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Summary: A positive story about triumphing over a disability
Review: I really enjoyed this book. I was able to feel sympathy and compassion for this woman with Asperger's sydrome. Ms. Willey explained her own troubles with it and offered solutions and coping skills. This could prove very helpful to anyone dealing with Asperger's syndrome themselves or with a family member. I am quite certain that this book would help alleviate their confusion and fears about this syndrome. What I found most interesting about this book was even though Asperger's can sometimes keep Ms. Willey from behaving rationally either in action or talk, she never once played the martyr.This was very refreshing. It told me she may have Asperger's but it is clear she is a intelligent and vibrant woman. Her information seemed concise and well researched. I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys a book about triumph over tragedy.
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Summary: I really like this book!
Review: I saw Dr. Wiley make a presentation a few months ago. I tried to buy her book then, but it was sold out at the conference. Now that I have read the book I can tell why it did. Dr. Wiley mentioned at her conference that she was diagnosed with residual Asperger's syndrome by Tony Attwood, PhD. I hadn't heard of residual Asperger's before. But now it makes sense. When someone has gotten the right kinds of intervention and support (like the kinds of intervention Dr. Wiley mentions she got in her book), they end up with just a little Aspergers left to them. The neat thing about Dr. Wiley is that she remembers what her life was like before the intervention and after. She can really see both sides of the world- the so called normal side and the Asperger's side. What incredible information she is able to share.Thank you from Amy (MI)
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Summary: compelling personal account of Asperger Syndrome
Review: I so admire this woman for sharing her story. I don't think I would have the confidence to publish my autobiography! Thankfully, Dr. Willey did. While I appreciate the academic books written on Asperger Syndrome, I have to say personal accounts are more meaningful to me. Of course, we are not each of us affected by Asperger Syndrome in the same way, but it is still so great to know there are other people who can at least relate to some, if not all, of what I live with. I have Asperger Syndrome too.
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Summary: Falls short of its potential
Review: I sought this book out because it was by and for an adult with Aspergers. I was a bit disappointed with it in several ways. First, I was surprised to read that the author has not been formally diagnosed with AS, although she admits that fact in an early disclaimer. This becomes more of an issue as Ms. Willey asserts that her AS traits are 'melting away' with age, a possibility that is as unprecendented as it is unbelievable from her own narrative. There are other facts that emerge in this autobiography that don't exactly fit the AS picture. For example, Ms. Willey readily admits shortcomings in math, spelling and reading maps. But the typical person with AS has a fascination with numbers, and often a photographic memory. This makes me wonder if Ms. Willey does in fact have Aspergers syndrome, rather than another similar condition. There were parts of the author's life story that came tantalizingly close to important revelations, but never went the extra step to realization. Still, her story held my interest enough to complete it. I recommend instead "The Essential Difference" by Simon Baron-Cohen.
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Summary: Pretending to be normal
Review: I thought this book was wonderful. It gave the reader a terrific insight in to the life of someone living with Aspergers syndrome. I would highly reccomend this book to anyone living with this disability.
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Summary: What is Normal??
Review: I was diagnosed with autism as a child & my 12 yr old son has been diagnosed with Aspergers. I went into this book expecting great things, but boy, was i disappointed! Ms. Willey points out aspects of her personality that she believes point to Aspergers, but usually they are nothing more than signs of "quirkiness" or just basic human differences. Her inability to make eye contact mirrors most societies. Is it more normal to stare at someone when they talk? She talks about her temper. Does that mean that all those people who have problems with anger are Aspies? "Sensory overload", such as being disturbed by certain colors or noises or textures are supposedly classic Asperger. The author points to her hatred of pastels as a "sign" of the disorder. Huh? if someone wants to flee from a loud concert or noisy classroom is this abnormal? Many people prefer quiet to loud noises. Loud noises have been shown to raise people's blood pressure and heart rates, even when they are unaware of the efffects. The book's criteria for normal vs. Asperger's falls a little on the newspaper horoscope side - so vague that you're apt to find **something** that points to a problem. When Ms. Willey says that obsession with a subject is Asp. I have to wonder about all those academics out there who devote their lives to learning all they can about every Civil War battle or the lifecycle of flukes. If devoting ones life to the pursuit of a particular field is semi-autistic, then universities, cloisters and science labs are stuffed with Asperger people. I disagree that this book teaches understanding of Aspergers; rather it turns common human personality traits into a disorder. And let us keep in mind that the author's daughter was diagnosed with Asp, not Ms. Willey herself. What she sees as Aspergers I tend to view as basic eccentricity. It is shame that those who truly do suffer from their problem of Aspergers do not have a better book out there describing their plight.
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Summary: Thank you for writing this, Liane et al
Review: If you, or your children, get called "the absent-minded professor" a lot, and have this whole complex array of symptoms, this book will make you feel infinitely less alone. I recommend the living daylights out of it. Seventeen quadrillion fully extended thumbs...
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Summary: This is a very important book.
Review: In addition to being a valuable tool for non-AS people to understand AS, this book provided a much-needed guide for me, an AS person, to gain my own insights into AS. This book does something for Asperger's people that they often have not learned to do for themselves: to learn to draw conclusions from what we observe. This is but one insight I had into AS as I was reading this book.
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Summary: Humanizes AS
Review: In trying to understand and help my 8-year-old AS son, I found this book to be an excellent companion to more instruction-oriented books such as that by Tony Attwood. The insights Ms. Willey provides into her feelings and thoughts help me to appreciate just how confusing and scary the world can be when you have this disorder. The fact that she has thrived despite it is a wonderful ray of hope.
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Summary: Pretending to Be Normal
Review: It was fantastic to read this book, it was like she knew my daughter personally though she is not affected severly she has every single trait described. When I read page 110 I cried at the relief that I hadn't imagined why I knew she was different to my other 3 children. I feel very lucky that I can now understand her alot better.
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