All Cats Have Asperger Syndrome

My son (who loves cats) loved this book. I think it helped him to not feel flawed with his diagnosis. THAT was excellent and enough reason to recommend it.Visually, however, the book seems dated and, despite its large print, was “hard on the eyes.” It could be done better these days, but it is an old—perhaps low-budget—book.

Ten years ago, when I finally figured out what Asperger's was and, at the same time, I discovered that I had several Asperger's children, and a few Asperger's adults, on my caseload as a psychotherapist, I began searching for easy ways to explain Asperger's. It was, and still is, an uphill struggle.I'd already found what, to my knowledge, remains one of the best general books on Asperger's Syndrome: Tony Attwood's  Asperger's Syndrome: A Guide for Parents and Professionals . (A more up-to-date and extensive general book, now, is Attwood's  The Complete Guide to Asperger's Syndrome . It's much longer, but still quite readable & it's filled with clear examples.) It's great for adults wanting a clear, solid understanding -- parents, family members, teachers, mental health professionals, scout-leaders, church leaders, and friends of high school reading level & above. Later, Attwood produced some DVDs,  Dr. Tony Attwood presents: Asperger's Syndrome, Volume 2 , Asperger's Syndrome: A Guide for Parents and Professionals with Dr. Tony Attwood , which broadened his outreach. Since then, AS book-publishing has become a cottage industry.But until I read Kathy Hoopmann's "All Cats Have Asperger's Syndrome", I hadn't found something quick, accurate and easy to read & to understand. Hoopmann makes the common cues of Asperger's Syndrome not only instantly accessible but memorable. Even children can read it, and say, "Oh, yeah! That's Joey!" It's ideal for a fast, simple introduction.The pictures -- all kittens -- are pure delight! Each one nails its idea. And the book invites re-reading -- it's almost addictively fun. I recommend it highly to those who want a confused grandparent or a modestly curious neighbor to better understand a child who, so often, operates out of a different world, while forced to live in this one.And if you get them hooked, and they want to know more, then give them Attwood's book or DVDs. After that, you can broaden them with more specialty books -- teens (such as  Freaks, Geeks & Asperger Syndrome: A User Guide to Adolescence ; Asperger Syndrome and Adolescence: Helping Preteens & Teens Get Ready for the Real World ), girls ( Asperger's and Girls  -- girls/women are a bit different, with only a fifth as many girls as boys with AS), resources (the Oasis on-line site, Tony Attwood's on-line site), etc. There are many good books & on-line resources, with more all the time.And finally, hopefully, they can begin to see not only the Asperger's Syndrome & what it means/doesn't mean, but they can also see, most important of all: the real child in all his beauty, uniqueness & potential!By the way, I wouldn't recommend this to explain AS to someone with AS. It's a book of analogies, something someone with AS will have a hard time understanding, and they may take away wrong & negative messages.

This book was written for children. I am over seventy and only became aware I have Asperger Syndrome about 3 years ago. This book would have helped me at any time in life, especially as a child. It has helped me now. At my age, I find it a nice way of explaining Aspergers to other adults in simple ways that are memorable and easily understood. I have read criticism that some Asperger children react poorly to this book. My feeling is that Asperger Syndrome is going to have profound effects on your life and this book explains the conflicts as simply as possible. The book only defines reality. Asperger Syndrome is forever and knowing what it is helps to understand how to live with it. Understanding Aspergers and learning to live with it is all the treatment there is. When you learn to look at yourself objectively, there are lots of good things to be found. Being "not normal" does not mean "not good". Normal humans or "neurotypical" as some call it, seems to be less than perfect to me.If you have and Asperger Syndrome child, I suggest reading this book and use it to help them know themselves. Maybe they need to digest the information a little at a time. This book gives simple, memorable thoughts to help with understanding and acceptance.

I love the concept of this book better than the book, which is an awkward read. It's not in language kids use, and I agree with the reviews that it doesn't really present an encouraging vision of life with Aspergers. It simply needs more CAT. As someone who knows and loves cats, the idea that they are on the spectrum makes a ton of sense, and who doesn't want to be like a cat? This book would be considerably more approachable if the effort had been made to take the concept all the way and directly tie Asperger behaviors to witnessed cat behavior, and put it all in terms of a cat's voice? I found it lacking a genuine voice as a result. Like the pictures didn't connect to anything mentioned, and the "parents being sad" part was just weird, even if it is truthful. I needed a book to help explain a new diagnosis, and this was NOT it. Disappointed because the concept was so great. The title is more powerful than the book, so just run with that and don't buy it. Parents -- you can make your own cats and Aspergers connections for your child more effectively than this author.

I had high hopes for this book as my child's paediatrician recommended it but after reading through it before my daughter saw it (luckily) I found it was terribly negative. My child is happy, cuddly & sociable but this book told her she would be bullied, wouldn't want to be held, feel sad, their parents would feel sad, they would bore people and they wouldn't get invited to play. I found it upsetting - let alone letting my daughter read those pages! I have kept it as some of the pages are fine - re loud noises and being interested in doing the same thing over and over again and small things fascinating them for hours. I have just removed some of the negative pages so it's a good starting point now with some cute pictures. Just wish it wasn't so negative.

I've read other reviews that say this book tends to lean towards the negative, and to begin with I suppose it does but there's no point in pretending that being on the spectrum is easy for anyone. It discusses the very real struggles of a child with aspergers, and their family. But read on and by the end of the book it has a positive message. That yes, you may struggle but you have a different ability not a disability.I got this for my son, who is ten next month. Its definitely a perfect book for children much younger than that - probably around five or six year olds - but I know he will love it as he adores his cat and the relation to the behaviour of cats will delight him.All in all this is a great book if you have small children diagnosed and you don't know how to explain to them, their siblings or even other children what aspergers syndrome is. It will definitely help them understand, in a way that is not overwhelming, that how they are feeling is not unusual and that they are not alone.

When my daughter was recently diagnosed with Asperger's, the first thing was to explain to her what it all meant. I looked into the various books written for children on the subject but, to my dismay, most of them included words such as 'Alien' 'Geek' 'Freak' etc. Since I wanted to reassure her that she was not 'abnormal' and that there was nothing to be ashamed of, these were not books I wanted to expose her to! I bought a copy of a book called  Dude, I'm An Aspie! Kids' Edition  which I thought looked fun and easy to understand but there was one mention of 'alien' in there which she became distressed about. Then I stumbled across 'All Cats Have Asperger's' and, since my daughter is a cat lover, thought I didn't have much to lose. I vetted it beforehand and thought it looked harmless enough, plus it was endorsed by our neuropsychologist. My daughter loved it from the moment she set eyes on it and kept referring to how the emotions and traits mentioned in the book were like her own. The fact that they could be linked to a cute cat did help her too on a psychological level - if people can love cats for these traits then surely they wouldn't be horrible to a human for them. I would wholeheartedly recommend this book as a good introduction to Asperger's for children recently diagnosed with the condition and also for those who are around them, such as family, friends and teachers. It doesn't take long to read, it's not a daunting tome of science - it's just a quick summary of what Asperger's might mean. Obviously there are meatier titles out there with much more detail but for a sensitive and gentle introduction to Asperger's I don't think there's anything else out there that beats this. Dude, I'm An Aspie! Kids' Edition

I have been teaching and working with 11-18 year olds with various problems for 43 years, When I discovered this book about 10 years ago I bought it and the companion book "All Dogs Have ADHD". The Aspergers one has been incredibly useful. I don't know how many copies I've bought. I would let pupils and parents borrow them. Young people often find it difficult to describe how they are feeling and those with Aspergers, even more so. The book helps them explain. I remember one boy, after looking at this book, being so relieved to discover he was not alone. He took the book home and sat with his parents pointing and saying, "That's me, that's me." It's a very positive and hopeful book. Just love it.

I'm on a quest to try to get my younger two understand their older brother a bit better, and this book has truly made an impact!! Not ashamed to admit I cried a bit when I first read it (but then I've shed a few tears over the years for my aspie) but my moment was watching my 6 year old with his older brother reading the book and discussing each page - I feel we might have a break through and a turning point. Its very sensitively written and will bring a smile to even the most hardened critic, and Lord knows I am certainly that!!! 10 stars if I could!!!