Life with Aspergers

I have to say that I've generally (and quite successfully) avoided reading anything by Temple Grandin until now. It's not that Temple is bad, quite the contrary, she's arguably the most influential and inspirational person on the spectrum. My reasons for avoiding her work have all been about trying to stay "spoiler free" and figure things out for myself. The first thing I have to say about this book is that it looks like an autobiography. When reviewing books, I usually don't read the back cover or anything past the title and subtitle on the front cover. I skip the table of contents and go straight to the book. This enables me to judge the book by its cover - and then by its contents. I felt that the book looked like an autobiography but I was very pleasantly surprised. This book is a collection of Temple's essays and interviews and it covers a much broader area of study that any biographical work could. The fact that the essays are grouped into categ...

Introduction Ok, this is probably going to be a controversial post so I'll get a few things out of the way before I begin. Just a reminder that I am not a doctor - no medical advice from me should ever be taken seriously - go see a professional before you take any medication. My stance on medication: I'm not anti-medication but I am anti-harm. It's my belief that the only reason a child should be on medication is if it is doing them more good than harm. As I write this, my youngest child has just been diagnosed with ... well, nothing in particular. Our pediatric psychologist surprised us by simply saying that since it was obvious that he had emotional issues, he should go on Risperdal . I'll admit to being quite stunned. I had expected a recommendation of behavioural therapy of some kind - not a drug-based "quick fix". I'd heard some horror stories about the drug but then, being a balanced person, I knew that every drug, particularly those used in chil...