Nancy Perry graduated from the University of California, Berkeley and completed her Ph.D. with a specialty in Neuropsychology at the California School of Professional Psychology. Her dissertation was among the earliest efforts to explain and explore the developing concept of the Executive Functions. She has worked for over 30 years as a psychotherapist and for the past 11 years as the Clinical Director of a unique program serving adults on the Autism Spectrum. She became interested in this population after training in the field of acquired brain injury, but her interest in the rights and abilities of individuals with challenges stems from early experiences with her two sisters who had substantial disabilities. Dr. Perry lives in Berkeley with her husband and has a grown daughter who lives nearby.

As a student, with limited knowledge and experience into ASD, I found the book very accessible and provided a welcoming insight into the disability. Part one: understanding ASD and part 2: Understanding executive functions and ASD provided handy anecdotes to illustrate how deficits in cognitive abilities lead to people with ASD being unable to adapt to changing situations or regulate their behaviour.

• Contents: A Message for Parents. Acknowledgements. Preface. Introduction: Real Lives. Part I: Understanding the Autism Spectrum Disabilities. 1. What are Neurodevelopmental Disabilities? 2. Families Living with Disability. Part II: Understanding Executive Functions. 3. Initiation, or Getting Started. 4. Concrete Thinking and Response to Novelty. 5. Planning, Sequencing and Organizing. 6. Attention and Concentration. 7. Regulation of Emotions. 8. A Glance at Memory. 9. Judgment, Self-Awareness and Self Monitoring. Part III: Reaching Adulthood. 10. Preparing for Adulthood. 11. Living with Parents. 12. Living in a Group Home. Part IV: A Model Program of Supported Independence. 13. The Value of Living with Peers. 14. The Structure and Goals of the Program. 15. The Clinical Methods of the Program. 16. Counseling. 17. Specific Methods Employed at CAL. 18. Teamwork with Parents. Appendix I: A New Idea - A Variation on the Model of Group Home Living. Appendix II: Resources. References. Index.

Nancy Perry graduated from the University of California, Berkeley and completed her Ph.D. with a specialty in Neuropsychology at the California School of Professional Psychology. Her dissertation was among the earliest efforts to explain and explore the developing concept of the Executive Functions. She has worked for over 30 years as a psychotherapist and for the past 11 years as the Clinical Director of a unique program serving adults on the Autism Spectrum. She became interested in this population after training in the field of acquired brain injury, but her interest in the rights and abilities of individuals with challenges stems from early experiences with her two sisters who had substantial disabilities. Dr. Perry lives in Berkeley with her husband and has a grown daughter who lives nearby.

As a student, with limited knowledge and experience into ASD, I found the book very accessible and provided a welcoming insight into the disability. Part one: understanding ASD and part 2: Understanding executive functions and ASD provided handy anecdotes to illustrate how deficits in cognitive abilities lead to people with ASD being unable to adapt to changing situations or regulate their behaviour.

• Contents: A Message for Parents. Acknowledgements. Preface. Introduction: Real Lives. Part I: Understanding the Autism Spectrum Disabilities. 1. What are Neurodevelopmental Disabilities? 2. Families Living with Disability. Part II: Understanding Executive Functions. 3. Initiation, or Getting Started. 4. Concrete Thinking and Response to Novelty. 5. Planning, Sequencing and Organizing. 6. Attention and Concentration. 7. Regulation of Emotions. 8. A Glance at Memory. 9. Judgment, Self-Awareness and Self Monitoring. Part III: Reaching Adulthood. 10. Preparing for Adulthood. 11. Living with Parents. 12. Living in a Group Home. Part IV: A Model Program of Supported Independence. 13. The Value of Living with Peers. 14. The Structure and Goals of the Program. 15. The Clinical Methods of the Program. 16. Counseling. 17. Specific Methods Employed at CAL. 18. Teamwork with Parents. Appendix I: A New Idea - A Variation on the Model of Group Home Living. Appendix II: Resources. References. Index.