Reweaving the Autistic Tapestry: Autism, Asperger Syndrome and ADHD

By Lisa
Blakemore-Brown.
Jessica Kingsley Publishing
£13.95
ISBN 1 85302 748 0

Rewaving the Autistic Tapestry
concerns children who struggle to relate to other people. Some have
learning difficulties, some are autistic, and others are
hyperactive or socially withdrawn.

In the course of the past 50 years, labels
such as autism, attention hyperactivity disorder, dyslexia,
specific language disorders, Tourette’s syndrome and Asperger’s
syndrome have been introduced to describe these behaviourally
disordered children. Although it is acknowledged that these
behaviours arise because of genetic environmental factors, the
precise causes of most such disorders have still to be unravelled
and we have little evidence about how they might relate to each
other.

The author uses the metaphor of a
multicoloured tapestry to explore the interweaving of such
conditions. She argues that this group of children have much in
common and that we could learn how to intervene more effectively if
we attended to the interweaving of the “autistic tapestry”. Case
studies drawn from her practice as an applied psychologist enrich
the picture she presents.

There is a useful resource list and a review
of current interventions. The case studies are well written, but
the text has been poorly edited and contains too much
repetition.

Oliver Russell is a consultant
psychiatrist.