Product Description

As someone with Asperger Syndrome, Wendy Lawson knows all about the social difficulties that accompany the condition. Here she guides others on the autism spectrum through the confusing map of life, tackling the building bricks of social existence one by one. With insight and practical suggestions she looks at issues such as the concept of 'self' and 'other,' the difficulty of 'putting on a face' and how to deal with unwelcome changes, helping all those on the higher-functioning end of the autism spectrum, and those close to them, to get the best out of a world that is often perplexing.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1140739 in Books
• Published on: 2003-02-15
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 176 pages

About the Author
Wendy Lawson overcame a misdiagnosis of schizophrenia to become a social worker and adult educator. Author of Life Behind Glass and Understanding and Working with the Spectrum of Autism, both published by Jessica Kingsley Publishers, she lives in Victoria, Australia.

Customer Reviews

Somewhat confusing and not very helpful for me.
As an adult with Asperger Syndrome, I thought this book would be exactly what I was looking for to help me. The title sounds great and the table of contents looked great too, and it was written by another woman with AS. But I was very disappointed when I got the book and started reading it. The whole book is an extended metaphor (and if you know anything about AS, you know that metaphors can confuse us). I understood the main point of this metaphor (your life is a house or building), but some of the other points (plumbing, electricity, etc.) totally confused me. I had trouble forming the connections to understand what the author was talking about. I also found that some of the subheadings within the book would say one thing and the text that followed seemed to be on a completely different topic and/or did not say anything very helpful (at least for me). I have read many, many books and articles on AS (I am also a graduate student), and there are much better and more helpful books available. I have several books that I will consult on a regular basis and read multiple times, but this one will probably just stay on the shelf.

Useful but extremely confusing
I have found much of the advice in this book useful, if I remove it completely from the context of the metaphor that occurs throughout the book. I didn't understand why a metaphor like this would be made the main theme of a book for autistic people, given that many of us have trouble with metaphors. It took several rereadings to get anything beyond confused, especially given that there were a lot of unfamiliar words and phrases like "monotropic" and "closed pictures".

However, once I had resolved to ignore all reference to houses, buildings, weedkiller, and similar metaphors, I found the information in the book more useful than I have found elsewhere in terms of things written for autistic people. This is probably because it explains not only what to do, but how and why to do it. It also, unlike many books, emphasizes acceptance of being different as the *foundation* of building a proper life for oneself as an autistic person. The sections on dealing with friendships were some of the most useful to me.

I hope that there will someday be an easier-to-read book for autistic people that contains more information. I have read other books intended for autistic people, though, including a different one by an autistic person, and _Build Your Own Life_ has had at the heart of it the most useful information.

Cutting Through the Metaphors
While I am delighted to see another book for adults with Asperger's, I am dismayed to find this one so choked with metaphors. The over-dependency on the "building" analogies and the weed-killer weakens what could be a highly effective book.

Sadly, the heavy-handed application of terms such as "closed pictures" is often lost on the audience for whom this work was written. For people with Asperger's who do read this book, you might want an NT (neurotypical) translator to interpret some of it.