internet, Seb concludes that he has 22 of the 24 defining
characteristics of Asperger's. Hoopmann seems to set out to
include as many of these in the book as possible - for
instance, we learn that Seb is a poor sleeper via his
mother, in conversation with one of Seb's teachers. A lot
of these revelations do little to advance the plot and
could probably have been omitted. They also cause Seb's
character to appear somewhat inconsistent. On the third
page of the book, we learn that Seb has read an
encyclopaedia, a thesaurus and a dictionary, one after the
other, and that he has his own distinct sense of humour. In
the remaining 152 pages, Seb shows no sign of having either
any interest in words, or a sense of humour of any kind.
(The book itself has moments of humour. Kristie returns
from an attempt to make conversation with Seb vowing 'never
to ask his advice on buying a computer
again.')
There is a subplot involving illegal
computer hacking via Seb's school. Seb is a suspect and
comes under investigation from internet detectives. I
thought this story line was ultimately incidental, but I
may be biased, as I am not computer literate and had
trouble following it.
In spite of its shortcomings, 'Haze' has much to recommend
it. If you are interested in computers, or Asperger's
Syndrome, or best of all both, then this could be for you.
Freaks,
Geeks and Asperger Syndrome - A User Guide to Adolescence,
by Luke Jackson
Review
by a Andrew Gray (Foundation member)
With its
eye-catching title and colourful, quirky cover, it is clear
that this book is out of the ordinary before you even open
it. Appearances in this case are not deceptive. ‘Freaks,
Geeks’ distinguishes itself from the mass of books on the
subject of Asperger’s by the fact that it was written by a
thirteen year old and aimed specifically at teenagers.
Luke’s family, consisting of his six siblings and mother,
feature prominently in the book. Luke, as he reminds us
frequently, is ‘only thirteen’, and therefore needs some
advice from his older siblings on subjects such as dating.
Luke also uses anecdotes from his family life to illustrate
how Asperger’s has effected him. But even apart from this,
his family would be worth writing about anyway. Younger
brother Joe has ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity
Disorder) and the youngest child Ben is severely autistic.
I particularly enjoyed the bits about Joe, who seems to
have a great sense of humour. When his mother asks him if
he has had a good day at school, Joe replies ‘Yes, my
teacher didn’t hit me once today’, and later in the book
one of his cartoons appears, of a fish smoking a cigarette
with the caption ‘No lungs, no problem.’ Illustrations by
Luke’s sisters Sarah and Rachel appear throughout the book,
including the cover.
Luke’s style of writing gives the impression of a
confident, energetic teenager. This makes the book very
easy to read. As such, it comes as something of a shock to
read that he speaks with a flat, monotonous voice, and is
the ‘class nerd.’ I suppose that this could be attributed
to the fact that Asperger’s sufferers sometimes have
problems with the speed of a social interaction and express
themselves better when time is not such a factor – when, in
other words, they are writing rather than speaking. As
something of a pedant myself, I do wish that Luke had cut
out some of the redundant phrases scattered through the
book, such as ‘like me too’ and ‘both mutually agree.’
However this is my only criticism of the writing.
Luke’s anecdotes and joking asides give the book depth,
colour and a human context, but his real purpose is to
‘help other people understand themselves or their children
better.’ The book provides advice on the full range of the
Asperger’s experience, from getting the diagnosis to
dealing with bullies. The advice he gives mainly stems from
his own experiences, as well as his reading and
conversations with his family. In giving his advice, he
makes good use of his observational skills, a feature
common to Asperger’s sufferers, even though he frankly
admits that he does not always understand what he sees.
This may be the reason for his occasional naivete –
for instance, despite what he says, not all bullies are
stupid. Generally though his observations seem highly
intelligent and perceptive. Some chapters, particularly the
one on dating, are based on conversations with his family
rather than his own experiences, and are less convincing.
However the subjects he covers in them are necessary for a
‘users guide to adolescents’, as this book sets out to
be.
Overall
I found this an outstanding book as well as an enjoyable
read. Luke has well earned the small lapse in modesty that
he grants himself at the start of the final chapter! Having
read it, I wish that it had been available ten years ago,
when I too was a ‘geek’ struggling with adolescence.
"Finding
Ben" by Barbara Lasalle
Review
by a Hilary Stace (Foundation member - parent):
Stories
like this emphasise the importance of understanding
Asperger's Syndrome, and why the work of groups like the
Cloud 9 Childrens' Foundation is so vital.
Ben Levinson,
the 'Ben' of the title of this book, was born in the United
States in 1969 but it wasn't until he was in his 20s that
he had a diagnosis of autism. More significantly it wasn't
till his mother obtained Tony Attwood's life changing guide
to Aspergers Syndrome in 1998 that the obvious (to us in
2003) diagnosis of AS was confirmed. Yet his mother, the
author of this book, a psychologist and family therapist,
had been searching for answers for years.
Meanwhile
Ben had had the most horrific life experiences as those
around him tried to force the unusually shaped peg he was
into a round hole. He suffered at the hands of the
education, health, mental health and justice systems. While
he could talk before he could walk, was a prolific reader
and had an amazing memory, he was poorly coordinated,
socially awkward and also had to cope with the embarrassing
effects of Crohns disease.
But what I found saddest
about this very honest book was his mother's admittance
that she could not accept him as he was until she found out
about AS.
Perhaps this is an American thing - such a need
to conform to stereotypes of appearance, behaviour,
popularity and achievements. I'm so glad we don't have a
societal expectation of such nightmares as 'playdates' here
for how many AS children would 'pass' these?
Ben's
life reflections at the beginning or each chapter are wise
and articulate. He eventually chides his 'enmeshed' mother
for continually trying to change him. This is a good story
about survival for mother and son, and eventual acceptance
and independence for both.
There is an interesting website
for more information about Ben at
http://aspergerjourney.com
Review
by a Barbara Jones (Foundation member - parent):
My
initial reaction when I was recommended this book was - "Oh
no, not another harrowing (American) account of someone
with AS". But this book really gripped me from the first
page. It is the story of a mother's battle to find out why
her son is so different from the "norm". It is also the
journey they go through in trying to find appropriate
therapies and services for him. But mostly, it is an
extremely honest portrayal of the process she goes through
in learning to accept her son, as is, and in learning to
love and appreciate him. In the early days she goes through
the very stressful time of wondering if in fact he is
different, or just an extremely bright child who is better
behaved than "average", ie is quite happy just sitting and
reading his favourite books and playing repetitive games,
rather than being the high energy demolition team like many
preschoolers. I particularly related to her struggles with
doctors and family members who told her it was all in "her
mind" and that she was looking for problems when there
weren't any.
At the beginning of each chapter is a comment
by Ben, which gives a real insight into how his world was
experienced by him.
Finding Ben is extremely easy to read
and although it is set in the US, the themes can be easily
related to by families in NZ. Although some of the events,
which happened to Ben particularly in his late teenage
years are really awful - he ends up being admitted to
psychiatric hospital & jail, the general feeling of the
book is quite upbeat. The episode where they try motor
therapy is quite funny (in a black humourish way!) It was
easy to imagine the scene with the therapist manically
calling out to try to get Ben to come and jump on the
trampoline - "it's fun, it's fun, come on mummy isn't it
fun". With Mummy then being cajoled into jumping on the
trampoline trying to look like it was fun - all the while
with Ben just saying "I'm scared, I want to go home". Along
with the (to Ben) terrifying self-playing piano (meant to
be an incentive to try the exercises), but which he just
finds so scary that his screams trigger an ambulance &
fire engine call-out.
I feel that this book will
particularly appeal to parents who have children with AS
who were diagnosed at a later age. Although it would be
useful for parents of younger children too; if only as a
plea to not get so caught up in looking for cures to
normalise these special, precious children that we lose
sight of the real child who is looking to us for
reassurance and acceptance of them as they really are.
"The
Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Nighttime" by Mark
Haddon
Review
by Karen Woodfield (Foundation member - parent):
This
story fills you with intrigue that captivates its audience.
What you get out of this book determines how much you seek
and ponder the many layers of intrinsic treasures that are
neatly and profoundly woven throughout the pages. These
gems should not only be sort after but savoured as the
complexities of Christopher’s life unfolds and shows us how
to "feel" life through the eyes of an Asperger's
adolescent.
An expertly written storyline by the author
that gives marvelous insight into the daily journey of this
young man. The story is hilarious, thought provoking,
realistic and was definitely a challenge to put down.
Review
by a Vicky Williams (Foundation member - parent):
I found
the book fascinating. I was intrigued from the start. After
reading awhile, I almost stopped. It was hard to stay
focused on all the details, but I still wanted to know who
killed the dog. When Christopher found the letter from his
mother, I became hooked and from then on I could hardly put
the book down. I just had to know how Christopher was going
to cope.
It's amazing how the author has managed to show us the
personalities of the characters and to help us understand
the feelings of the characters, whilst at the same time
looking at it all through Christopher's impersonal,
detached insights. Christopher's parents are very real,
people, with very human strengths and weaknesses and my
heart went out the them as they did the best they could for
their special son.
Review
by a Andrew Gray (Foundation member)
'The dog
was dead. There was a garden fork sticking out of the dog.
I decided the dog was probably killed with the fork because
I could not see any other wounds in the dog and I did not
think that you would stick a fork in a dog after it had
died for some other reason.'
Christopher Boone, aged '15 years 3 months 2 days', is
surely one of the most unconventional narrators in the
history of fiction. The mysterious death of a neighbour's
dog prompts him to investigate the 'murder' and write a
murder mystery based on his investigation. As you can tell
from reading the extract above, he has an objective,
unemotional way of seeing the world and describing the
action as it takes place. He does not use metaphors,
denouncing them as 'lies', but under the advice of his
mentor Siobhan, he includes some descriptive passages.
These usually relate to things that are irrelevant to the
storyline, such as an ad for holidays in Malaysia. However
these passages are both amusing and revealing, for they
help to illustrate Christopher's phenomenal powers of
observation.
Despite his unadorned writing style, Christopher has a
knack for beginning chapters with short, attention-grabbing
sentences - 'I see everything', 'Mother died two years
ago', 'All the other children at my school are stupid.'
Christopher also has a habit of interrupting the narrative
with alternating chapters about his theories on life and
science. Even with the clearest writing style in the world,
chapters 163 (on 'why the mind is actually a computer
screen') and 193 (on 'getting lost in time') would remain
utterly incomprehensible. The unusual typescript has a
curiously mechanical look to it, which somehow contributes
to the deadpan effect.
Early on, Christopher writes 'This will not be a funny
book. I cannot tell jokes because I do not understand
them.' Despite the lack of jokes, the book is full of
humour, although it is unintentional on Christopher's part.
The humour comes from Christopher's earnest, matter-of-fact
tone ('You are most likely to be murdered by a member of
your own family on Christmas Day. This is a fact') and,
oddly enough, his unfaltering logic. Some humour also comes
from observing how people react to Christopher. "I said,
'Yes, a pet rat. He's very clean and he hasn't got bubonic
plague.' And the policeman said, 'Well, that's
reassuring.'"
The book also contains much sadness, especially towards the
end. Some of the sadness comes from the insults and abuse
that Christopher suffers from people who do not understand
him and are alarmed by his behaviour. Also, as
Christopher's investigation progresses, he uncovers new
information on his parents, which turns out to be connected
to the death of the dog. His reaction to his newfound
knowledge pushes the book towards its climax. It is sad to
realise the problems that Christopher faces in life, and
the problems that these in turn caused for his
parents.
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time is a
remarkable achievement for Mark Haddon, and is a
must-read.