From Like to Love for Young People With Asperger's Syndrome - Autism Spectrum Disorder ─ Learning How to Express and Enjoy Affection With Family and Friends

Attwood, a clinical psychologist who works with individuals with autism spectrum disorders and teaches at Griffith U., Australia, and Garnett, a clinical psychologist who specializes in autism spectrum disorders, illustrate how parents can help children with Asperger's syndrome understand and express affection. They explain why children and adolescents who have Asperger's need this program, outline its aims, and detail the role of cognitive behavior therapy. They describe how to assess children's ability to communicate affection (an appendix contains questionnaires), how to conduct the five sessions, activities for each, and each session, which teach, through illustrations, questions, and exercises, the process of exploring feelings of affection, beginning to recognize and express it, giving and receiving compliments, the reasons like or love is expressed through affectionate words and gestures, and developing expression skills. There is no index. Annotation c2013 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Tony Attwood, PhD, is a clinical psychologist from Brisbane, Australia, with over 30 years of experience with individuals with autism spectrum disorders. He is currently adjunct Professor at Griffith University in Queensland. He is the author of the best-selling Complete Guide to Asperger's Syndrome, Asperger's Syndrome: A Guide for Parents and Professionals, and the Exploring Feelings program manuals. Michelle Garnett, PhD, is a clinical psychologist and founder and Director of Minds & Hearts: A Specialist Clinic for Asperger's Syndrome and Autism. She has specialized in autism spectrum conditions for the past 20 years, and created the first screening instrument for Asperger's Syndrome, the Australian Scale for Asperger's Syndrome (ASAS) in 1993. Michelle has been an invited speaker at many national and international conferences. She lives in Brisbane, Australia.