The Best Aspergers Books

Instantly downloadable books, hard cover books, and paperbacks

Originally I wrote this page about strictly the best Asperger's books. I had links to instantly downloadable books, and Kindle books (also instantly downloadable), and "hard copy" (hardcover and paperbook) Aspergers books.

It occurred to me that just because I think a particular book would qualify for a "Best Aspergers Book" award doesn't mean everyone does. Just like no two children/adults with Asperger's Syndrome are alike, neither are two books about Asperger's because some techniques work for some while entirely different techniques work for others.

So I decided to instead list not just what I felt were the best Aspergers books but more importantly what my visitors tell me they're finding interesting and helpful. Hopefully this will help you to decide on some books yourself. :)

When I was looking for the best Aspergers books after my son was diagnosed with Aspergers Syndrome I jumped online and ended up buying four(!) at an online bookstore that same day.

Well, actually, I ordered them from an online bookstore that same day but I never received my order. errgghh!

So I called them to ask where my shipment was and they set up a second order.

I didn't get that order either so I completely canceled and then placed a new order at Amazon.

Within days my Aspergers books were, finally (Yeah Amazon)! :)

Then I had to decide which I was going to read first! ;)

I had purchased two books for my husband and I, one for our 14 year old daughter that is written specifically to siblings, friends and other relatives of Aspies and one that's kind of a workbook to help the person with Asperger's Syndrome to understand what's going on (in this case Cameron).

Below is what I have been discovering in my quest for the best Aspergers books...

Instantly Downloadable Aspergers Books and Guides

First, a list of instantly downloadable books and guides.

Sometimes when I need help or an answer I need it *now*, not in 2-5 days when a book I order finally arrives. By the time a book that I ordered has finally arrived we're already off on a new tangent anyway and there's something else I need an instant answer to.

I'm sure you know what I'm talking about. ;)
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The Essential Guide To Autism

If you or someone you know has a loved one with Autism then I'm willing to bet that the fearful thought of your child not living independently some day and not enjoying life to its fullest has crossed your mind more than once. I know I have worried about it more times than I can count.

Now you can get an instant download of a wonderful guide that will help your loved ones to live to their full potential, and it's guaranteed.

If you suffer uncertainty and confusion over your child's Autism (who doesn't? ;) Just today I went round and round with my 19-year-old son trying to explain how bowling leagues work [he'd misunderstood what someone told him and I couldn't break through that misunderstanding]) then this instantly downloadable book could be exactly what you're looking for.

Rachel, the author, began searching for information when Autism entered her life. She couldn't find much information available about it so she decided to do some research and put together this guide.

She gives a 90-day Satisfaction Guarantee and she gives 3 valuable yet free bonuses with your purchase. 90 days to check it out!

Please click here to read more about The Essential Guide to Autism.

The Parenting Autism Resource Guide

I kid you not when I tell you that when you read this you're going to swear that the author was looking over your shoulder when he wrote it.

This downloadable guide and added free bonuses continues to be one of the most often purchased downloadable guides from my visitors.

The author's name is Dave Angel and his last name fits.

I've contacted him a couple times with questions about my son and he is always to gracious in his responses.

And he's funny! He puts out videos of himself dressed in various costumes (I've seen an astronaut and Santa Claus) while talking about how he can help you and I've found myself chuckling more than once at those videos.

The number of people that have written to him is tremendous and if you click through to read more about the Parenting Autism Resource Guide you can read some of those letters and see what he has to offer.

If you decide to purchase it you can have it in your hand (printed and/or on your computer) in mere minutes. :)

Democratic Parenting

I was surprised to see that this downloadable Aspergers book actually isn't a book about Aspergers per se and yet it's very popular.

So I checked it out and now I understand why it's gained so much attention from my visitors.

It was known as The Happy Child Guide and while it heavily addresses families with children with behavioral difficulties it's actually designed to help all families, not just those with behavioral troubles.

It's instantly downloadable and it comes with nine (9!) free bonuses!

Please click through to read more about Democratic Parenting.

Kindle Books and Kindle Readers

First a note on Kindle Readers before the list of last month's most popular Kindle Aspergers books.

Kindle books don't always have to have a Kindle to work (although having a Kindle is a great thing). :)

This is the Kindle that I bought for myself and for my daughter (our birthdays are 8 days apart so we each got one for our birthday), and eventually for my son when he was interested and I've started purchasing Asperger's Syndrome Kindle books to it (funny thing is I wouldn't even have one if my daughter hadn't talked me into it and I love it now). :)

At least some of the Kindle books also work on some computers, iPads, iPods, and smart phones but nothing beats being able to curl up and read a book on your Kindle. If you can swing it a Kindle would an outstanding, excellent Christmas gift (or other occasion) for yourself!

Update: When I first got my Kindle my son wasn't interested. A few weeks ago he told me that he'd love to have one. He does now and he has a couple of his favorite books on it and he reads it all the time now. YAY! :)

The Kindle version of books are sometimes less expensive than the soft cover and hard cover versions of the books (not always but sometimes) so the Kindle can actually pay for itself in savings on books, and imagine the saved space in your home.

I admit that I love having books on a shelf (I love books) but my house seems to be going through a phenomenon of getting smaller and smaller -- every little bit of storage space I can get by clearing out books will make a huge difference for me (and for my elbows, knees, and toes which all seem to be taking a beating lately). ;)
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And now for that list of Kindle Aspergers Books...

Asperger Syndrome and Young Children: Building Skills for the Real World

I don't have this book because my son is now a young adult (almost 19) but I have heard really good things about it and it's been one of the most popular Asperger's Syndrome Kindle Books over the past month.

When I clicked through and read the description it made me wish (a wish I have often) that Cameron had been diagnosed much earlier than 12 and that I had had this book to help him.

As it is I'm struggling to help him with making it in the real world. That's what this book is designed to do, to help you to help your child to prepare for and then make it in the real world.
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Asperger Syndrome and Bullying: Strategies and Solutions

It breaks my heart that I wasn't aware of this book when I needed it most.

Cameron was bullied so terribly, so terribly, it was literally an every day thing, often more than once a day. And when one bully got away with it then another bully would go after him.

At home he would brave the neighborhood and get beat up by the same bully from school (he lived around the corner from us). To my amazement he would brave it the next day and the next day, every day getting nailed by that kid.

It makes me sad because I know that he was lonely and he wanted the kids to play with him and he was willing to risk the beatings in order to play with the kids.

Sadly the bully had all the parents' of the other kids convinced that Cameron was a bad kid so Cameron was shunned by literally everyone on our street except for one boy. But sadly as that boy matured and Cameron didn't he lost that friend and ended up having no one.

When we moved here to Washington and he made it to high school he had a few friends (all "special needs") but they've all moved away. Fortunately they were a buffer for him when it came to bullies and now that Cameron is graduated high school he doesn't have to worry about bullies (school bullies at least) any longer.

Kids with Aspergers are such easy targets.

Some schools are getting on board and starting anti-bullying programs and many states as well but unfortunately it still isn't being taken seriously enough, even by those schools and states that have instituted programs.

Even many school administrators and teachers are bullies.

I've run into school administrative bullies in FOUR schools (his elementary school, the two middle schools he was in, and now his high school [although after much clawing and teeth gnashing, I did get the office bully at his high school to come around and see things my way]).

Maybe this book can help you to get things straightened out for your child, get the school to step on board and start enforcing the no-bullying rules.

Again I wish I had had this book when I needed it most.
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Asperger's Syndrome: A Guide for Parents and Professionals

This was one of the first books I bought. It introduced me to my son's world. I'd been floundering through for so many years and when he was finally diagnosed at 12 years of age, this book really helped me to understand a lot of what was going on with him.

I have the "hard copy" because I bought it way before I got my Kindle but as soon as I can afford to I'll be buying it for my Kindle and giving away my "hard copy".

I have to say that it's no wonder that this book is so popular amongst my readers. :)
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The Complete Guide to Asperger's Syndrome

An excellent book written by Tony Attwood who also wrote the book directly above this one. This is definitely one of my "go-to-on-a-regular-basis" books.

Click here for lots more Kindle Books for Asperger's Syndrome (I was surprised to see how many there actually are!)

Aspergers Books that are Hardcover and/or Paperback

All Cats Have Asperger Syndrome - by Kathy Hoopman

This is the coolest, cutest, and one of the best Aspergers books I've found; definitely one of the best Asperger's books to help children with Asperger's Syndrome, and their siblings/cousins/friends, to understand!

Whenever one of Cameron's friends, or anyone else really, asks me to describe Asperger's Syndrome I hand this book to them. It sits on our coffee table because it is such a CUTE book (the cover alone draws people to it) and it explains Asperger's Syndrome so incredibly well.

It's a VERY quick read (the kids read it in 15-20 minutes) yet his friends "get it" as soon as they read it.

One of his friends asked me the other day "Cameron says he has Asperger's Syndrome. What exactly is Asperger's Syndrome?"

I handed him this book, he was finished in about 20 minutes and I then asked him "Do you see Cameron in it" and his response was "Oh yeah!".

I can't recommend this Aspergers book enough. I even bought one for Cameron's high school!

Definitely one of the best Aspergers books, especially for kids and others who are not into reading!

Personally I would not recommend "All Cats Have Asperger Syndrome" for your Kindle. It's a beautiful picture book and it's designed mostly to teach others, as opposed to yourself, so you definitely want this one on your coffee table or somewhere that visitors to your home will see it.

A Kindle would absolutely not do this book justice.

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1-2-3 Magic Effective Discipline for Children 2-12 - by Thomas W. Phelan

Don't let the title of this book fool you. It is not just for kids up to age 12.

I started using this book when Cameron was 14 years old and although he's almost 19 now I still information from it when I need it.

Absolutely without a doubt this is one of the best Asperger's book for parents - but it's not just for kids with Asperger's, it just happens to work incredibly well for kids with Asperger's as I'm sure it does for neuro-typical kids.

I'd go so far as to say that this Asperger's book is #1 when it comes to helping to modify your child's behaviors.

I get such excellent results when I follow the suggestions in this book. Some of the author's methods I use as written and some I use as springboards to create my own methods.

On a scale of 1 to 10, I give this book a 20 minimum. :o)

I don't want to sound like I'm selling this book (which I guess in a way I am) ;o) but this book really really helped me.

I promise you that this book is amazing.

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Asperger's Syndrome: A Guide for Parents and Professionals - By Tony Attwood

I practically devoured this Asperger's book! It was the first book about Asperger's Syndrome that I purchased after learning that Cameron has Asperger's Syndrome.

You're probably seeing that I have several books listed here that are by Tony Attwood. He's a practicing clinical psychologist specializing in Asperger's Syndrome.

I had plenty of <em>"hit the forehead" moments where I'd say "Ohhh that's why he does this or says that"</em> experiences while reading this book.

It seemed like every two minutes I was interrupting my husband from whatever he was doing so that I could read something from the book to him.

It's clear that the author cares about helping those with Asperger's Syndrome to enjoy life, and many passages touched my heart, and I definitely teared up more than once.

This is another one of the best Asperger's books for parents to recognize their child/ren and themselves, to gain understanding, and to feel a little bit better about what they're going through.

Asperger's Syndrome: A Guide for Parents and Professionals - At Amazon
Read the rest of my review

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Can I Tell You About Asperger Syndrome? A Guide For Friends and Family" by Jude Welton

This book is a very quick read. It's VERY basic, written in VERY basic English. There are basic cartoon drawings included that help illustrate the sections.

This is one of the best Asperger's books for kids and young adults because it's a very quick read, which is a great benefit when you want someone to learn about Asperger Syndrome but that someone isn't real keen on reading, or has many demands on their time allowing them less time to devote to reading a book about Asperger's Syndrome.

I gave a copy of this book to a 16-year-old boy who lives in the neighborhood who somewhat watches out for our son and the other kids on the street. I had a talk with him before giving him the book and it was interesting to hear about the behaviors that he had already observed in our son.

Buy this Asperger's Syndrome book at Amazon and/or read the rest of my review

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The other Asperger's books I've picked up I haven't been able to read in full yet (watch for reviews or please do send me yours, on any Asperger's Syndrome books you've read or Asperger's Syndrome products you've tried :) ...

Social Skills Picture Book for High School and Beyond

A Parent's Guide to Asperger Syndrome and High-Functioning Autism: How to Meet the Challenges and Help Your Child Thrive

Asperger's... What Does It Mean To Me? A workbook explaining self awareness and life lessons to the child or youth with high functioning autism or Asperger's by Catherine Faherty

I don't know that I'd say that this is one of the best Asperger's books but only because my son is absolutely completely uninterested in reading much of anything, let alone a "workbook".

To him, a "workbook" is the same as school work.

Because he compartmentalizes, there is no school work at home (school is for school, and home is NOT for school).

But that doesn't mean it won't work for your child. Maybe if I had been able to get my son started on it at a much younger age but he was already 15/16 when I became aware of this book.

Developing Talents: Careers for Individuals with Asperger Syndrome and High-Functioning Autism

Raising Your Spirited Child: A Guide for Parents Whose Child Is More Intense, Sensitive, Perceptive, Persistent, Energetic

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And here is an outstanding community for parents and caregivers of kids/adults with Asperger's Syndrome.

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