Return to:
News and Views
Reviews: Books
Freaks, Geeks, and Asperger Syndrome: A User Guide to Adolescence
By Luke Jackson. New York, NY: Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 2002, 215 pages, $17.95
Navigating the changes and difficulties that come with adolescence can be challenging and confusing for anyone. For a person diagnosed with a disorder on the autistic spectrum, life in the teenage years can seem especially overwhelming. In Freaks, Geeks, and Asperger Syndrome: A User Guide to Adolescence, Luke Jackson, a 13-year-old boy with Asperger’s Disorder, provides a straightforward and hopeful description of his perspective on teenage life, including practical tips to cope with challenges both ordinary and extraordinary.
The author states that he wrote the book to try to answer questions that other adolescents with disorders on the autistic spectrum are asking, as well as to help parents, teachers, and professionals better understand individuals with these disorders. Freaks, Geeks, and Asperger Syndrome is appropriate for any of these groups and people of any age who want to better accommodate and understand people with Asperger’s and related disorders. Although the author repeats that he is “only thirteen” throughout the book, older teenagers would surely benefit from reading it as well. The vocabulary, insight, and subject matter are more like the work of a high school senior than a child just entering his teens. The author presents his material in a straightforward, witty style with a positive outlook that keeps the reader entertained while simultaneously sending the message that being different is not only okay, but preferable.
The book is broken into 15 easy-to-read chapters that address a variety of topics including the pros and cons of diagnostic labels, dietary considerations, sensory perceptions, sleep, teenage slang and non-literal language, bullying, socializing, and dating. Although the book follows a sequential format, first supplying more basic information about Asperger’s and Autism and then addressing increasingly more complex subjects, any chapter can be read independently. The end of the book contains a list of addresses and websites relevant to topics presented in the chapters.
Freaks, Geeks, and Asperger Syndrome addresses each chapter’s subject by describing the author’s unique perspective and experience as well as providing tips and suggestions for coping, often in the form of a list. For example, in the chapter “Language and Learning,” the author first describes problems that people with autistic spectrum disorders tend to have in using and understanding language, and he explains why these problems occur from his perspective. He then relates a personal story about a teacher’s miscommunication that lead to the author’s disappearance and a subsequent school-wide search. The final portion of the chapter is devoted to helping parents and teachers communicate more effectively with children who have autistic spectrum disorders, ending with a numbered list of communication “solutions” including giving explicit instructions, avoiding metaphor and simile, and using analogies from the child’s own interests to help clarify explanations. Most of the chapters follow a similar format.
As an adjunct to psychotherapy, individual chapters could be assigned according to their relevance for a particular client. The role of the psychotherapist would be to use these chapters to foster discussion with the client, with family members, or between the two. In many cases, the book could be used as a way to help a person with an autistic spectrum disorder pinpoint and describe the difficulties he or she is experiencing. The chapters could also be used as part of “homework” assignments, using the tips and suggestions as tools for progress in role-play scenarios and real-world practice. Importantly, by serving as a reminder that others have similar thoughts, feelings, and experiences, the book could help improve a client’s self esteem and reduce the stigma that is often associated with autistic spectrum disorders.
One of the greatest strengths of the book is that it is written from a unique perspective, by a person who has experienced firsthand the joys, fears, and challenges described. It helps the reader to recognize that everyone with an autistic spectrum disorder is not a “Rainman” with phenomenal and freakish abilities, and instead promotes the understanding that most are ordinary people with a special set of perspectives and difficulties.
The book is limited only in that the tips and suggestions are the work of a bright, insightful young person and not the product of established scientific research, so the advice should be viewed as suggestions and not solutions. In addition, the author is British, so occasional words and grammatical structures could be unfamiliar to an American reader, but this should not pose a significant problem considering that the Harry Potter novels are also in British English, and this fact did not seem to hinder their popularity. Overall, Freaks, Geeks, and Asperger Syndrome is a valuable resource for understanding and enhancing the lives of people with disorders on the autistic spectrum.