This is a specialist book on how to understand a friend who has been diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome. When children encounter a child at school, a member of the family, or someone in any social situation who is 'different', they need help in providing friendship and understanding. This slim book will help provide both. Expressive little stick figures throughout help the information along; there are also a few poems and one piece of prose written by those with Asperger's, and there are occasional interactive aspects. Basically, the book explains that someone with Asperger's needs help with four areas of his/her life: social skills, communication, behaviour, and sensory stimulation. These are explained in some detail, with examples. Such problems as anger and frustration, stress, speech and language difficulties, the possibility of being easily distracted, confusion when faced with idioms etc, clumsiness, eccentric behaviour, dislike of change, lack of social skills, dislike of eye contact, noise or crowds, obsessions and lack of empathy are all explained. But there are good things too: intelligence, a good memory, particularly for facts, Aspies are often engaging and good humoured - and punctual! Why do people get Asperger's? No one knows, but they are probably born with it. There is a good section on helping your friend with AS and another on how to help yourself when feeling frustrated or upset when having to deal with some of the difficult things about having a friend or relative with AS. The final page admits that one can have very mixed feelings about this and that this is natural; weighing up the pros and cons can be a helpful exercise. A useful little book for any child or young person having to cope with some of the negative aspects of AS - and discovering there are positives as well. Available from good book shops, from Amazon, and from the publisher, www.jkp.com.