Asperger's Syndrome: A Guide for Parents and Professionals

Abstract

by Tony Attwood, 224 pp., London, Jessica Kingsley Publishers Ltd., 1998 This paper-bound volume presents an introduction to a syndrome that affects approximately 1 in 300 children. The text is aimed at lay people so technical jargon is minimized. Thus, it will be valuable to neurologists, who are probably unfamiliar with the disorder. Nevertheless, the case descriptions contain similarities to patients and colleagues of general neurologists. Asperger’s syndrome, or equivalently high-functioning autistic disorder, is classified as an autism spectrum disorder. Although diagnostic criteria for Asperger’s syndrome are controversial, several contemporary proposed classification schemes are reproduced in an appendix. A chapter is devoted to each of the following symptoms and signs of Asperger’s syndrome: abnormalities in social behavior, language, cognition, and sensory sensitivity, peculiarities in interests and routines, and motor clumsiness. The first chapter describes diagnostic tools, including the previously unpublished Australian Scale for Asperger’s Syndrome. The author provides up-to-date references so that readers …