Product Description

In this "carry-on support group", Jeffrey Cohen, father of eleven-year-old Josh who was diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome at the age of five, examines what it's like to be the parent of a child with AS - where the pitfalls are and how to do your best to avoid them. With a great sense of humor and welcome, at times unflinching honesty, Cohen looks at all the emotions associated with being an AS parent - worry, sadness, anxiety, joy, pride, fear, triumph - and offers a pat on the back, a shoulder to cry on, a kick in the pants or a warm hug, when needed. With an easy-to-read , anecdotal tone, The Asperger Parent provides essential information and emotional support without being clinical and dry.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #154116 in Books
• Published on: 2002-10-15
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 260 pages

Review
Finally, a book that addresses PARENTS of children with AS. It's easy to read and hard to put down. -- Diane Adreon, Associate Director, Center for Autism and Related Disabilities, and a parent of a child with AS

From trials to victories, to Josh stating that he "likes having AS", there is much here for AS parents. -- Stephen Shore, Author of Beyond the Wall: Personal Experiences with Autism and Asperger Syndrome

If you have ever felt alone in the parenting experience, this book is for you! -- Lisa Elliott, Author of Embarrassed Often, Ashamed Never

About the Author
Besides being an Asperger parent, Jeffrey Cohen is a freelance writer and screenwriter, whose work has appeared in The New York Times, The Star-Ledger, American Baby, TV Guide, USA Weekend, and Premiere, among many others. He is also the author of For Whom The Minivan Rolls: An Aaron Tucker Mystery. He lives in New Jersey with his wife and two children.

Customer Reviews

This is about YOU. No, really, not your child, you!
If you're like me, you buy books on AS and consider the purchase a treat for yourself, even though the books concern your child. I was afraid this book might lose its focus on the parent at some point and start to focus on our kids--after all, how can one write about parenting a child with AS without writing about the children?--but the book remains solidly focused on the parents and discusses our children only in relation to our own lives.

Cohen is funny and insightful. I knew he knew what my life was like from the moment I read a line on the first page about when his son was expelled from his first preschool. My son was also asked to leave two preschools, so I had to chuckle in recognition.

This book is one I'll turn to whenever I need a real treat--just for me.

Simply Great Advice
Having a "special needs" child is an incredibly stressful ongoing event and something author Jeff Cohen knows well as the father of a child with Asperger Syndrome. In its simplest terms, Asperger Syndrome (AS) is a form of higher functioning autism. Instead of another book on how to help the child, Jeff Cohen looked at the often forgotten group in such situations: the parents. Parents, regardless of the child's disability, are often blamed by society for their child's problems and may not have the local support needed to deal with the issues. This book, as he notes in the first chapter, is designed to be a sort of portable support group for those days and times it all gets to be too much.

It will get to be too much at times as he writes in the second chapter, "Other Parents Think I'm A Monster." What parent of a special needs child hasn't gotten the LOOK from another parent or adult when his or her child acted way out of bounds in public? That look that says you aren't doing something right and why won't you stop the child now? Jeff Cohen relates his own experiences along with the guilt and shame one instantly feels as others pass judgment on your parenting skills without ever having spent a minute in your shoes. Something all parents of special needs children will relate to.

If one isn't careful that internal battle can spill over into the schools. In "The Debate Over Inclusion" he lays out the arguments on both sides of the issue regarding placement of AS children in the public school system and recounts how well his local school district has handled the situation. He shares coping skills concerning the school's staff decisions and how to best get the help the child needs without becoming adversarial.

What follows is maybe the most important chapter in the book, "Remember That Person You're Married To?" The author gently and with more anecdotes reminds the reader to pay attention to his or her spouse. The guilt and stress over having an AS child or any disabled child is heavy, and it is easy to blame the partner for the situation. One has to constantly remember that it isn't anyone's fault and to take time to keep the romance alive. The author advocates quite strongly that time alone together for the parents is vitally important not only to strengthen the relationship, but to be a better parent and happier person that it is better able to cope with the situation. This chapter contains a lot of good advice not only for AS parents but for everyone.

Jeff Cohen then goes on to cover how to deal with sibling rivalry, moments one dreads like eating out and going on vacation, how to deal with medication issues, and other topics. Through it all, the author shares his personal experiences both happy times and sad times as she shares hard earned insight from being there before much was known about the syndrome. It is a roller coaster ride and Jeff Cohen recounts it all along with providing a lot of good information.

The bottom line theme through out the work is directly expressed towards the end of the book, "Lighten Up On Yourself." Jeff Cohen's overall point is that none of it is your fault and you are going to make mistakes as an AS parent. Hopefully, the good will outweigh the bad which is the best any of us as parents can hope for whether our children have AS or not.


Book Facts:

The Asperger Parent: How to Raise a Child With Asperger Syndrome and Maintain Your Sense of Humor
By Jeffrey Cohen
Autism Asperger Publishing Co.
www.asperger.net
Large Trade Paperback
ISBN # 1-931282-14-5
243 pages
$19.95


Kevin R. Tipple © 2005

A new must-read
Jeffrey Cohen has captured the fears, frustrations, triumphs and hopes of Asperger parents beautifully. Easy to read, humorous and reassuring, this book is a great addition to the must-read list for parents of children challenged with Asperger Syndrome and related developmental disorders.
Somewhat repetitious, but we're used to that!