I am an Aspie Girl
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I am an
Aspie Girl
A book for young girls with
autism spectrum conditions
Danuta Bulhak-Paterson
AFTERWORD BY Tony Attwood
Illustrated by Teresa Ferguson
Jessica Kingsley Publishers
London and Philadelphia
First published in 2015
by Jessica Kingsley Publishers
73 Collier Street
London N1 9BE, UK
and
400 Market Street, Suite 400
Philadelphia, PA 19106, USA
Copyright © Danuta Bulhak-Paterson 2015
Afterword copyright © Tony Attwood 2015
Illustrations copyright © Teresa Ferguson 2015
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any material form (including photocopying or storing it in any medium by electronic means and whether or not transiently or incidentally to some other use of this publication) without the written permission of the copyright owner except in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 or under the terms of a licence issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency Ltd, Saffron House, 6–10 Kirby Street, London EC1N 8TS. Applications for the copyright owner’s written permission to reproduce any part of this publication should be addressed to the publisher.
Warning: The doing of an unauthorised act in relation to a copyright work may result in both a civil claim for damages and criminal prosecution.
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Bulhak-Paterson, Danuta.
I am an Aspie Girl : a book for young girls with autism spectrum conditions / Danuta Bulhak-Paterson ;
afterword by Tony Attwood ; illustrated by Teresa Ferguson.
pages cm
Summary: “Lizzie explains what it’s like to have Asperger’s Syndrome, including how she has a special
talent for blending in with her friends, how she gets really tired after being at school all day, how she
worries about making mistakes, and how she finds it hard to understand how she is feeling”-- Provided
by publisher.
ISBN 978-1-84905-634-2 (alk. paper)
[1. Asperger’s syndrome--Fiction. 2. Autism--Fiction.] I. Ferguson, Teresa, 1946- illustrator. II. Title.
PZ7.1.B86Iam 2015
[Fic]--dc23
2014039673
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN 978 1 84905 634 2
eISBN 978 1 78450 110 5
1
My name is Lizzie and I love to draw. I live with my family and my dog and cat, Milo and Ollie. My favourite subjects at school are art and reading. I like my teacher at school and I have a nice group of friends.
2
In many ways I am just like my friends. We all like to laugh, play, and help each other. But there are also ways that I am different.
You see, I have Asperger’s Syndrome. Asperger’s Syndrome is now called Autism Spectrum Disorder, or ASD. People with Asperger’s Syndrome have some real strengths. They are often smart, honest, kind and caring, and creative. They often have a special talent. This may be in art, science, music, reading, or computers.
3
But I am also more special because I am a girl with Asperger’s Syndrome.
In fact, I like to say that I am an ‘Aspie girl’. Girls with Asperger’s Syndrome are often quite different from boys with Asperger’s Syndrome. Keep reading and I will tell you why!
4
Aspie girls often have a special talent at being able to blend in with others and look just like the other girls.
It’s like being an actress, I guess, where school is the stage.
5
But this is hard work and makes us tired! When I come home I really just need some time to myself.
Do you get really tired after being at school all day?
6
Our interests might be really similar to other girls’ interests, like reading, art, technology, animals, or music, but we like to spend a lot more time on them. You know, it can be very hard to pull away from our interests. For example, I love Anime and can spend hours and hours drawing and