Best books?

[litebright]

Making Sense of Autism Spectrum Disorders, Dr. James Coplan

[auntie]

For Aspergers specifically?

The OASIS Guide to Asperger Syndrome by Bashe/Kriby

For me this is sort of the Joy of Cooking for Aspergers. It's the dog eared volume that has all the basics covered- behaviors, interventions, medications, IEPs. Back when there were only 2 books on Aspergers available, and it was thought the rate was about 1 person in 600-1000, this book was the one that made me feel less nuts.

and Parenting Your Aspergers Child by Sohn/Grayson. CSIT is the intervention we did that made the biggest difference in DS's quality of life. It's sort of a hybrid between RDI and CBT. Sohn breaks Aspergers into subsets based on presentation which allows a parent to understand behavior in the context of the what drives it which makes it easier to tackle.

More general?

I also like Making Sense of Autism Spectrum Disorders by Coplan but is is more general in nature. It is similar to the OASIS Guide in its scope, but it covers the spectrum more broadly. Coplan's reassuring and respectful bedside manner comes through in his writing which makes this a good choice for those still processing the news of a dx.

For any alphabet soup kid with executive function deficits, I really like It's So Much Work to Be Your Friend by Lavoie. I think his F.A.T. City Workshop should be mandatory for anyone who knows a child with a so-called invisible disability.

For discipline my go to choice is The Explosive Child by Greene. Even if your child doesn't tantrum, this book is full of advice you can use right out of the box.

And for any parent who is part of a CSE/CST, From Emotions to Advocacy. It's an easy to understand yet fairly comprehensive introduction to IDEA and the IEP process. 

Shout out to Michelle Garcia Winner for her social skills curricula. She gets it. We found her Thinking About You, Thinking About Me and Think Social to be great for teaching social thinking rather than awkward scripts.