Anyone read Asperger's and Girls?

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It's by Tony Attwood, Temple Grandin, and several other specialists. I just started reading it yesterday. I have to say that some of it really fits for me, but a lot of it doesn't so far. I was just wondering if anyone else has read it, and what your opinions are on the book?

I don't think I have even heard about such a book but if we're already touching an issue of AS in women and girls, recently I found this: http://www.boston.com/news/education/k_ ... e_made_of/

I have read that before. It is a good article. The book I'm talking about can be found here: http://www.amazon.com/Aspergers-Girls-Tony-Attwood/dp/193256540X/ref=pd_ecc_rvi_cart_1/104-4734957-4439165

I wrote (on another site):
Disclaimer: I'm hesitant to say anything less than glowing just because I'm so pleased at the effort & intent. It's skimpy & short (150 pgs.), yet fills an oft-neglected gap in the literature. There needs to be a sequel ! My reactions are subjective, based on my particular personality, life circumstances, and how AS "expresses itself" in me. Your experience & perception of this book will differ from mine.
Analysis: It's more about social stuff, hardly any mention of bothersome & intrusive sensory things (though I know that's not officially part of the dx, but it's one of my worst problems). Enjoyed seeing photo of author in preface to each essay, since that's uncommon-aids my visual memory/recall as to who wrote which one.
Contents:
* Attwood's essay on "Pattern of Abilities and Development of Girls with AS" which I've read online (incl. on Gestalt, Sophist posted it awhile back). It's the one where only reference cited is Liane Holliday-Willey's "Pretending to be Normal", which I've also read. So that was a "rerun", wish had been "new" to me. 8 pgs.
* "AS in Women: A Different Set of Challenges" by C. Fahey. Think I've seen this one online (at an "AS in women" site), too. It's more speculative and introductory than conclusive or comprehensive. 6 pgs.
* "Educating the Female Student with AS" by S. Wagner. Didn't seem particularly geared towards females, just anyone school-age w/AS. 18 pgs.
* "Girl to Girl: Advice on Friendship, Bullying, and Fitting in" by L. Iland. Could be titled "How to Pretend You're NT"-I don't mean to be snarky about it, sorry. Decoding of "normal" behavior & rules of teenage girls. 32 pgs.
* "Preparing for Puberty and Beyond" by M. Wrobel. Covers some of the same ground as I. Henault's "AS and Sexuality". At least it was written by someone else-I get annoyed when I see the same material & same author repeatedly, as if no one else has anything useful to add. 14 pgs.
* "The Launch: Negotiating the Transition from High School to the Great Beyond" by T. Bolick. I've got her book on AS & adolescence, so this was mostly review. 10 pgs.
The next 2 pieces were, for me, the best-the "real" stuff of the whole volume (if either of these authors wrote a book, I'd go out & get it):
* "Aspie Do's and Dont's: Dating, Relationships, and Marriage" by J. McIllwee Myers. She sounds the most "like me" of the authors (only some whom HAVE AS, others are merely experts from the outside). Her "quirky" personality & outlook really resonated with me-and she wasn't dx'd until adulthood. More positive in mood than many, but perhaps it's because she's finally at a better place in her life, having gone through previous tribulations. 28 pgs.
* "Maternal Instincts in AS" by R. Snyder. About so much more than just this, her story is quite involving. Her dx didn't come until adulthood, and then only because of her children. Her being an Aspie didn't prevent her from getting married & working (albeit, with much misery), but once she was dx'd it helped her find ways to make her life more tolerable. 30 pgs.
* "For Me, a Good Career Gave Life Meaning" by T. Grandin. Having read her other books, I've seen this short essay before. But for those seeking validation of their asexuality, see here. 4 pgs.
That's my review.

I see a lot of myself in their descriptions though I always had at least one reciprocal friendship in school (guess I was lucky taht way.) But I'd also like to point that more often than not my body produces no testosterone so I doubt my asperger's is the result of having excessive testosterone.

That was lovely. If I had any doubts that I was autistic before reading that, they've gone now!

Hi I am new here but ditto on the above.
From what I understand so far there is very little data on females with Aspergers.
Apart from thebook above which I am hunting down on Amazon/Ebay as I type are there any others that you ladies have read that were female specific and helpful?

Anything in this forum to be honest. I haven't found any literature on female Aspies yet, but maybe I'm not looking hard enough. Plus I have no money. So no book buying for me yet!

I really liked that book. It really helped me explain my AS to others. I also have a book called "Women From Another Planet?" by Jean Kearns Miller. It is a collection of stories written by or about individual women with AS. I really liked it, it helped me get through the "I'm all alone" stage when I was first diagnosed. Now I have WP, yay!

If I'm right an old friend of mine online was one of the contributors to that book. Her name was Patty Clark. She passed away in 2005 after complications from a stroke at the age of 61. Met her on IRC after my oldest son was diagnosed with Autism in 2003. Wonderful woman, I always viewed her as a second mom, she helped me better understand myself even before my diagnosis that year at 31 years of age but helped me better understand my son as well. I miss her greatly, she was a wonderful contributor to the autistic community and a beautiful soul.

You are right, she is listed in the back. That is very cool.

I did like the book. Some of it was very useful, and resonated with me. In the first few chapters it spoke about early childhood, and elementary school. I did identify with the parts about playing with toys in ways that were odd. From the outside, I'm sure it looked like I was playing with the toys in a highly imaginative way, but mostly I was just sorting, and categorizing them. I never, and I mean never played with anything on a whim. I had underlying rules. If I were to play with my stuffed animals, I'd categorize them by color, or some other feature before I would commence to actually playing. This kind of thing took way longer then the actual time I spent playing, but it was very satisfying to me.
I also identified with the part about the teachers not noticing anything, because I never called attention to myself. I remember the teachers telling my parents that I barely spoke in class, and one of them mentioning that I was finally "blossoming, and coming out of my shell."
One of the parts that didn't fit at all was the part about having a hard time understanding, and not wanting to go through puberty. School educated me very well what puberty was, and what to expect. I looked forward to it. My main goal in childhood was just to survive, so that I can grow up and make my own rules. I was actually obsessed with make up, and fashion way before the other girls my age even took much notice of it. This made me odd to the other girls in and of itself. I wanted to be a fashion designer, so I spent a lot of my time drawing clothes, and talking about them.
I was in awe over the chapter Advice, on friendship, bullying, and how to fit in. I didn't agree with many of the tactics the author spoke of to fit in, but I would've given anything to have the unwritten social rules that she stated in middle school on up. Much of it I hadn't figured out before I read this book, and I'm 28. If someone would've explained socializing to me in such a straightforward way when I was a teen my life would've been a hundred times easier.
I know there was a lot more that I was going to say, but my mind's drawing a blank, so I'll just post this for now.