Rating: 
Summary: The jury is still out
Review: This is a book designed for autistic teens by an autistic teen. It is not a manual on how to manage a horrible affliction. It is a manual on how to live well with a condition that is misunderstood as a horrible thing. The author does a great job of describing the difficulties of living as an autistic teenager while never blaming autism as the horrible monster it is sometimes characterized as.The author says in the book that he doesn't want to be seen as just a cute kid writing a book, and in my eyes there is no danger of that. He is a competent writer with a unique perspective on an interesting subject. He also has a degree of nuanced insight that is unusual for any age. For instance, he describes the issue of disclosing autism, and describes why it can be useful or not useful to disclose, but also comments that those autistic people who are able to say they are autistic and proud, like gay people who do the same, are vital to the acceptance and rights of autistic people. The rest of the book tackles issues like school, fixations, sensory issues, bullying, dating, and other issues facing autistic teenagers. The author describes these things from his own experience and the experience of his autistic family members, and the book is illustrated by his sisters. Aside from the other practical things, though, the attitude expressed on the dedication page is vital to having a sense of self-worth as an autistic person: "To those of you who feel that you don't belong, always remember that different is cool!" It's about time that a book like this came along.
Rating:
Summary: A positive view of autism for autistic teens
Review: This is a book designed for autistic teens by an autistic teen. It is not a manual on how to manage a horrible affliction. It is a manual on how to live well with a condition that is misunderstood as a horrible thing. The author does a great job of describing the difficulties of living as an autistic teenager while never blaming autism as the horrible monster it is sometimes characterized as. The author says in the book that he doesn't want to be seen as just a cute kid writing a book, and in my eyes there is no danger of that. He is a competent writer with a unique perspective on an interesting subject. He also has a degree of nuanced insight that is unusual for any age. For instance, he describes the issue of disclosing autism, and describes why it can be useful or not useful to disclose, but also comments that those autistic people who are able to say they are autistic and proud, like gay people who do the same, are vital to the acceptance and rights of autistic people. The rest of the book tackles issues like school, fixations, sensory issues, bullying, dating, and other issues facing autistic teenagers. The author describes these things from his own experience and the experience of his autistic family members, and the book is illustrated by his sisters. Aside from the other practical things, though, the attitude expressed on the dedication page is vital to having a sense of self-worth as an autistic person: "To those of you who feel that you don't belong, always remember that different is cool!" It's about time that a book like this came along.
Rating: 
Summary: Glad this is out there, but...
Review: This is a very good book, with plenty of important messages for parents and educators. However, the writer deals with his Asperger's through diet and for many, Asperger's is addressed with a combination of medication and therapy. It would have been really helpful to see a chapter on dealing with taking medication at school (a major geek drag), stigmas of taking medications on a daily basis and how medications can work for and against you. Another chapter on the benefits of working with a competent therapist, behavioural psychologist or psychatrist should also be included. These would obviously have to be written by another young person with Asperger's.
My son was eager to see how the author dealt with the medication and therapy issues and was disappointed to find that the author didn't need these aids in his dealings with Asperger's. But everyone on the spectrum is vastly different in the way they are affected, so no one book will cover all the bases. This is a good start.
Rating:
Summary: Inside Information on Teens with AS
Review: This is the best book I have read on Asperger's Syndrome because it is incredibly readable and practical - no long words or scientific jargon, but helpful insights given by a teen with AS. I hope Luke Jackson will keep writing because he is a great help to those of us out there trying to figure this all out and how we can help our kids. (Thanks, Luke, for a job well done!) This book is great value for your money and you will have a hard time putting it down.
Rating:
Summary: Not a disease!
Review: Under "Book Info" in the Amazon reviews, you mistakenly call AS a disease. In point of fact, it is a disorder. In reality, it is in many ways a blessing, but certainly makes life more challenging. I have a 17 year old son with Asperger Syndrome, so I can attest to that. I have not yet read this book, but it sounds like a gem and it is on my wish list. I am giving it 5 stars with every hope that it is worthy of the rating, especially with Tony Atwood's name on it.
Rating:
Summary: Not a disease!
Review: Under "Book Info" in the Amazon reviews, you mistakenly call AS a disease. In point of fact, it is a disorder. In reality, it is in many ways a blessing, but certainly makes life more challenging. I have a 17 year old son with Asperger Syndrome, so I can attest to that. I have not yet read this book, but it sounds like a gem and it is on my wish list. I am giving it 5 stars with every hope that it is worthy of the rating, especially with Tony Atwood's name on it.
Rating:
Summary: Not a disease!
Review: Under "Book Info" in the Amazon reviews, you mistakenly call AS a disease. In point of fact, it is a disorder. In reality, it is in many ways a blessing, but certainly makes life more challenging. I have a 17 year old son with Asperger Syndrome, so I can attest to that. I have not yet read this book, but it sounds like a gem and it is on my wish list. I am giving it 5 stars with every hope that it is worthy of the rating, especially with Tony Atwood's name on it.
Rating:
Summary: If you are looking for a great book -- this is it!
Review: Until now, there has never been a book about Asperger's Syndrome by a teenage with AS specifically FOR teens with AS. But Luke Jackson, a thirteen-year-old boy with Asperger's Syndrome from England, comes to the rescue with his cool new book, Freaks, Geeks and Asperger's Syndrome: A User Guide to Adolescence. Like a breath of fresh air, he writes in a breezy, witty, easy-to-understand style, to reassure teenagers that having AS (or High-Functioning autism). First, he introduces the reader to his family, then goes on to introduce himself, including his obsessions (the big one being computers, of course!), the things that he has collected, such as pencils and then he talks about the ways he accommodates his sensory problems. One of the most ingenious is to use a balaclava, to provide the deep pressure that he needs to shut out extraneous noise and other stimuli. He goes into the minutest detail about the difficulties he experiences in school, including the literal interpretation of what he hears from the teacher, bullying, the problems involved with homework. One of the minefields that is socializing and figuring out the subtle nuances in Freaks, Geeks and Asperger's Syndrome is the one on dating. In this chapter, Luke gives important tips on attracting kids of the opposite sex and on dating itself, including looking as clean ad attractive as possible, being tactful, and giving that person a compliment, such as, "I like your tie!" The overall theme of this little gem is that having AS and High-Functioning autism is a POSITIVE thing. "Different is cool!" To Luker Jackson, AS has more good than bed-creative, original thinking, a tendency to follow the law to the letter, and a real desire to learn and discover things about a specific interest-the makings of a future Einstein or Picasso. When I read this book, I got the wonderful feeling that we are more "normal" than not, and that "normal" is really an arbitrary standard, set by each society and not a hard and fast rule. Three cheer to Luke Jackson and his nifty book for teens with AS!! This should be in every school library and in every home of a teen with AS. Need I say more? Oh, and one more thing . . . this book has a glossary of idioms, to help teens with Asperger's Syndrome understand the English language a little better.
Rating: 
Summary: It won't help
Review: Well, this book is not helpfull. I did not live through this years of my life. With this book it just makes it harder. My great uncle (fly) said that goths are people eaters...so don't talk to them. Preps are purple eaters...so don't talk to them. And all students are pink people eaters...so don't even talk to them!!! Thank you and my review was helpful! I KNOW! FROM, Nenis (friend) i cum in peace! ;-)
Rating:
Summary: It's about time!
Review: You have no idea how grateful I am that someone wrote this book. While I don't have an autitic child, my sister does and we've been through just about every experience you can think of with this youngster. Luke Jackson and Tony Attwood have done us a great service with this remarkable look into Asperger Syndrome and the difficulties that teens face. One big thank you to them both! Also recommended: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime, and Jackson McCrae's The Bark of the dogwood--both books dealing with "different" children.
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