Social Skills for Teenagers and Adults with Asperger Syndrome: A Practical Guide to Day-to-day Life

Description

This resource provides practical strategies for helping teenagers and adults with Asperger Syndrome to navigate social skills, friendships and relationships at home and in the community.The author offers advice and useful strategies for tackling day-to-day problems such as visits to the dentist or the doctor, searching for a job, sorting out personal finances, going on vacation, and dealing with public transport, as well as more intimate topics such as dating and acquiring and maintaining friendships. The chapters are structured around real-life scenarios and the challenges they present, followed by step-by-step solutions and suggestions. A final section provides a set of practical self-help tools, which encourage the reader to note down answers to the questions posed and record personal reflections.This accessible guide will be essential reading for teenagers and adults with Asperger Syndrome and their families, teachers, therapists, counsellors, carers, social and health work professionals. FRONT COVER......Page 1 Social Skills forTeenagers and Adults with Asperger Syndrome; A Practical Guide to Day-to-Day Life......Page 5 Contents......Page 9 Introduction: Asperger Syndrome and theExperiences of Teens and Adults......Page 11 What is Asperger Syndrome?......Page 15 Experiences of Teens and Adults with Asperger Syndrome......Page 18 What are social skills?......Page 44 What are communication skills?......Page 49 How are social skills and communication skills related?......Page 56 Steps to increase social competence......Page 57 Acquaintances......Page 62 Family......Page 69 Friends......Page 75 Dating......Page 82 Marriage ......Page 87 Parenting......Page 93 Strangers ......Page 97 Nutrition, fitness and sleep......Page 104 Mental healthcare......Page 110 Healthcare ......Page 115 Living at home, supported living, and independent living......Page 121 Self-care......Page 126 Home care......Page 129 Budgeting and financial management......Page 132 Career and vocational assessment......Page 135 College, technical institutes and apprenticeships......Page 140 Finding employment......Page 146 Keeping a job......Page 148 Assistive technology......Page 153 Effective listening......Page 156 Eye gaze......Page 158 Fix-up strategies......Page 159 Lists......Page 160 Role-playing......Page 161 Self-assessment......Page 162 Self-determination......Page 163 Self-disclosure......Page 164 MY JOURNAL......Page 166 GLOSSARY......Page 200 REFERENCES......Page 202 SUBJECT INDEX......Page 207 AUTHOR INDEX......Page 210