Build Your Own Life: A Self-Help Guide for Individuals with Asperger's Syndrome

By Wendy Lawson

Book Overview

As someone with Asperger Syndrome, Wendy Lawson knows all about the social difficulties that accompany the condition. In this book, she guides others on the autism spectrum through the confusing map... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1843101149
• ISBN13: 9781843101147
• Release Date: February 2003
• Publisher: Jessica Kingsley Publishers, Ltd
• Length: 176 Pages
• Weight: 0.67 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 6.1" x 9.4"

Customer Reviews

Whoopsie! Wanted something completely different.

Unfortunately, I was served, by an algorithm, an ad for this book, and I made the mistake of thinking the contents would be pertinent and practical for my circumstances. I inferred that the author was something like myself, a person who had struggled, but survived, and now wished to help their neurodivergent offspring to thrive rather than merely survive. I thought maybe this person had accumulated special expertise that could be conveyed via a practical "guide." This isn't that. This is a generic self-help "power of positive thinking" type of pamphlet, padded out with personal memoir, poetry, and a long list of idioms and their meanings. More troubling, it appears to have not been copy-edited. Now, if the question is "will this book be a useful resource for someone?" I'm sure the answer is yes. Probably there are people who will love this book, and I am not disparaging such readers. But if the question is "will this book be at all useful to me or to my kids?" I'm afraid the answer is a resounding *no it certainly will not.* This book contains no information that can be practically applied in the lives of myself or my children.

Very Helpful

This book is very helpful, its written by a person with A.S. for people with A.S. Instead of going into all kinds of psychoanilization mumbo jumbo like many books written by shrinks, it just gives practical advice. Bassically instead of focusing on the problem it focuses on the solution. It refers to the way people with A.S. think and process information as a 'diffibility' rather then a 'dissability.' Because if a person goes around thinking, 'I have a dissability,' how is that helpful? Terming it as a 'diffibility,' a person with A.S. having different ways of thinking, socializing, and processing information is more in line with the 'Law of Attraction.' The whole purpose that the book highlights is to tailor your 'diffibility' properly when choosing a career and going about performing your career. My career is law. For law school I must read and study for long periods of time which I find very relaxing and rewarding. By creating the right study environment I can work with my 'diffability' and excel. Great book, only a 3rd through so far but I really like it. Another good book for people with A.S. who have psychic inclinations is 'The Secrete,' available on book, CD, and DVD.

Useful but extremely confusing

I have found much of the advice in this book useful, if I remove it completely from the context of the metaphor that occurs throughout the book. I didn't understand why a metaphor like this would be made the main theme of a book for autistic people, given that many of us have trouble with metaphors. It took several rereadings to get anything beyond confused, especially given that there were a lot of unfamiliar words and phrases like "monotropic" and "closed pictures".However, once I had resolved to ignore all reference to houses, buildings, weedkiller, and similar metaphors, I found the information in the book more useful than I have found elsewhere in terms of things written for autistic people. This is probably because it explains not only what to do, but how and why to do it. It also, unlike many books, emphasizes acceptance of being different as the *foundation* of building a proper life for oneself as an autistic person. The sections on dealing with friendships were some of the most useful to me. I hope that there will someday be an easier-to-read book for autistic people that contains more information. I have read other books intended for autistic people, though, including a different one by an autistic person, and _Build Your Own Life_ has had at the heart of it the most useful information.