I've just finished reading this wonderful novel by Mark Haddon about Christopher Boone. A 15 year old who had Asperger's Syndrome. Has anyone else read it and what did you think to it?

Without meaning to pry or appear insensitive, does anyone you know have Asperger's Syndrome and how do you handle your relationship with them? Just curious.

My 12 year old brother's read this book, I never asked him how it was.

What's Asperger's Syndrome?

Spookymuffin said:

Asperger's syndrome is one of a range of autism-like disorders which often manifests in "eccentric" behaviour rather than pronounced and obvious disability.

It was first identified as a separate condition in 1944 by a German Doctor, Hans Asperger, who spotted similar, odd behaviours in more than one of his patients.

The subtle characteristics which make up the condition often lead to it being missed by doctors who might spot the more noticeable deficits of other types of autism.

However, experts say there is no known link between Asperger's and violent crime.

Many individuals with Asperger's lead highly productive lives, in highly specialised fields such as academia.

Nevertheless, their behaviour is often slightly abnormal - perhaps lacking social skills even if they are more socially aware and willing to interact than people with other kinds of autism.

Often someone with Asperger's may be obsessed with complex topics such as music, history, or the weather, and have above average verbal skills.

But in some cases, the voice appears to be flat and lacking in emotion, speech can be stilted and repetitive, and conversations tend to revolve around self rather than others.

Many have dyslexia or writing problems - and can appear to lack common sense.

Some more severe examples of Asperger's can be prone to depression or even aggression.

JDINTERACTIVE said:

I had no idea....is there any medication for it? Because we all know there is some treatment for EVERYTHING.....








I've never read the book either.
[Edited 5/11/05 14:26pm]

there is a guy in a band who just got this diagnosis...The Vines lead singer Craig Nichols

i thought it was a good novel. not excellent, but certainly good.

i think it was at its best when it strayed from the plot to concentrate on the individual himself and his astonishing outlook on certain fields - particularly the maths. As a sort of quasi-study~cum~commentary on Asperger's it was great; the story was a little laboured.

Well you know my opinion, cos we discussed it, albeit certainly brief, but it was an insight into how this young boy thinks and acts, and how so simply yet beautifully written.. this boy has talents, a very clever person..

Not all of us are the same, and thats the beauty of it.

Can any one remember the boy with autism? Ok, different subject, but he was a brilliant artist, and could remember how many windows etc were in Houses of Parlaiment and could draw it from memory?

Wonderfully Gifted!

Let me google it and I will get back to you..

A few months ago I thought my son had Asperger. But he was diagnosed Active but Odd. (also Autisme) There are a few differences but it's a lot like Asperger.
I wonder if there's a Dutch version of that book

I bought that book on a whim...I was in a book buying mood and it was on a "buy 2 get 1 free" display...I thought the cover looked interesting and the author was cute...so OF COURSE I bought it....

now it's popping up everywhere- I actually just saw a big display of it at Target this past week!


ANYWAYS-

I REALLY enjoyed the book. I thought it was an enthralling picture of how this type of mind may work.

I agree with TheFrog that the plot itself got a bit off in places, but I kinda thought the plot was besides the point.

It was such a quick read, too! I was home sick and got through the book in an afternoon, I just couldn't put it down.

JDINTERACTIVE said:

I really liked that book. The characters were easy to be in a relationship with..meaning the emotion poured out of it, I thought. Oddly, a person in my office talked about a relative she had, and I asked if that person had this disorder, and he did! It certainly shared a lot of insight.

My oldest step son has this.
To the rest of the world he is very caring, but certainly eccentric or odd
to his family he feels he can trust us to never leave him, and out come all his frustrations at time he can be hell to be around

noonblueapples said:

did you find the book to be a good illustration of his struggles and behavior?

bluesbaby said:

Sorry, I never even heard of this book until 28 minutes and 51 seconds ago, I was just answering the other part of JD's question

noonblueapples said:

oh.
Its a good book!

JDINTERACTIVE said:

There's certainly at least one person in my year with Asperger's at my school.

I really enjoyed it JD, a wonderfully told story built around a very educational theme.

If the syndrome facinated you more than the story (as it did for me) pick up "The man who mistook his wife for a hat: and other clinical tales" By Oliver Sacks