It gave me a good idea of what I may be up against with a diagnosis of this type. My son was recently diagnosed and any help I can get in understanding this disease more and helping my son be all that he can be, I'm going to try my best to do it.

The inside cover blurb describes it as "Rain Man" meets "Wargames". Having recently seen Altman's "The Player", I thought this was a joke pitch. I was wrong, it was serious. Clearly written with a screenplay in mind. The graphic violence was unnecessary to make the point about the "bad guy" and will never make it to the screen. Unbelievable conversion of another "bad guy" from one who works through influence to cold-blooded murder. The "good guy" was too saintly. Interesting twist: a shadowy, secret goverment organization engaged in good works

This is well-written and well-researched. It is quite evident the author has a great deal of experience, insight, and most of all, compassion. It's clear that her education philosophy is child-centered, child-focused--not teacher focused. Many helpful bulleted lists for quick reading on symptoms etc. Many strategies--so it's a must for the classroom teacher! The best thing is every chapter includes many snippets of real-life vignettes of a paragraph of an autistic child: they're like little short video-tapes that help the reader understand the perspective of life from the child's point of view. Extremely practical--knowledge and strategies one can immediately implement in the classroom the very next day.

Those familiar with evolution theory know that humans are adapted or genetically designed for conditions as they existed in prehistoric times, say 10,000 years ago. It is now widely accepted that many current human ailments result from the major differences that exist between the environment and general situation in which we now live and conditions in the distant past. Our bodies struggle to cope with the current conditions because they were designed for the earlier time.

Bowles makes a fascinating and, in my opinion, scientifically valid case that vitamin D is part of just such an adaptation issue. The skin makes vitamin D (actually a hormone) in response to exposure to sunlight. The hormone, as they usually do, signals other biological systems that would in prehistoric times want to vary between winter and summer. Bowles suggests that scares regarding skin cancer caused people to protect against sun exposure and consequently caused their bodies to falsely adjust to prehistoric winter conditions. Development of sun screens worsened this situation. He further suggests that obesity, depression, and many other conditions are therefore caused or worsened by tricking the body into thinking it is perpetually winter.

Bowles goes on to describe his personal odyssey and how he experienced miraculous improvement in various medical conditions after taking more than the recommended dose of vitamin D.

This is n excellent book with a wealth of information, facts, ideas and tactics that can be used by parents and professionals. As a parent of an autistic child and a professional who assesses and helps diagnose autism in the uk I have read this ebook from cover to cover making notes as I go along. I dare say there is a uk version of this book one which I will look out for. An easy to read book especially for parents wit newly diagnosed children.

After hearing Susan Thompson Moore speak about her book I had to buy it. It covers just about every academic and social difficulty you can think of. The author easily explains to the reader what Asperger Syndrome is and how it effects the individual through language development, social interaction, sensory integration, motor functioning, and cognitive processing. Many positive strategies are provided on organizational and curriculum accomodations as well as developing social skills and team work.

I have enjoyed reading this book and can see how easily the strategies can be put into place. I also like the charts and graphs that can easily be reproduced for my own use. I recommend this book for parents with children with AS in elementary school and younger (we need to plan!) and well as elementary teachers with special needs kids in their classroom.

After years of issues with fine motor skills, social interaction and noise intolerance,my 11 year old daughter's secondary school are now questioning autistic spectrum disorder. This book gives a very readable overview of the subject and it's reassuring to learn that Asperger's is often not picked up until the age of 11.

I really liked how this finished up the first book. I will definitely be reading the next book in the series. I can't wait to read more about the brothers. :)

I am proud of this writer for sharing her insights. The Autism Spectrum has many variations. She is definately on the highest end of the functional curve. It took me 40 years to understand enough about humans, their world with its complex social instituational and workplace expectations to keep a job. I only barely function well enough to remain employed now with lots of help. I manage my autistic issues within the parameters of most human social tolerances. I have mastered living alone in human society with few exceptions.

I picked up the book upon reading the first few pages most of her experiences were immediately familiar to me. I guess where she and I diverge is in the fact she has done so well socializing with the humans. She also seems to have an understanding of human society, culture and its sophisticated ways that shocks me. My struggle has been hard, I have come from total backwardness to bare basics functionality in this world. I am not jealous of her success I respect it but she sounds so normal and in control it scares me.

I guess thats the problem. She sounds as if she has everything about her AS under control. For me managing the anger and other issues associated with tantrums, desires to self mutalate, desires to fight those who touch me, make sudden loud noises among other things is a constant battle I am not always so certain I will win. Many times if things get too rough at work I have no alternative but to leave before I lose control and revert to feral instinct driven primal less appropriate resolutions of workplace situations.

Her book almost frightens me because for some on the AS spectrum things are not that neat, cut, dry and controlled.... I am so happy she does not have to deal with the uncontrolled issues threatening to get away I manage every moment, but I wish I knew how she managed to get things set up so nice. I still do not socialize well at all. I have no connection with anyone outside work. I do not socialize with family not because I do not want to, I LOVE my family, I just do not know how to establish and maintain connections with humans in situations that do not involve meeting a deadline or completing a structured task. Human relationships outside work have no structure and I am a lost foolish thing in such circumstances. The writer seems as adept plying the waters of human interpersonal relations as any so called neuro-typical human.

She seems to have decoded even mastered the human equation expectations model far better than I have in my lifetime of trying. Me I am just struggling to stay afloat on the vast unforgiving sea of human reality. I must be satisfied to barely survive among humans in their society; as the best I can do is just enough to keep from being rejected from my job and institutionalized. I never even thought someone with AS could understand this world well enough to interact among the humans on advanced levels this writer has reached. The writer is doing more than just surviving among humans its almost as if she has mastered things in the human world I still do not know exist.

This book is a great read and worth buying but please do not think all people with AS have it this easy. Please know that if you have AS you have a good chance of being successful in your chosen field if you stick with it and let NO ONE stand in your way. This book paints a picture of a person with AS that has had the best possible outcome which you must understand is extremely rare. My only problem with this book is I hope it does not give false hope to those struggling with the issues associated with living with AS or living on the spectrum. Please know that for most people with AS you will likely succeed if you try with all your heart. Just know that success in life will MORE LIKELY THAN NOT be a constant often painful struggle at college, on the job, at home and expecially in unstructured social situations among humans. Success in this human reality will more likely be a fight to survive in the storm of adversity not a cake walk in the sunshine of bright smiling faces that is this writers experience.

I really liked how this finished up the first book. I will definitely be reading the next book in the series. I can't wait to read more about the brothers. :)

My son was diagnosed with Autism at the age of 4. I was lucky enough to have a friend recommend I attend a conference dealing with Applied Behavioral Analysis(ABA). During the break I wandered through the hundreds of books available for purchase in the lobby. Needless to say, I was overwhelmed.

Surrounded by parents of Autistic children, caregivers, special education teachers and psychologists, I decided to ask for help. Each person I asked "which is the best book to buy first?" pointed to "A work in progress".

2 years later this is the book I recommend to anyone interested in learning about ABA, or implementing a behavioral program for their child.

From toilet training to social skills, how to teach imaginative play to basic conversations, Ron Leaf left no stone unturned.

The instructions, explanations and examples are clear and concise. You will learn about ABA and how to implement a home program with this easy to use guide. For professionals and novices alike, this book will be a tremendous help. Though we have moved on to the more advanced "Teach me language", "A work in progress" is always close at hand.

"Nothing is impossible, some things just require more steps"

As a mother with a child with autism and huge sensory difficulties, I found this book extremely helpful. It was easy to understand and gave great tips for things to help my child.