'Agricultural specialisterne': rural employment revolution for those with Autism

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Dr Ahmad is a Clinical Psychologist and co-director of The Starfish Clinic in Whangarei and Auckland, on the North Island of New Zealand. She is also the creator of MyFriendQuest, which combines Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) with immersive gaming principles, helping to teach high functioning Autistic children how to recognise and respond appropriately to emotions.

As well as mentioning the work of Kari Dunn Buron (which I have informed readers of in this post), Dr Ahmad mentions Tony Attwood’s books on Anxiety and Anger issues:

There are several comments below about [Autism Spectrum Disorders] and anxiety as a clincal psychologist working many years in the field just thought I would share some of the resources that I have found particulalry useful. For kids on the spectrum I particularly like the following books: A “5” could make me lose control, an activity based method for evaluating and supporting highly anxious kids OR the Incredible 5-po…int scale both by Kari Dunn Buron.
For High Functioning Autism and Asperger’s Syndrome (9-12 years) exploring feelings: Cognitive Behaviour Therapy to Manage Anxiety (also one on anger) by Dr Tony Attwood. What I REALLY like about these books is that they are practical (not theory) based and to the point . Both authors have made these resources easily accessible for parents or professionals to read and use…I am also a great fan of Tony Attwood’s style and thinking on the subject of Asperger’s syndrome check out his site Tonyattwood.com.au

The publications she is talking about by Tony Attwood are his two 2004 programs, Exploring Feelings: Cognitive Behaviour Therapy to Manage Anger and Exploring Feelings. Cognitive Behaviour Therapy to Manage Anxiety. An example of one approach from the program is as follows:

…Metaphors are another way of training your child to understand emotions. Using science or their special interest is a useful way to connect. For example, one boy I worked with was keen on astronomy. We used the planets as metaphors for his emotions. Mercury represented his intense feelings as anger and upset and Pluto represented his boredom and coolness to situations. Tony Attwood in his book ‘Exploring Feelings’ talks about a teenage girl and adapting her interest of weather systems. In that case, confusion was seen as being in a fog, anxiety as being frozen with fear and an approaching tornado was her intense pleasure…

(sources: http://www.starfishclinic.com/yvette-ahmad/; http://www.facebook.com/BrightMindLABS?v=wall&filter=2; http://www.myfriendquest.com/guide.pdf)