Freaks, Geeks & Asperger Syndrome - A User Guide to Adolescence

228 Pages·2008·1.4 MB·English

by  Luke Jackson

Freaks, Geeks
& Asperger Syndrome
A User Guide to Adolescence
Luke Jackson
Foreword by Tony Attwood

Freaks, Geeks and Asperger Syndrome
also by Luke Jackson
A User Guide to the GF/CF Diet for Autism, Asperger Syndrome
and AD/HD
Luke Jackson
Foreword by Marilyn Le Breton
ISBN 1 84310 055 X
of related interest
Asperger's Syndrome
A Guide for Parents and Professionals
Tony Attwood
Foreword by Lorna Wing
ISBN 1 85302 577 1
Pretending to be Normal
Living with Asperger's Syndrome
Liane Holliday Willey
Foreword by Tony Attwood
ISBN 1 85302 749 9
Freaks, Geeks
and Asperger Syndrome
A User Guide to Adolescence
Luke Jackson
Foreword by Tony Attwood
Jessica Kingsley Publishers
London and Philadelphia
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any material form (including
photocopying or storing it in any medium by electronic means and whether or not transiently or
incidentally to some other use of this publication) without the written permission of the copyright
owner except in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 or
under the terms of a licence issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency Ltd, 90 Tottenham Court Road,
London, England W1P 9HE. Applications for the copyright owner's written permission to reproduce
any part of this publication should be addressed to the publisher.
Warning: The doing of an unauthorised act in relation to a copyright work may result in both a civil
claim for damages and criminal prosecution.
The right of Luke Jackson to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by him in
accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988
First published in the United Kingdom in 2002
by Jessica Kingsley Publishers Ltd
116 Pentonville Road
London N1 9JB, England
and
325 Chestnut Street
Philadelphia, PA 19106, USA
www.jkp.com
Copyright © Luke Jackson 2002
Second impression 2002
Third impression 2002
Forth impression 2002
Fifth impression 2002
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Jackson, Luke, 1988-
Freaks, geeks and asperger syndrome : a user guide to adolescence / Luke Jackson ;
forword by Tony Attwood.
p. cm.
Includes index.
ISBN 1-84310-098-3 (pbk. ; alk. paper)
I. Jackson, Luke, 1988--Mental health. 2. Asperger's syndrome--Patients—Biography. 3.
Asperger's syndrome-Patients--Family relationships. 4. Asperger's syndrome. 5. Autistic
children. I. Title.
RJ506.A9 J326 2002
618.92'8982'0092-dc21
[B] 2002070930
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN 1 84310 098 3
Printed and Bound in Great Britain by
Athenaeum Press, Gateshead, Tyne and Wear
Contents
Foreword by Tony Attwood 9
Acknowledgements 11
1. An Introduction - Me and My Family 13
2. Asperger Syndrome and the Autistic Spectrum 19
A label or a signpost?
3. To Tell or Not to Tell? 30
Giving the news
How and when to tell other people
4. Fascinations and Fixations 43
Specialist subjects
Collections
Compulsions
Controlling a compulsion
5. Sense and Sense Abilities 60
All of the senses - our different sensory perceptions
All in a muddle
6. A Different Physiology 77
Dietary differences
7. A Word about Sleep 86
Medication
Sleeping solutions for people with AS
Sleeping solutions - tips for parents
8. Language and Learning 99
Teenage talk
Literalism and logic
Precise parents make cheerful children
9. The Problem with School... 113
Reading, writing and 'rithmetic
Not to mention homework!
Not much fun and games
School or otherwise - if it still goes wrong
10. Bullying 135
My experiences
What is bullying?
Why me?
When is a bully not a bully?
Dealing with bullies
11. Taekwondo 154
My Taekwondo class
The history of Taekwondo
The benefits of Taekwondo
12. Friendships and Socializing 163
How to win friends and influence people
A word of warning for pushy parents
13. The Dating Game 170
Fathom those feelings
Top tips to enhance your chance
The rules of the game - do's and don'ts of dating
14. Morals and Principles - Representation
and Reality 179
Negative publicity
Rules are not made to be broken
Moral musings for adolescent Aspergers
15. One Final and Positive Note 188
Idioms - an Explanation 192
Further Reading 196
Useful Addresses and Websites 198
Index 204
In memory of Emma-Jane.
So little, so beautiful,
so loved and so missed.
If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it
is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the
music he hears, however measured or far away.
(Henry David Thoreau, 1854)
To those of you who feel
that you don't belong.
Always remember that different is cool!