Social Skills for Teenagers and Adults with Asperger's Syndrome: A Practical Guide to Day-to-day Life

Offers ideas for tackling everyday difficulties, such as bathing, bedtime, school trips, and selecting the right child minder for children with autism. This book provides practical strategies to enable children to develop the social skills needed to manage and enjoy daily life to the fullest. This resource provides practical strategies for helping teenagers and adults with Asperger Syndrome to navigate social skills, friendships and relationships at home and in the community. The author offers advice and useful strategies for tackling day-to-day problems such as visits to the dentist or the doctor, searching for a job, sorting out personal finances, going on vacation, and dealing with public transport, as well as more intimate topics such as dating and acquiring and maintaining friendships. The chapters are structured around real-life scenarios and the challenges they present, followed by step-by-step solutions and suggestions. A final section provides a set of practical self-help tools, which encourage the reader to note down answers to the questions posed and record personal reflections. This accessible guide will be essential reading for teenagers and adults with Asperger Syndrome and their families, teachers, therapists, counsellors, carers, social and health work professionals. Introduction: What is So Special about Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders? -- What are autism spectrum disorders? Experiences of children with autism spectrum disorders. -- What parents and caregivers need to know. -- How to use this book. -- 1. Home Life. Babysitters. Bees. Breastfeeding. Dates for parents. Discipline. Dogs. Finances. Food. Friendships. Holidays. Marriage issues. Mealtimes. Morning and nighttime routines. Noise. Organization. Preferences. Preparing simple meals. Respite care. Restaurants. Siblings and other relatives. Support groups. Talking about disabilities. Tantrums. Telephone skills. Television and video Games. Textures and temperatures. Weather. -- 2. Hygiene. Bath time. Brushing teeth. Clothes. Grooming. Hair cuts. Nail clipping. Toilet training. -- 3. Community. Airplanes. Birthday parties. Car travel. Car Travel II. -- Child Safety Seats. Hotels and vacations. Play dates. Reading faces and Emotions. Shopping. Shoe stores. Sleepovers. Swimming pools. Visiting.