Subtitle:An Insider's Guide to Loving, Understanding and
Teaching Children with Asperger Syndrome
Author: Jennifer Cook O'Toole
Length: 192 pages
Website:asperkids.com
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A Message from the Author of 'Asperkids: An Insider's Guide'
I asked author Jennifer Cook O'Toole what makes her book special, and she wrote: "When Temple Grandin wrote an entire article inspired by this book, she explained it was because 'Asperkids is the kind of clever understanding that changed my life. I couldn't agree more with Jennifer's insights and strategies for appealing to and motivating spectrum kids. She's about the positives.' Asperkids: An Insider's Guide to Loving, Understanding and Teaching Children with Asperger Syndrome was written by a teacher, social worker and mom who IS an Aspie herself, is married to an Aspie, and has three Asperkids. In less than a year, Asperkids has garnered the Temple Grandin Award and been named to Autism Asperger's Digest's Top 15 Books list and Autism Speaks Top Family Resources list."Scroll down for more on 'Asperkids: An Insider's Guide.'
Reader Testimonial
Jennifer says that it's readers' reactions that say the most. Wrote one mom, "Jennifer's intelligence and insight put a world of what if's? and why's? into words. Her insider understanding of what the Asperger's child sees has changed our family ... and I know it will change the world."
Recommendation from a Fellow RCA Finalist
I asked 2013 Readers' Choice Awards finalists to pick their favorites in categories other than their own, and Matt Schinelli, whose organization New Jersey All People Equal is a finalist for Favorite Special-Needs Regional Resource, picked Asperkids: An Insider's Guide. He wrote: "I found myself instantly drawn to the title of the book and cover, but the message that 'different doesn't mean defective' was the home run for me. The humor served as a powerful driver of the serious themes and objectives of the book. It was very clearly delivered and a great read!"
An Excerpt from 'Asperkids: An Insider's Guide'
"This book, then, is your Rosetta Stone. Let me teach you how to speak Asperger's, think Asperger's, play Asperger's. It is my 'insider's' advice on how to capture the brilliant young Aspie minds in your life. It's the stuff I wish my own parents and teachers had known ... and maybe even what I wish I'd understood better about myself. It's the gift I try (some days more successfully than others) to provide my own children. In a nutshell, we're going to walk through what your Asperkids need you to do for them to make this experience on the 'wrong planet' a little less alien.... Whenever the unexpected arrives -- and it will -- there is a jolt. A pause. A recentering. But if you think about it, the surprise isn't really in a label or a name. After all, whatever the nomenclature, it is clear from the start that she is different, whether she is a redhead, or an Aspie, or maybe even a superhero in disguise. No, the surprise is when you will accept us -- the unexpected, offer us a hand to hold, and then find out how truly awesome it can be to go along with us for the ride of our lives. It is our lot, after all, it is who we are. But oh, how wonderful it will be to have you share the not-so-typical journey."
[Reprinted by permission of Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 2012, Jennifer Cook O’Toole, "Asperkids: An Insider's Guide to Loving, Understanding and Teaching Children with Asperger Syndrome," ISBN 978-1-84905-902-2, www.jkp.com.]
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Meet the Other 2013 Readers' Choice Awards Finalists
Asperkids: An Insider's Guide is one of five finalists in the Favorite New Special-Needs Parenting Books category. To learn about the rest, go to the category index. There are seven other categories in the 2013 Readers' Choice Awards, and you can find out about them at the Readers' Choice Awards HQ.