Can I Tell You about Asperger Syndrome? - (Can I Tell You About...?) by Jude Welton (Paperback)

About the Book

Meet Adam, a young boy with AS. He helps children understand the difficulties faced by a child with AS, telling them what AS is, how it feels to have AS and how they can help by understanding their differences and appreciating their many talents. This illustrated book is an excellent starting point for family and classroom discussions.

Book Synopsis

Meet Adam - a young boy with AS. Adam invites young readers to learn about AS from his perspective. He helps children understand the difficulties faced by a child with AS - he tells them what AS is, what it feels like to have AS and how they can help children with AS by understanding their differences and appreciating their many talents. This illustrated book is ideally suited for boys and girls between 7 and 15 years old and also serves as an excellent starting point for family and classroom discussions.

Review Quotes

there is still a great need for resources such as this book for children and parents who need introduction to autism and asperger's syndrome... Teaching a child that they are not "different" but that they can learn from someone who thinks and acts in similar ways to them is a great approach... It does very well in it's way of introducing this concept of autism to a child - who may be thinking "is there something wrong with me" at the early stage of diagnosis... the book would be a good resource for children as part of an overall understanding of AS.--theautisticlife.com

As a parent of a child with Asperger Syndrome, one of the most frustrating things to deal with is not always knowing how to help my child. Jude Welton's book reminds me in a simple and straightforward way of the difficulties an AS child faces daily and how we can help them overcome their struggles by modifying our responses.

This is a wonderful book because it gives the non-AS person a guide for communicating with and easing the way for an Asperger person. Not only does it identify the many ways these people are different but it suggests responses we can make which will help them to understand the world around them.

This is a very accessible book for non-AS children for non-AS children. The illustrations provide clear and strong messages and the text id direct and unambiguous as a text written through the eyes of an Asperger child would quite likely be. It is also a book for AS children who are aware of their diagnosis. I imagine that a certain comfort and support could be found in reading of others sharing the same problems and acknowledging the validity of their differences.

I was not expecting to find this book so interesting on a personal level. Having always read whatever I could find on AS this book brought me up short. I realise that I spend much time thinking of how I can help my child modify her behaviour to suit the world whereas Jude Welton's book suggests that awareness and tolerance by non-Asperger people is extremely important to an AS child trying to communicate.

--Autistic Spectrum Australia (Aspect)

Adam is a young boy with Asperger Syndrome. This book is written from his perspective; he sets out to help children understand the difficulties faced by a child with AS - he explains what AS is, what it feels like to have it and how the peers of children with AS can help by understanding their differences and appreciating their many talents. The book has extremely good illustrations to accompany the text. It is written for children aged 7 to 15 years of age but can also be used as an aid to both family and classroom discussions.--Autism West Midlands

Can I tell you about Asperger's Syndrome?, is beautifully designed and written by Jude Welton to help the rest of us, adults and children, understand the condition and be able to communicate with those with it.--Food Matters

Jude Welton gives the young child with Asperger's the power of his own voice in explaining himself to his friends. Her calm and deceptively simple approach is complemented by Jane Telford's reassuringly everyday pictures. Parents have needed this book for a very long time.--Elizabeth Newson, Early Years Diagnostic Centre

This is a brief book written to explain Asperger Syndrome, both to classmates and individuals on the spectrum. It is sufficiently brief for a young audience, but also gives good, specific examples.--The MAAP

This is a well-written and accessible volume. The author and illustrator achieve a pleasant balance with the use of simple language and a range of everyday images. As a parent of a child with Asperger's Syndrome (AS), I think that this book is a useful tool for other siblings, classmates and other members of the family-the text is specifically targeted at children aged 7 to 15 years of age. This is an excellent resource for anybody who may come into contact with AS and I believe parents of children with this condition should be guided to this volume before seeking answers on the internet or elsewhere.--The Frontline of Learning Disability

This little gem of a book is intended to be shared by parents or a child with Asperger's Syndrome with friends, family and school professionals and peers so that they may understand asperger Syndrome. [It] could be a very effective tool in establishing understanding and a circle of friends for a child with Asperger's syndrome aged 6 -12. It includes simple but charming illustrations by artist, Jane Telford, and an excellent list of resources at the end of the book. This book packs a lot of wisdom and information into a small package.--Autism Coach Website

About the Author

Jude Welton has a 10-year-old son with AS. Although originally trained as a child psychologist specializing in autism, she is a freelance writer, writing mainly on the arts. She recently started writing about and for children with AS. Jane Telford is a long-time friend of the author. She is an artist and illustrator, who has exhibited paintings and drawings widely in the UK and also internationally.