Book review: Parenting a child with asperger syndrome: 200 tips and strategies

Brenda Boyd, Jessica Kingsley Publishing

ISBN 1843101378, £12.95

STAR RATING 5/5

The author draws on her own experience to produce a compendium of
strategies for people working or living with someone on the
autistic spectrum, writes Mary Laxton.

Boyd’s frank and unfussy style breaks down the now well established
issues in Asperger’s syndrome into digestible tips.

The intended audience is wide but the book’s title could restrict
the readership to parents and carers only, which would be a shame.

For example, it would prove invaluable to successfully including a
child with Asperger’s in mainstream education as it is vital to
understand the whole picture and, importantly, understand that
parents have already developed the best strategies for their child
through experience.

As a teacher, I would like to see this book used as part of
awareness training because, without an insight into what it is like
to live with a child with Asperger’s, no one can be expected to
understand fully. However, as a parent, I appreciate Boyd’s
positive attitude which ensures readers will gain a sense of
celebrating Asperger’s as a life-enriching experience.

Mary Laxton is a parent of a 12-year-old boy with
Asperger’s syndrome and a member of Asperger East Anglia

More from Community Care

Comments are closed.