Good books on Aspergers in girls

[yellowplumpreserves]

We are starting to suspect that our DD1 (aged 9) might have Aspergers. Very high functioning, but definitely showing a lot of signs of it. We are not currently in a position to seek a diagnosis (we are abroad) but will be looking into that. In the meantime, what are the best books on Aspergers (especially in girls) that we could read to educate ourselves about it? Or would anyone be willing to talk about their own experience with this? Thanks.

Sarah Hendrickx, Tania Marshall, Rudy Simone are all worth looking at. Also look up Rosie King on YouTube, both her TEDx talk and her Newsround film 'My Autism and Me', they are excellent. Lots of autistic women are blogging, some diagnosed in childhood and some in adulthood.

'High functioning' is very misused, it originally meant no intellectual disability but seems to have come to mean 'pass for normal', and this passing, or hiding our autism, often called masking of camouflaging, can be incredibly harmful. Whatever avenue you pursue please make sure your dd can be happy being being herself, this really is the most important thing, and do prioritise her mental health and well-being above pretty much everything.

Have a look at Tony Attwood. He has written about Asperger's in girls, and there is also a few quite helpful talks that he has done on Vimeo/YouTube. I agree 100% with Snails. Prioritise mental health, as this is often how Asperger's in girls manifests. I have an 11 year old daughter who was diagnosed with Asperger's at the age of six, so I'm happy to talk about it with you if you want to PM.

Books published by The Girl with the Curly Hair project - thegirlwiththecurlyhair.co.uk/books/

There are also a few talks by all these people (Sarah Hendrickx, Tania Marshall, etc.) on YouTube. YouTube also has quite a lot of women or teenagers on the spectrum who talk about their experiences as girls - e.g. Purple Ella (two of her three children are also on the spectrum, one girl and one boy), Invisible i, Not So Neurotypical, Amythest Schaber, Alex's Asperger Vlog, Hannah Riedel, Sew Many Books, etc. - if you look up a few there will be links below to many more. I've found watching some of these and seeing the huge variety of experience but also where the commonalities and stress points are very helpful (though my DD is only 3).

I'm an adult female with Asperger's and I'd be very happy to talk to you if you DM me.

As for books, "I'm and Aspie Girl" is good for pre-teen girls. I'd avoid anything by Rudy Simone (she's very patronising and I feel also very inaccurate and quite depressingly wrong about how successfully life can work out).

As other poster have said, embracing who your DD is, including all the quirks, is very important. Yes, we need to learn how to cope in and NT world but it's just as important to build a safe world to be ourselves in.

Thanks for all this. Sorry it's taken me ages to come back to the thread. I have been reading the posts, but it's been a bit mad here with lots on. I have had a couple of chats with good friends who see a lot of DD1. Both of them are teachers and both have taught girls with Aspergers. When I mentioned we were looking into it, they both said that they thought that was a good idea. They didn't think we were barking up the wrong tree at all, and one of them had wondered independently. I found that encouraging. Really just want to help her manage things (particularly socially) but I can't imagine her without all her funny quirks. It's just who she is and that's great. I may message you, Springer, but it might not be straightaway, as there is tonnes on just now. Thanks for the offer though, it is helpful.