Description
T.B. describes what it is like to be forgotten by autism services because he is too high functioning. As high functioning as he is, he still has great difficulty in forming social relationships and keeping employment. He shares about how his staff is learning to help him day by day to be successful in employment and relationships. He is able to teach his staff his weaknesses and they work on them. T.B, shares some tips and ideas for how you can help someone with high functioning autism or asperger syndrome like he has. If you are able to find a dedicated staff that is in it for the passion of helping adults that are high functioning can train their staff how to help them and teach them what they need to work on. It is a tragedy in the making that people who are high functioning are being ignored by the system and insurance companies. Ignoring the problem is only going to make it bigger and cost our country far more than it would have if we would have been providing great autism services for the higher functioning population. T.B. discusses many similarities and difference between high functioning asperger syndrome and low functioning autism in this book. Someone who appears to be high functioning might not be any higher functioning than a lower functioning non-verbal person with autism. Just because they are verbal does not mean they know how to communicate. In fact, it is said that communication is ninety-three percent non-verbal and only seven percent verbal. You could imagine how confused someone with high functioning asperger syndrome would be by not being able to read any body language or non-verbal communication. This book is sure to open your eyes to an end of the spectrum that is so often forgotten. This book also includes some fiction in parts of the story. Here is an excerpt from the book. "But things still kept bothering me and I still had a very hard time making and keeping friends. I was working really hard at learning social skills and reading a lot of books. I am very good at researching and reading about things that I would like to know more about. So I try very hard to stay actively involved in the current literature as to what is out there. Then all of a sudden when I was about 27 it hit me. I started hearing terrible voices that were saying such negative things about myself. They told me I needed to die and that I should self-harm as a punishment for being autistic. The voices did not like me and they were always mean and evil voices. Then I started seeing things and my illness was progressing. I saw people following me and chasing after me. I became frightened to even leave my home or go anywhere because I was afraid that someone was following me or chasing after me."
About the Author
I enjoy camping, hiking, backpacking, and traveling. I hope to visit all 50 states one day along with traveling abroad. I like meeting new people so I go to new restaurants and hot spots throughout the city from time to time. I also have numerous online friends in which I stay in touch with through social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter. I am a sports fan. Football and Basketball are my favorites. I play some recreational sports for fun only. I root for the IU Hoosiers, Boston Celtics, Green Bay Packers and Indianapolis Colts. I have Asperger's which just means I'm Awesome
