Patricia Romanowski Bashe - Asperger Syndrome: The OASIS Guide, Revised: Advice, Inspiration, Insight, and Hope, from Early Intervention to Adulthood

A marvelous book full of practical and sensible suggestions and advice. This volume will be of great help to parents and professionals alike and an invaluable resource for all those concerned with supporting individuals with Aspergers.

Fred R. Volkmar, MD, Irving B. Harris Professor, director, Child Study Center, Yale University School of Medicine

Patty Romanowski Bashe has done it again.This is a compass to send you in the right direction to get the supports you may need. Thank you, Patty!

Jed Baker, PhD, director of the Social Skills Training Project and author of No More Victims: Protecting Those with Autism from Cyber Bullying, Internet Predators, and Scams

The OASIS Guide has always been a go- to resource for information regarding Asperger syndrome.With all the controversy regarding the conception of the autism spectrum disorders, Asperger Syndrome: The OASIS Guide is an even-handed treatment that emphasizes solid, empirical research. It belongs on every clinicians and researchers bookshelf.

Bobby Newman, PhD, BCBA, founder of Room to Grow and author of Move with a Purpose, Behaviorspeak, and Behavioral Detectives

A godsend to the increasing number of families who have a child recently diagnosed with Asperger syndrome (AS)

Uta Frith, professor of cognitive development, University of London; deputy director of the UCL Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience; and author of Autism and Asperger Syndrome

Well beyond merely identifying and defining AS, the authors provide dozens of field-tested strategies that can be used at home, in the classroom, and in the community. If you share your home or classroom with a child with Asperger syndrome, buy this book.

Richard D. Lavoie, executive producer of How Difficult Can This Be? The F.A.T. City Workshop and author of Its So Much Work to Be Your Friend

Incredible! The OASIS Guide contains tremendous advice, tips, and practical solutions to manage the confusion of special ed and Asperger syndrome. The new parent and seasoned veteran should read the guide cover to cover. It is excellent.

Peter W. D. Wright, Esq., coauthor of Wrightslaw: Special Education Law and owner of wrightslaw.com

If someone were to ask me to suggest the most useful resource about AS, I would not hesitate for an instant: The OASIS Guide. This is a must-read book for parents, educators, and individuals with AS alike.

Brenda Smith Myles, PhD, author of Asperger Syndrome and Difficult Moments: Practical Solutions for Tantrums, Rage, and Meltdowns

Rarely does one find such a wealth of quality information all between the same two covers. This book has important work to do, and it is more than up to the task.

Carol Gray, director, Gray Center for Social Learning and Understanding

Barbara L. Kirby and Patricia Romanowski Bashe have provided the community of Asperger syndrome with more than a rainbows end of gold. Theyve opened a treasure chest brimming with understanding and support.

Liane Holliday Willey, EdD., author of Pretending to Be Normal: Living with Aspergers Syndrome and Asperger Syndrome in the Family: Redefining Normal

The Parents Guide to Teaching

Kids with Asperger Syndrome and Similar ASDs Real-Life

Skills for Independence

Copyright 2001, 2005, 2014 by PAR Bookworks, Ltd., and Barbara L. Kirby

Foreword copyright 2014 by Tony Attwood
Foreword copyright 2014 by Michael John Carley

All rights reserved.

Published in the United States by Harmony Books, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Random House LLC, a Penguin Random House Company, New York.
www.crownpublishing.com

Harmony Books is a registered trademark and the Circle colophon is a trademark of Random House LLC.

Previous editions were published in hardcover in the United States as The Oasis Guide to Asperger Syndrome by Harmony Books, New York, in 2001 and 2005 respectively.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication data is available upon request.

ISBN 978-0-385-34465-4
eBook ISBN 978-0-8041-4148-2

Cover design by Kathy Kikkert
Cover photography by Stan Godlewski/Stone

v3.1

As always, for Justin Eric Romanowski Bashe

No book, including this one, can ever substitute for the care or expert guidance of a fully qualified health or education professional who knows and works with your child. All opinions and views expressed herein are those of the author, her cited interview subjects, or the authors of the sources cited. Nothing in this book should be construed as having the endorsement of any organization with which the author is or has been affiliated. This book contains no case histories based on real persons. All examples are fictitious scenarios of common situations for individuals with ASDs. The names used in these examples are all fictitious, unless otherwise specifically indicated, and chosen at random. Any resemblance to persons living or dead is coincidental. The exception is to statements about my son, Justin Bashe. He has read and approved all references to himself herein. In the Medication chapter, specific medications are mentioned for illustrative purposes only.

When I started my journey of exploration of Asperger syndrome in the early 1980s, I felt as if I was one of the first psychologists to discover a new world. It was at that time a world with no clinicians or parents maps or travelers guide, and there was, and still is, a sense of excitement from discovering an alternative way of perceiving and thinking. Very soon there were fellow travelerscolleagues, parents, and also those who have Asperger syndromeexplaining their world and culture in conversations and autobiographies. Patricia Romanowski Bashe and Barbara Kirby are parents, each with a young adult who has a diagnosis of Asperger syndrome. Their first OASIS Guide was published in 2001. It quickly became a popular and highly recommended resource for parents and an extremely valuable resource for teachers and specialists in autism. This is now the third edition, this time written by Patty on her own, to keep the reader up-to-date with our evolving knowledge of Asperger syndrome.

Over the last decade, there has been an amazing increase in the research literature on Asperger syndrome, as well as numerous books on specific aspects of Asperger syndrome, and the development and evaluation of services and resources for parents, teachers, therapists, and clinicians. It is difficult to keep pace with all this new knowledge, and I am so pleased that this third edition provides a comprehensive, unbiased, and clear description of our current state of knowledge. The text will answer the many questions raised by parents and professionals. It is almost an encyclopedia of Asperger syndrome, its wise advice based on reviewing the research literature and a personal and insightful perspective.

Patty writes in an engaging, reassuring, and informative style, as though she is your best friend who really understands your experiences, thoughts, and feelings. She originally explored the world of Asperger syndrome as a parent and by analysis of the OASIS message board and surveys. She is now a professor of graduate courses in special education. Thus, she really knows what she is writing about and has empathy for the challenges faced by parents, teachers, and those who have Asperger syndrome.