Asperger Syndrome: The Oasis Guide by Patricia Romanowski Bashe (Book Review)

Disclosure of material connection- I received a copy of the book from the publisher via Blogging for Books. I was not required to write a positive review and all opinions stated are 100% my own.

About the book-

Since 2001, The OASIS Guide has been the reliable, comprehensive, authoritative guide to Asperger syndrome. This fully revised, updated, and expanded edition captures the latest in research, strategies, and parenting wisdom, and delivers it all in the empathetic, practical, and hope-filled styleThe OASIS Guide is famous for. Author Patricia Romanowski Bashe has revised this edition of Asperger Syndrome to reflect the latest in: 
·Working with Professionals: building a team, negotiating for your child, and keeping everyone’s focus on high expectations for academic, social, and emotional success.
·Special Education: from early intervention through transition, college, and other postsecondary options, including how special education works and steps to take when it does not.
· Health and Safety: sexuality education, health care, and insurance coverage, as well as understanding the real-life health and safety risks children with AS face and learning the steps that only parents can take to protect them.
·Options and Interventions: with an emphasis on established guidelines for evidence-based treatments, including medication, applied behavior analysis, cognitive-behavior therapy, Social Stories, Comic Strip Conversations, and much more. 
·Planning for the Future: Teaching today for independence tomorrow.
For anyone else with a life touched by AS, Asperger Syndrome: The OASIS Guide is packed with resources to handle any situation, from understanding a diagnosis, realistically evaluating options and interventions, and nurturing the whole child with an eye to emotional health, happiness, and independence in school, at home, and among friends. Raising young people with AS to grow up successful, safe, independent, and happy is the goal. Asperger Syndrome: The OASIS Guide is your map.

My thoughts-

I do not think at this point in my life that there are many people that I know who have been affected by austim in some way. Asperger's Syndrome has come more to the forefront in the last decade. It has been around far longer than that, but now that there are more people (particularly doctors and specialists) aware of it and what to look for, it is not as hard to come by a diagnosis as it once was. There are a few people in my own family who have been diagnosed with Asperger's. One of them did not get a concrete diagnosis until they were an adult because of how little was known about this syndrome in years past. Since Asperger's has personally touched my life in several very personal ways, I wanted to have a guide book on hand that I could turn to and be able to learn more about it. The Oasis Guide is a very large book. I have found it to be quite comprehensive and detailed. The author clearly is an authority on the subject and offers page upon page of advice on pretty anything relating to Aspergers (what Asperger's is, getting a diagnosis, different types of tests that might be done to reach the diagnosis, what kinds of specialists to see, how to cope, finding support groups, medicine, special education, ect.) Overall, I feel like it will be a very helpful book. The one thing I did not like about this book is that it is clear that the author does not have room in her thoughts for alternative medicine. I am definitely not a doctor or a specialist, but I do not think there is anything wrong with seeking alternatives to medication. I do think that medicines have their place, but I do not see anything wrong with seeking the thoughts of others and coming at it with an integrative mind set. That alone would not make me disregard this book. I think there is great advice in here and it is very helpful that it spans from childhood to adulthood in it's advice. I recommend this book to really anyone because whether you know it or not, you have probably met someone with Asperger's. Perhaps reading a book like this would help the "neuro-typical" population get a better grasp on the thought process of someone with Asperger's. I absolutely recommend this book to anyone looking to gain a better understanding of Asperger's, especially if someone close to you has been diagnosed. This is a book you can turn to year after year for reference.