First, he introduces the reader to his family, then goes on to introduce himself, including his obsessions (the big one being computers, of course!), the things that he has collected, such as pencils and then he talks about the ways he accommodates his sensory problems. One of the most ingenious is to use a balaclava, to provide the deep pressure that he needs to shut out extraneous noise and other stimuli. He goes into the minutest detail about the difficulties he experiences in school, including the literal interpretation of what he hears from the teacher, bullying, the problems involved with homework.
One of the minefields that is socializing and figuring out the subtle nuances in Freaks, Geeks and Asperger's Syndrome is the one on dating. In this chapter, Luke gives important tips on attracting kids of the opposite sex and on dating itself, including looking as clean ad attractive as possible, being tactful, and giving that person a compliment, such as, "I like your tie!" The overall theme of this little gem is that having AS and High-Functioning autism is a POSITIVE thing. "Different is cool!" To Luker Jackson, AS has more good than bed-creative, original thinking, a tendency to follow the law to the letter, and a real desire to learn and discover things about a specific interest-the makings of a future Einstein or Picasso.
When I read this book, I got the wonderful feeling that we are more "normal" than not, and that "normal" is really an arbitrary standard, set by each society and not a hard and fast rule. Three cheer to Luke Jackson and his nifty book for teens with AS!! This should be in every school library and in every home of a teen with AS. Need I say more? Oh, and one more thing . . . this book has a glossary of idioms, to help teens with Asperger's Syndrome understand the English language a little better.
I hope Luke puts out another book as a young adult, and again as an older adult to chronicle his experiences through his life.
Thanks Luke and Tony for a great gift!
The author says in the book that he doesn't want to be seen as just a cute kid writing a book, and in my eyes there is no danger of that. He is a competent writer with a unique perspective on an interesting subject. He also has a degree of nuanced insight that is unusual for any age. For instance, he describes the issue of disclosing autism, and describes why it can be useful or not useful to disclose, but also comments that those autistic people who are able to say they are autistic and proud, like gay people who do the same, are vital to the acceptance and rights of autistic people.
The rest of the book tackles issues like school, fixations, sensory issues, bullying, dating, and other issues facing autistic teenagers. The author describes these things from his own experience and the experience of his autistic family members, and the book is illustrated by his sisters. Aside from the other practical things, though, the attitude expressed on the dedication page is vital to having a sense of self-worth as an autistic person: "To those of you who feel that you don't belong, always remember that different is cool!" It's about time that a book like this came along.
