The first book to look seriously at the practical issues facing older adults with autism spectrum conditions (ASC), Wenn Lawson's groundbreaking handbook offers support, advice, and sensible ways in which to look at the issues. Informed by current research, interviews with older people diagnosed with ASC and his own experience, the author covers a multitude of issues including dealing with transitions and changes to routine, communicating an individual's particular needs and wishes to care home staff, the social and financial impact of retirement, mental health, and sensory and physical changes and challenges. Older people with ASC and their family and friends, as well as the professionals supporting them, will find this an indispensable and accessible book.

Information about growing up as an autistic individual before the autism diagnosis garnered from an international survey given to 150 participants worldwide, with personal stories of the survey participants, and a brief history on autism.-- Publisher.

Understanding Autism in Adults and Aging Adults by Theresa Regan is designed to improve the correct diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder in adults. This book provides strategy-based interventions to address issues of personal and household management, medical care, communication, sensory processing symptoms and emotional and behavioral regulation.

Autism is a childhood condition ... right? Not right. Children with autism grow into adults with autism. The great strides we have made in understanding childhood autistic behaviors and interventions have lagged dramatically behind the needs of aging autistics. What of the young adult trying to build relationships? What of the middle aged autistic adult who has been misdiagnosed with Bipolar Disorder and lacks an effective treatment plan? What of the aging adult who is showing increasingly rigid autistic behaviors and is misdiagnosed as having frontotemporal dementia? Understanding Autism in Adults and Aging Adults is a one-of-a-kind resource designed to improve the correct diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder in adults. Filled with clinical stories that bring to life the concepts discussed, the book provides strategy-based interventions to address issues of personal and household management, medical care, communication, sensory processing symptoms, and emotional and behavioral regulation.

This book explains in detail the diagnosis, management, and treatment of comorbid disorders in patients with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Important insights are provided into the nature of the symptoms of psychiatric comorbidities in these patients, and particularly children and adolescents, with a view to assisting clinicians in reaching a correct diagnosis that will permit the implementation of appropriate treatment strategies, whether psychological or pharmacological. The full range of potential comorbidities is considered, including mood disorders, anxiety disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder, schizophrenia spectrum and other psychotic disorders, eating disorders, disruptive behavioral disorders, Tourette’s disorder, and substance-related disorders. In each case guidance is provided on how to avoid incorrectly attributing symptoms to ASD and on treatment options. Psychiatric Comorbidities in Autism Spectrum Disorders will be of value to all practitioners who are confronted by patients with these complex co-occurring conditions.

"The hidden curriculum refers to the set of rules or guidelines that are often not directly taught but are assumed to be known. The hidden curriculum contains items that impact social interactions, school performance, and sometimes safety. The hidden curriculum also includes idioms, metaphors, and slang -- things most people just pick up or learn through observation or subtle cues, including body language."--Page [xvi].

Adults with Asperger Syndrome (AS) often have difficulties acquiring relationship skills due to the defining characteristics of the syndrome, experiences with peers during childhood and adolescence, and the expectations of their partners. However, an increasing number do go on to achieve happy and successful long-term relationships with non-spectrum (NS) partners. This supportive book will give NS partners a better understanding of NS/AS relationships, and of what other NS partners have found to be helpful in terms of better understanding themselves and their partners, and enriching their relationships. Drawing on interviews with over 100 people in NS/AS relationships, as well as on their own experiences of having family members on the autism spectrum, the authors explore the key differences which may impact upon AS/NS relationships, such as communication, social skills, and sensory issues, and offer tried-and-tested advice on how to surmount difficulties and make things work. The book includes chapters on coping with stress and meltdowns, parenting, positive AS qualities and how to use them to their full advantage in a relationship, as well as advice on how the NS partner can ensure that their own needs are met. This book will provide support and encouragement to those in a relationship with someone who has been diagnosed with AS, or who is suspected of having AS, and will also be a useful resource for counsellors and other professionals who wish to deepen their understanding of AS/NS relationships.