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The Psychiatry of Adult Autism and Asperger Syndrome: A practical guide introduces adult psychiatrists, including sub-specialist psychiatrists, to autism and Asperger syndrome.
Autism, including Asperger syndrome, is a strongly heritable condition that can usually be diagnosed in children by the age of two or three years. Although autism is more common in the less intellectually able child, in the more able child the condition is often overlooked until adulthood. Epidemiological research has shown that most adults in the general population meeting the criteria for autism are unrecognized and undiagnosed. There is a growing pressure on psychiatrists to be able to recognize autism and to consider its effects on their adult patients, particularly when they are also showing signs of another mental disorder, such as psychosis, personality disorder, or chronic depression. The Psychiatry of Adult Autism and Asperger Syndrome: A practical guide introduces adult psychiatrists, including sub-specialist psychiatrists, to autism and Asperger syndrome. It covers recognition and diagnosis and the psychiatrist's role in treating patients with co-morbid mental disorder whilst taking account of the autism component. It explores the process of sign-posting patients with autism to appropriate care and support as family involvement diminishes or ceases. While there are a number of books written on how to cope with autism as an adult, The Psychiatry of Adult Autism and Asperger Syndrome: A practical guide is aimed at the practising adult psychiatrist. The book describes normal and pathological functioning and then guides the reader through assessment and post diagnostic intervention issues. The use of fictionalized clinical examples helps to illustrate autism and its presentation in adulthood, and illustrate the issues psychiatrists often raise in training workshops.
In this book a group of international experts guide the reader through the clinical features of adults with autism spectrum disorders, describe the care needs of patients and their families, explain the evolution of the disorders into old age, and highlight what can be done to help. Detailed attention is paid to the medical and psychiatric problems of adults with these disorders and the approach to their education and professional integration. In addition, expert neuroscientists summarize current views on the neurobiology of autism. Autism spectrum disorders are devastating neurodevelopmental disorders. Although diagnosis and therapeutic interventions usually take place in infancy, they are chronic lifelong conditions. Surprisingly, the literature on autism spectrum disorders in adults is scarce. Moreover, most mental health professionals working with adults have little training in autism, and adult mental health services around the world are rarely prepared to address the needs of these patients, which tend to increase with age. This book therefore fills a crucial gap in the literature and will prove useful for all who care for and deal with adults in the Autistic Spectrum.
Autism and Asperger Syndrome reviews what is known about adults with autism in terms of their social functioning, educational and occupational status. Focusing mainly on the problems experienced by high functioning people with autism - and those working with and caring for them - the book offers practical ways of dealing with their difficulties. Each chapter makes use of clinical case material to illustrate the kinds of problems faced and ways in which they may be overcome. First-hand accounts from people with autism are included and links with psychiatric illness in later life are explored. This updated edition is helpful to both professionals and families with autistic children and has been completely updated to take account of the latest research in the field. It also includes an additional chapter on the differences between autism and Asperger syndrome.
Annotation Despite increasing interest, very little is known about the occurrence of psychiatric disorders in persons with autism and Asperger Syndrome. Mental Health Aspects of Autism and Asperger Syndrome alerts parents and professionals to the occurrence of common emotional and psychological problems in autism (e.g. schizophrenia, violence, depression, anxiety, tics) and provides sound advice for the detection and treatment of psychiatric problems in people with ASDs. The conditions described in this book are those that Dr Ghaziuddin, an experienced psychiatrist specialising in autism, has most commonly seen in autistic children and adults, although Dr Ghaziuddin clearly states that he is not proposing a direct link between psychiatric disorders and autism, but is rather recognising the need to systematically characterise commonly occurring disorders, with the hope that this will lead to their early recognition and treatment.
Recognising Autism and Asperger’s Syndrome is an accessible guide, offering information and guidance, self-help and coping strategies and illustrated throughout with personal quotes, vignettes and anecdotes from clients with autism with whom the author has worked clinically. The book captures the individual stories, quotations and experiences, observed in adult autism diagnostic services, woven in with contemporary research, theory and clinical insights. It outlines the history of the condition and the present criteria for obtaining a diagnosis. With exercises, tips, questionnaires, psycho-educational work and advice sheets, this new edition also elucidates the female presentation of autism that has attained significance in the recent times. The book is deliberately aimed at a broad audience of people: those who have just received a diagnosis and want to know more, those who are considering seeking a diagnosis, family members, relatives, friends and clinicians, including mental health workers, psychologists, support workers and all those who work with autistic people.
A thorough overview of Asperger syndrome for mental health professionals. Despite the dramatic proliferation of research, clinical perspectives, and first-person accounts of Asperger Syndrome (AS) in the last 15 years, much of this information has focused on the application of the diagnosis to children, even though AS displays persistence over time in individuals. This book is one of the only guides to Asperger Syndrome as it manifests itself in adults. It integrates research and clinical experience to provide mental health professionals with a comprehensive discussion of AS in adulthood, covering issues of diagnosis as well as co-morbid psychiatric conditions, psychosocial issues, and various types of interventions—from psychotherapy to psychopharmacology. It also discusses basic diagnostic criteria, controversies about the disorder, and possible interventions and treatments for dealing with the disorder.
This comprehensive and much-needed guide addresses the issues faced by clinicians in assessing and treating the range of mental health conditions, which can affect adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Its particular focus on adults fills a notable gap in the ASD professional literature, with an extensive array of contributors from across the psychology and healthcare professions. Covering a wide variety of common co-occurring mental health conditions including mood disorders, anxiety, psychosis, OCD, personality disorders, and eating disorders, this guide also explores broader issues to do with promoting positive mental health and wellbeing. Authoritative and detailed, this is an essential resource for all clinicians and professionals looking to understand and tailor their approach to mental health in autistic adults, and the need for specific methods and strategies to enhance assessment and treatment.
The research on children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) is extensive and growing. Although these conditions are recognized as affecting the entire lifespan, the literature on ASD after childhood is limited and has not been brought together in a single volume in over a decade. Adolescents and Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorders fills this knowledge gap by focusing on needs and difficulties unique to these stages of development. Expert contributors offer cogent reviews of complex issues, from education to employment, leisure activities to illegal behaviors, mental health issues to medical health concerns. The latest findings in key areas, such as psychosocial and residential treatments, social skills programs, epidemiology, the impact of ASD on families, are examined in detail. Throughout the volume, coverage focuses on areas requiring improved models of assessment, updated data, new interventions and increased support services. Featured topics include: Transition from high school to adulthood for adolescents and young adults with ASD. Innovative programming to support college students with ASD. Romantic relationships, sexuality and ASD. Treatment of mental health comorbidities. Assessment and treatment planning in adults with ASD. The range of outcomes and challenges in middle and later life. Adolescents and Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorders is a must-have reference for a wide range of clinicians and practitioners – as well as researchers and graduate students – in clinical child, school and developmental psychology; child and adolescent psychiatry; social work; rehabilitation medicine/therapy; education and general practice/family medicine. It will also serve as an important resource for parents and caregivers with its focus on translating the current state of knowledge relevant to understanding adolescents and adults with ASD into practical and relevant recommendations on how best to support them.
