Freaks, Geeks and Aspergers Syndrome: A User Guide to Adolescence

As another teenager with Asperger's myself, I am fully cognizant of how this syndrome can produce tremendous difficulties socially. This book is a reflection of the difficulties that a young teenager faces in his being afflicted with Asperger's SYndrome. It is candid, articulate, and very poignant. However, I would not necessarily call this book a complete guide for a person with Asperger's. Asperger's is a very personalized syndrome that varies from person to person and advice that may help one person with Asperger's may not help all with Asperger's. SOme advice in this book, (e.g., the inclusion of a chapter on a link between an allergy and Asperger's) is not necessarily helpful, but this is forgivible considering the age of the author. Other teens with Asperger's who read the book may even feel sympathy for the author (and for you neurotypicals reading this review, sympathy is not something that people with Asperger's develop innately) who has to undergo challenges that many teens with Asperger's face. I actually think that neurotypicals could benefit the most from this book since it offers a view on how the person with Asperger's views the world (and it is much needed.

Until now, there has never been a book about Asperger's Syndrome by a teenage with AS specifically FOR teens with AS. But Luke Jackson, a thirteen-year-old boy with Asperger's Syndrome from England, comes to the rescue with his cool new book, Freaks, Geeks and Asperger's Syndrome: A User Guide to Adolescence. Like a breath of fresh air, he writes in a breezy, witty, easy-to-understand style, to reassure teenagers that having AS (or High-Functioning autism). First, he introduces the reader to his family, then goes on to introduce himself, including his obsessions (the big one being computers, of course!), the things that he has collected, such as pencils and then he talks about the ways he accommodates his sensory problems. One of the most ingenious is to use a balaclava, to provide the deep pressure that he needs to shut out extraneous noise and other stimuli. He goes into the minutest detail about the difficulties he experiences in school, including the literal interpretation of what he hears from the teacher, bullying, the problems involved with homework.One of the minefields that is socializing and figuring out the subtle nuances in Freaks, Geeks and Asperger's Syndrome is the one on dating. In this chapter, Luke gives important tips on attracting kids of the opposite sex and on dating itself, including looking as clean ad attractive as possible, being tactful, and giving that person a compliment, such as, "I like your tie!" The overall theme of this little gem is that having AS and High-Functioning autism is a POSITIVE thing. "Different is cool!" To Luker Jackson, AS has more good than bed-creative, original thinking, a tendency to follow the law to the letter, and a real desire to learn and discover things about a specific interest-the makings of a future Einstein or Picasso. When I read this book, I got the wonderful feeling that we are more "normal" than not, and that "normal" is really an arbitrary standard, set by each society and not a hard and fast rule. Three cheer to Luke Jackson and his nifty book for teens with AS!! This should be in every school library and in every home of a teen with AS. Need I say more? Oh, and one more thing . . . this book has a glossary of idioms, to help teens with Asperger's Syndrome understand the English language a little better.

As the mother of an AS son, I've read plenty of books about Asperger Syndrome, and am quickly becoming an expert on all the buzzwords and checklists associated with AS. I cannot tell you how refreshing it was to read an upbeat, practical book about the challenges and rewards (yes, rewards!) of Asperger's, written by a cheerful teenager who lives in the AS world. Luke's lighthearted first-hand approach to a wide range of topics was a breath of fresh air after reading several helpful but rather scholarly books, all written from an 'outsider's' point of view. Thise guide is a must in any AS collection.

As a parent of a newly diagnoised adolescent with Aspergers, I am trying to read as much as I can get my hands on. This book is by far, one of the best. As I read, I had to constantly remind myself that the author was only 13 years old!! His writing style is amazing. He writes intellegently, passionately and with humor. I chuckled through many chapters. He offers discriptions of how it feels to be different,( "it's cool to be different") his everyday struggles and suggests how to cope. My 12 year old sleeps with the book under her pillow!! I wish I could give Luke Jackson a big hug.

Luke Jackson draws on his experience as a teenager with Asperger's Syndrome to present a perspective on AS. The book provides a great deal of practical advice for teenagers on the spectrum and those who interact with them. In addition--and perhaps most importantly--the book provides a very well organized and comprehensive view of the condition from the "inside," taking a great step to making what perplexes those on the "outside" understandable. One very nice feature of the book is that the writer recognizes the significance of individual differences in the way AS is manifested in different people. As a special bonus, the book is sprinkled with a delightful sense of humor of a quality with which few people outside the spectrum are endowed.