Succeeding with Interventions for Asperger Syndrome Adolescents By John Harpur, Maria Lawlor, and Michael Fitzgerald Published by Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 2006 ISBN 1-84310-322-2
This guide to an eclectic raft of interventions designed to help adolescents with Asperger's syndrome takes the reader through a programme of group work designed to develop "interaction skills". Given that difficulties in interaction are fundamental to the condition, this is significant work that signals a very positive direction for further research.
Asperger's syndrome is an autism spectrum disorder that refers to people of normal or above average IQ who show impairments of social understanding, communication and imagination.
Adolescence is a particularly difficult period for many individuals with Asperger's as social engagement becomes more complex and their peers' development may leave them behind. In addition, because this subtle disability is often identified wrongly, teenagers are seen as awkward, odd, rude or aloof and self-centred.
While the general reader is unlikely to encounter enough individuals to form a group, the guide still has something to offer those with some contact with an individual with Asperger's. The overview of the condition is brief but sufficient; the summary of current explanatory models is clear without over-simplifying and the whole text is scattered with telling case notes.
Even the quite detailed course material can help develop understanding of the finer points of communication and interaction difficulties. There is a richness to the notion of interaction that goes beyond much traditional social skills teaching and could be applied to other social groups. The book is marred only by a somewhat dry style, and I would happily recommend it to anyone trying to help or simply understand a teenager with Asperger's syndrome.
- Reviewed by Andrew Pope, nurse consultant and clinical lead on autism at the Northgate and Prudhoe NHS Trust, Northumberland.
