ASD diagnosis today - need your reading recs!

[Mij]

Hi all

DD1 is 12, has just had a 'not aspergers because we don't call it that any more but that's kind of what we're saying' diagnosis today. It was both a no-brainer and a shock and a relief and I cried like a blithering idiot because I might just stop blaming myself and I'm definitely not imagining things. Maybe.

Anyway, DD1 is super-academic and a voracious reader, so looking for stuff, fiction and non-fiction, for her to read that might help her get her head around it all. She's not clueless - she has friends on the spectrum and her school are bloody amazing at supporting kids whether they have a diagnosis or not, and she's been involved in a couple of intervention groups - but I'm thinking particularly books or resources that have first-person experience of being a teen with ASD, that are considered 'high functioning' (though I know that's no longer really used either). And particularly girls. We've already been told about The Girl With The Curly Hair.

Thanks :-)

Bumping for the after school crowd

Aw c'mon guys, there must be someone out there? Or does everyone just stick to chat now?

Anyone..?

Coming on to see if there are any recommendations, having recently had a diagnosis for a 14yo boy in the same situation.

Have you/she watched the Ch 4 programme 'Are You Autistic?': presented by two early 20s (I think!) autistic women who were brilliant and very funny: Sam Ahern & Georgia Harper. The Reason I Jump was recommended by our SENCO, but me and ds are the only people in the world who didn't really love it!

Thank you. I've come across the girl with the curly hair but it's all a bit pricey, particularly if you'd like more than one book. The whole approach makes me bristle a bit because it's based on one person's experience but is actually slightly irrational on my part. Will give it a try though, and definitely look up that C4 programme.

Already have, no joy. I'm wondering if they don't sell to libraries as it's a social enterprise and they charge for everything.

Eaglefly I went to a parent workshop run by our local NHS trust and came out with pages and pages of resources. Only a few will be relevant but I'll trawl them and post here.

Ok, a few slightly dodgy photos of relevant pages.

And more

The Girl with the curly hair also on Facebook if that helps x

Aspergers and Girls featuring Tony Attwood.

@Mij Lots of info on the NAS website:

www.autism.org.uk/professionals/training-consultancy/online/women-and-girls.aspx

Sorry, this thread is clearly not active anymore. You didn't specify fiction or non-fiction, though. Two fiction books I found helpful were "The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night Time" (about a boy with Aspergers; definitely readable, and one of my favourites). Another I found particularly great was "The State Of Grace", which seems more accurate to your child. It's about a girl, who happens to have Aspergers, navigating through her first romance, -alongside every day stuff, at age sixteen. It's based on the UK, so if you're American the setting may be unfamiliar. But the book resonated deeply, and it's very underrated in my opinion, and I wish I had it at your child's age.

For a non-fiction route, even though it's not what you asked for, "The Asperkids Secret Book Of Social Rules" was extremely helpful, as it was written by a woman with Aspergers, providing tips for pretty much any situation your child may need to tackle. Even today I thumb through my copy to remind myself of things I feel like I've forgotten. It's very lighthearted, easy to read, accessible, and does not (in my opinion) carry that overly preachy tone some people use when trying to educate us on social rules. It's a worthy investment, in my opinion.

Again, sorry for bringing a dead thread alive, but book recommendations are irresistible to me.

Hi crabishere

Reawaken, it's fine! I was after diction actually, I read Curious Incident when it first came out & while I thrill DD will like it it probably won't speak to her. Thanks for the other suggestion. In the UK so all familiar ;-)

Ellie56 thanks yes I've got the charity links, it was fiction I was particularly interested in, as DD is an avid reader. It's all useful though :-)