Asperger Syndrome, the Universe and Everything By: Kenneth Hall

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Asperger Syndrome, the Universe and
EverythingBy Kenneth Hall

• Amanda Hewett
• November 9, 2006

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Summary

• Kenneth Hall is a ten year old boy who was
  diagnose with Asperger Syndrome at the age of
  eight. This book is the story of his everyday
  life and what it is like to have AS. He explains
  his thoughts on the world, God, love, and many
  other issues. His goal in writing this book was
  to help other kids with AS and to help others who
  dont have AS to understand it better. Reading
  this first hand account of someone with AS has
  helped my much more than reading any text book
  could have.

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Asperger Syndrome

• Asperger Syndrome is recognized as a mild type of
  Autism.
• Asperger Syndrome is defined as a developmental
  disorder that is characterized by difficulty with
  social interactions and difficult in dealing with
  other people.
• Children with AS lack and understanding of the
  rules of social behavior. i.e.- eye contact,
  proximity to others, gestures, and posture.

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Kenneths Acceptance

• One thing I discovered from reading this book is
  Kenneths amazing acceptance of his diagnosis of
  AS. He is extremely comfortable with this and
  refuses to look at it as a disability. He even
  refers to it as a gift in several parts of his
  book. After reading this book I find myself in
  awe of this little boy and his wisdom.

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Kenneth says,

• One thing I hate is when people use the word
  suffer, and say I suffer from autism. It is
  not something I suffer from, its just the way I
  am. I dont tell people they suffer from being
  normal, do I?

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AS and Eating

• One of the most interesting things I learned from
  reading Kenneths book is his difficulty with
  eating. He has a hard time eating certain foods
  that have a texture he doesnt like, or have
  several things mixed together- like sandwiches.
  His favorite thing to eat is Pringles.

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Kenneths Eating Habits

• Because Kenneth has so much trouble eating other
  foods, he eats a lot of Pringles. He says in one
  part of the book, I am a vegetarian which means
  I dont eat meat. But then I dont eat any
  vegetables or fruits either. So I suppose I am
  more of a Pringle-arian.

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Connection to Education

• I think the most important connection to
  education I could make from reading this book is
  the success that Kenneth has had with ABA-
  Applied Behavior Analysis. ABA can help teachers
  and parents to develop dynamic educational
  programs for all sorts of children, not just
  those with autism or AS.

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References

• Hall, Kenneth. Asperger Syndrome, The Universe
  and Everything. London and Philadelphia. Jessica
  Kingsley Publishers. 2001.
• Lerner, Janet. Learning Disabilities and Related
  Disorders. Boston and New York. Houghton Mifflin
  Company. 2006.