Aspergers and Adulthood - Annotated by Blythe Grossberg (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

From dating to job interviews-a guide for navigating adulthood when you have Asperger's.

Thinking about moving out on your own? Ready to land your first job? Unsure how to navigate social scenes when you have Asperger's? Designed for the newly launched Aspie adult, Asperger's and Adulthood provides supportive solutions-based strategies for navigating the ins and outs of balancing Asperger's syndrome with career goals, dating, social settings, and more.

Adulthood is complicated for anyone, though it can be especially overwhelming for someone living with Asperger's. Thankfully, Asperger's and Adulthood presents targeted strategies from learning specialist Blythe Grossberg to help young adults with Asperger's kick-start careers, cultivate healthy relationships, and create independent paths as maturing adults. Grossberg lends her expertise by providing an Asperger's road map-pointing out potential obstacles and offering valuable how-tos for thriving in the world.

This book also helps loved ones gain a deeper understanding of what it means to live with Asperger's syndrome. Whether you're reading for yourself or someone you know, Asperger's and Adulthood helps you develop deeper insight for tackling life challenges, with:

• Step-by-step strategies for entering the workforce and tips to translate your talents into a career
• Helpful scripts for managing small talk, job interviews, and first dates
• Practical tips and budgeting checklists for establishing your independence
• Real-life Asperger's stories on finding friends and landing jobs
• Handy how-tos about stimming, and how to adopt more discreet comforting behaviors

The truth is, even with Asperger's, you can do whatever you put your mind to-and Asperger's and Adulthood outlines the tools and strategies to help you achieve a full and rewarding adult life.

Review Quotes

As a clinical psychologist who works with middle- and high-school students diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome, Grossberg has the background and expertise to give advice on how to negotiate the world of the neurotypcial. The advice is straightforward, easy to understand, and solid. Each chapter includes a short test to help readers understand the importance of the material. The short quiz at the start of each chapter clues readers in to how they should relate to the upcoming information. The book includes sample dialogues and opportunities for readers to practice what they are learning. While this book is written specifically for youngsters on the Asperger s spectrum, it will be helpful for any children who struggle with making and keeping friends, dealing with bullies, or understanding unwritten rules in the classroom. Some young people may prefer to read this on their own, while others could certainly benefit from sharing the volume in a group and/or with an adult helper. --Wendy Smith-D Arezzo, School Library Journal

Grossberg provides an upbeat and supportive guide for readers with Aspergers, covering feelings and emotions, teachers, asking for help, and dealing with bullies...The invaluable advice should help readers navigate new challenges. --Publishers Weekly

This manual-workbook offers insights to readers with mild spectrum disorders on the general unwritten rules for dealing with teachers and classmates in school. With a mix of common scenarios, dialogue trees, bulleted lists, multiple-choice or fill-in-the-blank self-tests, and brief analytical comments, Grossberg covers setting goals, demonstrating appropriate responses to behavioral or emotional triggers, using communication strategies, recognizing body language and other signals, coping with bullying, making friends, and (in a perfunctory, tacked-on final chapter) establishing personal hygiene and healthy life habits. Capped by a select set of annotated print and online resources, these guidelines and procedures will be helpful to their target audience though the frequent write-in features make the volume more suitable for individual than library use. --Booklist