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Aspergirls: Empowering Females With Asperger Syndrome

Aspergirls: Empowering Females With Asperger Syndrome 2014-02-09

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Brent

Brent

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Brent submitted a new resource:

Aspergirls: Empowering Females With Asperger Syndrome [Paperback] - Empowering Females with Aspergers Syndrome

Girls with Asperger's Syndrome are less frequently diagnosed than boys, and even once symptoms have been recognised, help is often not readily available. The image of coping well presented by AS females of any age can often mask difficulties, deficits, challenges, and loneliness. This is a must-have handbook written by an Aspergirl for Aspergirls, young and old.

Rudy Simone guides you through every aspect of both personal and professional life, from early recollections of blame, guilt, and...
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Read more about this resource...
 
I felt like a person after reading this. I knew myself as something other than a random source of irritation and injury to people. It really helped, and as the first thing I read, it was a nice intro.
 
i have heard of this book,many,many times. Kinda would like to have it on pdf to read on tablet :)
 
I've just read this too and was gobsmacked! It is like someone wrote about my life, including things that no-one else is aware of about me.
I've also read 'Women and Girls with Autism Spectrum Disorder' by Sarah Hendrickx and those two books are why I am here. Plus, Tania Marshall in a preview of 'I am Aspien Woman' on her blog mentions three times the occurrence of Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome/hypermobility with Aspergers.
I finally see my true self and can't help but think of that bit in The Neverending Story where Atreyu looks into the Second Oracle, the mirror, only to see Bastian reading the book.
 
I have this, and to be honest I sort of got lost reading it and stopped. It didn't leave much room to be slightly different to the usual traits. Also, Rudy Simone publicly came out and said the she no longer considers herself autistic/aspie, because she's managed to change enough things in her life? Or something along those lines. That kinda put me off her. It's great to go on about acceptance of yourself as aspie etc, but not if you then renounce it as not even a thing anymore. She sort of put all the progress her book helped people make back a bit by doing that I think.
 
Sass said:
I have this, and to be honest I sort of got lost reading it and stopped. It didn't leave much room to be slightly different to the usual traits. Also, Rudy Simone publicly came out and said the she no longer considers herself autistic/aspie, because she's managed to change enough things in her life? Or something along those lines. That kinda put me off her. It's great to go on about acceptance of yourself as aspie etc, but not if you then renounce it as not even a thing anymore. She sort of put all the progress her book helped people make back a bit by doing that I think.
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I'm going to have to reread this book with a more critical eye maybe because I absolutely love Simone's writing on AS & Aspergirls in particular. As an early step into exploring my own diagnosis, I found her books really insightful & easily understandable plus I admired her optimistic outlook on ways of living. There were aspects of living with ASD that I had never considered before or heard of & so I feel quite benevolent to towards this author insofar as owing a debt of gratitude?

The only thing that came up in my search on "Rudy Simone denies being Asperger's" was a link to someone else's personal blog about ASD & different factors perceived as causal & specifically, the role of restrictive diets. I would have expected more about Simone's denial online; I'm fighting down an urge to try to email Ms Simone to establish what she actually said in regards to this :)
 
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Elemental said:
I'm going to have to reread this book with a more critical eye maybe because I absolutely love Simone's writing on AS & Aspergirls in particular. As an early step into exploring my own diagnosis, I found her books really insightful & easily understandable plus I admired her optimistic outlook on ways of living. There were aspects of living with ASD that I had never considered before or heard of & so I feel quite benevolent to towards this author insofar as owing a debt of gratitude?

The only thing that came up in my search on "Rudy Simone denies being Asperger's" was a link to someone else's personal blog about ASD & different factors perceived as causal & specifically, the role of restrictive diets. I would have expected more about Simone's denial online; I'm fighting down an urge to try to email Ms Simone to establish what she actually said in regards to this :)
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It is on her blog:

"Why I no longer identify myself as Aspie" http://www.rudysimone.net/blog/?p=75
 
Hi. Have just finished reading this book. Wanted to share my thoughts...
Overall I thought it was good, interesting and I appreciated how many thoughts were added from other females with Asperger's. In particular I found the chapter on depression meltdowns quite helpful.

However, I often felt while reading that it was too rigid in terms of how she defined the behaviour of all aspergic females. I just felt that in a way some people may feel slightly alienated if they don't conform to all that she mentioned. Not only that, the few things she failed to mention or only touched on lightly. As an 'aspergirl' who also identifies as a lesbian, I really feel that the very least she could have done was include 1 other perspective from another female on the spectrum who also happens to be in the LGBT community.

Apologies if these points have been covered already.
 
Brent said:
Brent submitted a new resource:

Aspergirls: Empowering Females With Asperger Syndrome [Paperback] - Empowering Females with Aspergers Syndrome
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This book was written for people younger than me, but I'm still getting good stuff out of it. I like the way the author has included information for parents in each chapter, although I have no need for that part since I'm reading it for me. Has explained some things I didn't understand...good book.
 
I unfortunately didn't connect with it very well despite understanding the symptoms she was describing. It made me feel bad that I didn't like it as much as I thought I would.
 
Not sure if anybody else has read this recently...

I was pretty excited to get it from a library near me, I had been looking forward to reading it for maybe about 2 years now, and sure, there are some interesting elements, but I have to say it wasn't really anything I hadn't seen in other books already.

I found the layout a bit confusing; there are numerous testimonies throughout the book, which is great in theory, but they hardly look any different than the regular text. This constant going back & forth between "so, is this the general theory, or the anecdote" made me feel tired. Plus, if I'm going to be reading a collection of anecdotes, I'd rather do it here --as an added bonus, here I can interact with the people behind the anecdote and further discuss.

And lastly, I like things that are a bit more objective in their presentation of facts. This is a good book if you're looking for something subjective, as Rudy Simone seems to draw on her own experience and make a generalization out of it. At least that's how I felt reading it, but I'm not saying it's bad or anything.

So overall, while books like this one and others are definitely necessary (if only for variety, so that everyone has a chance to find something that suits their needs and style), I was fairly disappointed in it. I'm glad it was only borrowed from the library, not purchased.
 
I know this is an old thread but I've just read the book. Mostly I liked it and I have filled it with sticky flags to mark places I recognise myself or relate because I am hoping to take the book with me when I seek diagnosis. I was sometimes put off by her embracing non-scientific things like chi or 'chemicals' but overall I think she was just wanting to be inclusive of all possible perspectives on self-care
 
I have to admit that this was one of my least favorite books about women on the spectrum.

First, I found the layout confusing. It switched back and forth between Simone's text and the testimony of others with nothing to indicate a change in voice, which I found confusing. My biggest problem with the book, however, was that since each chapter wove together Simone's commentary around the testimony of many different women, I never felt that I was seeing a true picture of what an autistic woman looks like.

I did find the information on meltdowns and shutdowns interesting and well done though I've seen this information elsewhere as well, so the book is not necessary just for that information.

The links in previous posts about Simone no longer "identifying" (o_O) as an Aspie are gone, but I did find part of it on Facebook, and I have to admit, after reading this, I lost the little bit of respect that I previously had towards her:

Aspergirls and all Asperger books by Artemisia / Rudy Simone

I suspect this will rattle some cages. Please read the whole text before reacting, if react you must. I'll also paste the full text:
"Why I no longer identify myself as Aspie"
When I first got involved with Asperger’s it was a budding field, still in need of some information and books, still fairly un-self-aware. Truth is, all the books you will ever need on the subject of aspergers have already been written. But they don’t do a damn bit of good if you’re not going to read them, or if you read them but neglect to put the information into practice.
Having a sensory toolkit is all I need for most situations. Practicing the art of humility, forgiveness and diplomacy has helped tremendously in my relationships with other people and with myself. Giving up gluten and chemical-laden and processed foods has almost eliminated the depression, fogginess and hypersensitivity that was my universe.
Many of you are my friends in real life now. I see you eating and drinking bad food and wondering why you feel sick, depressed and overwhelmed all the time. I try to gently tell you, but usually, it bounces off deaf ears. Instead many of you look to your pharmacist to give you yet more things that will probably just mess you up more in the long run. Or create hurdles or goals that will almost guarantee you will fail.
Autism is a gut issue. You cannot heal the gut with Taco Bell, donuts and ramen noodles. Period. Heal the gut with good clean natural food you make yourself and watch the changes come over you. I read Diet Intervention and Autism. There are more books here on my website.
I’m not judging you, but it means that unless people take advice, there’s no point in giving it. I have one more book that’s almost finished, that delves into other areas besides Aspergers, so I’ll probably finish that one since it’s kind of funny and very different than anything else out there that I know of.
Worst of all, since I got started, there have been many people who may share some traits with Aspergers, but never had any of the hallmarks of autism, that claim to be on the spectrum. Some have thrown their weight around and created little empires around themselves, and frankly they make me feel ill. I want nothing to do with it.
Lastly, I am first and foremost a writer, of books and music, and those who refused to give a glance or a listen to my other work, well, I am a very focused artist. And when people don’t believe in me, they are part of the problem and not the solution so I tend to avoid them. When you change direction, some people won’t like it. That’s their problem. Not mine.
When people I meet now ask me why I wrote books on Asperger’s, I tell them that I was on the autism spectrum but no longer feel I have enough traits to identify as such. It’s not that I’m embarrassed, I was a loud and proud aspie, but honestly, I truly don’t feel autistic anymore, just strong, unique, awkward at times, a bit eccentric I guess, a little gifted and trying to make my way in the world like all my brothers and sisters, on and off the spectrum.
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This may explain another weakness of the book: NOT discussing generalized information about Asperger's/autism. Frankly, if she truly believes that she used to be autistic but no longer is because she changed her diet and actively tried to be nicer, then I have to question whether she ever truly understood her subject well enough to be writing on it to begin with. Autism is a neurological condition, not a gut condition as she asserts. I'm a big believer in eating well, and I know that a clean diet and exercise makes for people who are healthier and, therefore, feel better. That may help with depression, but that doesn't make anyone less autistic.

I didn't like the book even before I read the FB article. In fact, my opinion at the top of this post was written before I found the article on FB. Now that I've read the article, I'm glad I got a refund on the book instead of keeping it. In my mind, all her opinions just became suspect.
 
Avoiding gluten has no effect on my ASD. There is a connection between gut health and depression, etc., but I'm wired this way.
 
Servelan said:
Avoiding gluten has no effect on my ASD. There is a connection between gut health and depression, etc., but I'm wired this way.
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I do not eat gluten as I am either celiac or intolerant of it and my doctor told me not to eat it. I still think I am autistic although it has yet to be professionally determined. Rudy Simone seems to be a bit of a wing nut but I still think the interviews with other women were useful.
 
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