The Adolescent and Adult Neuro-Diversity Handbook: Asperger Syndrome, ADHD, Dyslexia, Dyspraxia, and Related Conditions »

Increasing numbers of people are reaching adolescence and even adulthood before realizing that they have been living with an undiagnosed neurological difference. Unfortunately, most of the information and support available focuses on children, leaving many older people confused and in the dark.

The Adolescent and Adult Neuro-diversity Handbook is a handy first-reference point guide to the full range of neurological differences as they affect adolescents and adults. Each chapter focuses on a different condition, describing its history, its causes and characteristics, the implications for the individual, diagnosis and assessment, treatments and approaches, and strategies for providing support and self-support. A wide range of conditions are covered, including autistic spectrum disorders, dyslexia, dyspraxia, ADHD, OCD, Tourette's and anxiety disorders, and each chapter ends with a positive statement from someone affected by that condition.

If you suspect that you or someone you know may have some kind of neuro-diversity, or if you are a health or social care practitioner working with neuro-diversity, then this is the book you've been waiting for.

Publishers Weekly

Diagnosed at the age of 33 with a spectrum of neurological disorders (ADHD, dyslexia, etc.), author Hendrickx (Love, Sex, and Long Term Relationships: What People with Asperger Syndrome Really Want) began a consultancy and training firm based in the conviction that, as stated by Harvey Blume in the NY Times, "neuro-diversity may be every bit as crucial for the human race as biodiversity is for life in general." Coined by Blume, "neuro-diversity" describes a range of overlapping atypical neurological conditions that render cognitive and sensory experience in "different" ways. Chapters are each devoted to a single disorder-attention deficit and hyperactivity, autism, dyslexia, anxiety, obsessive compulsive, and others-including symptoms, history, modern thinking, guidelines for self-help and support, and testimony from "those affected." Hendrickx catalogs compensating strengths as well as areas of difficulty, and identifies many gradations in the neuro-diverse spectrum that aren't typically recognized (in general, only extreme cases are considered worthy of diagnosis). Hendrickx addresses a lack of resources for the increasing numbers of adults being diagnosed in their 20s, 30s, and beyond, and provides a helpful overview for medical and teaching professionals, families and friends of the affected, and those unsure about the severity of their cognitive issues.
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Acknowledgements 1

Introduction 9

1 Defining Neuro-diversity 15

2 Adult Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder/Attention Deficit Disorder (ADHD/ADD) 26

3 Autistic Spectrum Conditions: Asperger Syndrome, High, Functioning Autism and Pervasive Developmental Disorder - Not Otherwise Specified (PDD-NOS) 42

4 Dyslexia 62

5 Dyspraxia (Developmental Coordination Disorder) 82

6 Dyscalculia (Mathematic Disorder) 97

7 Dysgraplvia (Disorder of Written Expression) 107

8 Tourette Syndrome 114

9 Anxiety Disorders 127

10 Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) 142

11 The Learning Environment: Teaching Approaches for Supporting Neuro-diversity 154

12 The Working Environment: Workplace Adjustments for Neuro-diverse Employees 164

Reference 181

Further Reading 184

Resources 186

Index 189