About the Book
If you only buy one book to improve your life this year, make it this one.
Temple Grandin, Liane Holliday Willey, Anita Lesko, Stephen M. Shore, and many other Aspie mentors, offer their personal guidance on coping with the daily stressors that Aspies have identified as being the most significant, in order of urgency - anxiety, self-esteem, change, meltdowns, depression, friendship, love, and much, much more. Based on years of personal experience, this book is packed with advice from Aspie mentors who have all been there and done that!
World expert Dr. Tony Attwood rounds up each chapter with professional analysis and extensive recommendations. He includes essential information on destructive strategies that may look attractive, but that have counter-productive effects.
Including full color artwork from Aspie artists showing visually how they interpret each stressor, this is THE inspirational guide to life for young adults, the newly diagnosed, and as a life-long reference for anyone on the spectrum - written by Aspies for Aspies.
Table of Contents:
Preface. The 17 Stressors. 1. Overcoming Anxiety. 2. Overcoming Poor Self-Esteem. 3. Accepting and Working with Change. 4. Living with Meltdowns. 5. Overcoming Depression. 6. Living with Sensory Issues. 7. Making and Keeping Friends. 8. Living with Personal Management Issues. 9. Understanding and Succeeding with Intimacy, Dating, Sex and Marriage. 10. Understanding and Expressing Emotions. 11. "Faking It". 12. Getting and Keeping a Job. 13. Disclosing a Diagnosis. 14. Bullying. 15. Choosing a Career. 16. 16. Improving Empathetic Attunement. 17. Should I be Tested for Asperger's/HFA? About the Aspie Mentors. Meet the Aspie Mentors. Contributing Artists. Appendix: The Survey Questionnaire. Links and Resources.
About the Author :
Yenn Purkis is an autistic and non-binary advocate, author and presenter. Yenn has a Masters degree in Fine Art from RMIT University. Yenn has given a presentation for TEDx Canberra and has been a frequent keynote presenter at autism and disability events for several years. Yenn has a number of awards, including the 2016 ACT Volunteer of the Year award and a number of other awards for community leadership including being nominated for the Australian of the Year award in 2017. Yenn has worked full-time for the Australian Public Service since 2007. They have facilitated a support group for autistic women and gender diverse folks in Canberra since 2011. Yenn has featured in media interviews for many years and was one of four autistic adults featured in the ABC TV documentary Alone in a Crowded Room. Yenn lives in Canberra, Australia. Tony Attwood, PhD, is a clinical psychologist from Brisbane, Australia, with over 30 years of experience with individuals with autism spectrum disorders. He is currently Adjunct Professor at Griffith University in Queensland.
Review :
A truly marvelous book filled with practical help and solutions. This will be of great value to individuals with Asperger's and their family members!
Clear, concise, well-structured, and an easy read, Been There. Done That. Try This! is an accessible compendium of wisdom from Aspie forebears and the dedicated bridgekeepers who have empowered them. Non-preachy, warm, often funny, the host of positive role models offer up a vast range of healthy choices for a new generation. This collection addresses all the major issues facing Aspies today and is the long-awaited instruction manual gifting future generations of Aspies with the ideas, strategies, and understanding that will empower them in their own diverse journeys.
The voices speaking in Been There. Done That. Try This! are the salve to heal the wounds of the aching soul, ending isolation while shining the light of introspective understanding to people with autism, by people with autism. It's lovely to see our voices as the experts while others who care so greatly for us serve the authors in a consultative role - as it should be.
Under the auspices of the venerable Asperger's expert Dr. Tony Attwood, leading self-advocate Anita Lesko, and "community organizer" Craig Evans comes a full chorus of voices from the autism spectrum: young, old, male, female, and global. Together, these self-advocates offer perspectives, life stories, and advice for not only living, but thriving in an often inhospitable world. Been There. Done That. Try This! addresses every major stressor in the life of a young adult with Asperger's, from the personal to the interpersonal, from schools to offices, from trying to "pass" to disclosing a diagnosis. Each issue has its essayists' anecdotal advice matched with Dr. Attwood's professional insight, rounding out a comprehensive approach to meeting and defeating the challenges we face.
Resonating profoundly with my own difficulties, the Aspie mentors within this book validate our challenges from their personal experiences. By giving positive practical advice, the Aspie mentors better equip us for many aspects of our everyday living. This is an outstanding guide that every Aspie should own!
The title of this book is appealing in that it suggests that it will contain many practical strategies for those with an interest in Asperger syndrome (Aspies) or those termed high functioning autism... Each of the 17 chapters deals with an issue ranked as one of the 17th most common for those with autism or Asperger syndrome. The topics range from anxiety, self-esteem, managing change, meltdowns, depression, sensory issues, friendship, intimate relationships, to employment and diagnostic issues and disclosure... The book is full of practical ideas and activities.
I was impressed by the range and depth of the material making this a great resource for clinicians, as well as for adults with ASD and their friends, partners and relatives... The contributors are a brilliant, insightful group of people who provide rich, unique ideas on how to navigate the tricky waters of life, despite having a highly complex, little-understood neurological condition. I was blown away by this book and just couldn't put it down! Every adult with what used to be called Asperger Syndrome of High-Functioning Autism (AS/HFA) should include this on their reading list!
