Professor Tony Attwood is a clinical psychologist who has specialized in autism/ Asperger’s Syndrome since he qualified as a clinical psychologist in England in 1975. He currently works in his own private practice, and is also adjunct professor at Griffith University, Queensland and senior consultant at the Minds and Hearts clinic in Brisbane. His book Asperger’s Syndrome – A Guide for Parents and Professionals has sold over 360,000 copies and has been translated into 22 languages. His subsequent book, The Complete Guide to Asperger’s Syndrome, published in October 2006 has sold over 216,000 copies and has been translated into 18 languages, and is one of the primary textbooks on Asperger’s syndrome. He has several subsequent books published by Jessica Kingsley Publishers, Future Horizons Inc. and Guilford Press.
Category: Updates
He has autism. He’s willing and able to work. Can he find the right fit?
In the past decade, Tom Whalen, a 27-year-old Baltimore County man, has had jobs at an animal shelter, a mailroom, multiple grocery stores, a doggy day-care center and a landscaping company.
He is chatty, outgoing and engaging, quick to win over strangers and ask for opportunities. Then, in short order, he loses them.
“He could get jobs,” says his mother, Sue.
“The problem is maintaining them,” adds his father, Ed.
Tom was born with a heart defect, took forever to potty train and played mostly by himself during preschool. He was in kindergarten when an observant teacher offered the Whalens a hypothesis that might explain their son’s behavior: autism.
The next 12 years of school were marked by special-education plans, adapted-learning strategies, personalized assistance and lunches spent at what Tom remembers as “the reject table.” But it was also a haven of structure, safety and socialization. He had a place to go, people to look out for him, opportunities every day to learn and find his strengths. (Tom could solve complicated math problems in his head — he just couldn’t explain to teachers how he’d done it.)