The Guide to Good Mental Health on the Autism Spectrum

by Yenn Purkis, Emma Goodall, Jane Nugent

Filled with strategies and advice, this empowering guide presents practical ways to improve the mental wellbeing of people on the Autism Spectrum. This helpful guide focusses on the specific difficulties that can arise for people on the autism spectrum who may also experience a mental illness. The book includes information on common mental health issues, such as depression and anxiety, as well as strategies for improving sleep patterns and mindfulness. Providing guidance on the benefits and drawbacks of therapy pets, medication, and psychotherapy, the authors offer balanced perspectives on treatment options and introduce self-help strategies tailored to meet your needs and improve your mental wellbeing. A number of short personal narratives from people on the autism spectrum and mental health issues illustrate the text. The book also includes a list of resources, books and organisations that can provide further support and inspiration.

Genres: Autistic Spectrum Disorder, Nonfiction, Mental Health, Psychology, Self Help, Disability, Health

272 pages, Paperback

Published March 21, 2016

Reviews

[Emma Sea · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm impressed. This is such a well balanced book. It's designed to help an autistic person look after their own mental health and make their own best choices Purkis includes discussion of the benefits of autism and stresses that each person knows best what works for them. Not all solutions will suit all people, whether that's different types of therapy or pharmaceuticals, or different medical care providers. Perkis stresses that medications come with side effects, and you need to work with a medical care professional to find the mix that works for you (and sometimes that's no medication). She doesn't hold back from discussion of self harm and suicide, and points out that these are two different things - self harm is not necessarily going to escalate to suicide, and treating it like it will is unhelpful.

I solidly rec this to all my autistic friends, or all who have autistic friends and family.

[Willow · Rating 5 out of 5]

As an Aspie that suffers from a number of mental illnesses, I appreciate this book so much. A lot of the strategies surrounding coping mechanisms have inspired me to develop a sense of independence and to try and accept myself the way I am with the end goal of solving my self esteem issues (which is basically the root of a lot of my mental health issues).
Seriously, I can't thank the authors that had a hand in writing this enough, I truly hope this information helps the world of every day people and professional clinicians to become more aware and informed of the needs of those on the spectrum. Understanding is the best cure for ignorance, after all.

[Lois · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fine as a reference book for the newly diagnosed, otherwise too simplistic. Laughable that it doesn't have any tips on healthy maintainence of romantic and social relationships or identifying abusive ones considering those are some of our biggest struggles. The language is quite stiff or dated at times, and I take exception to something that's meant to help mentally ill people calling the act of suicide 'extremely selfish'

[RedGhost]

I've read chapters about pets, started and skimmed through the one about sleep issues, skimmed one or two more, and asked Amazon for Kindle refund. While it can be useful for someone young or just started browsing online, or for someone so confused and not knowing where to start, for us who are more than 15 years online, advice here is already old and seen or tried or 'common sense' or just too shallow. Those looking for advanced material better look somewhere else. Or borrow from library to satisfy curiosity instead of buying.

[Kat Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is pretty good. It's straightforward, has a great layout, was clearly well-researched, and lifts up Autistic voices.

It loses a star for using person first language, and references to functioning labels (including lots of the use of Asperger's). I'm guessing it's more a symptom of when it was written (and possibly done to please the publishers), but as an autistic advocate, I can't give it full marks, and I'd actually be hesitant to recommend it to other autistic people as some would find the language used frustrating and/or triggering.

I love what the book is trying to do though, and have learnt from it.

[Elon Slootweg · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is really, seriously, incredibly good. The only reason I knocked a star is because it occasionally uses person-first language, which I can’t stand. Either way, note to self: read this often and incorporate it in your life.

[Mark · Rating 2 out of 5]

With this book i see that more common things are explained but I was looking for this as someone also with psychosis spectrum disorder, and I was sorely disappointed, It seemed that it was more relied on as a misdiagnosis, and while the sensory and yes directness can be misinterpreted it does lack how when combined it can be an even more precious hell as overloading collides with what is being interpreted by the brain by false stimuli. Maybe cause I've dealt with it s long I felt nothing when reading that section in particular other than the personal story to know hey, a combo disorder collection like that exists,

Onto the rest, Aspergers is an outdated term considering its origins. So I did not appreciate that and other than that the information seemed too general. to oversimplified, Not for a level that is looking into generic tips that have a slight "look out for that things will be extra with also beig autistic."

[Sukrita · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nothing worth writing about... It might be useful to some people, and I guess it's not as patronising as some of the books on Autism I've read.

That's not saying very much in terms of recommending it though. It has some outdated information, like repeatedly calling it Aspergers syndrome. I disagreed with the way certain topics were presented, but that's probably being nitpicky.

If you're starting from zero knowledge of mental health or Autism, maybe this book would be helpful. To someone who has already got a lot of information on that, it's just a manual on how to avoid terrible mental health crises.

[Adrian (Changeling Reader) · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars or so.

Provided much helpful material over the time I read it, and I will certainly come back to my notes and highlighted bits multiple times to try to more smoothly incorporate specific things into my more usual thinking/mental health practices.

Despite that, I'm giving it a bit of a lower rating because my copy also had some unusual typos, structure oddness that stood out when there was some repetitiveness occuring at points, and citations being a bit unclearly done. There were a few bits I felt didn't get phrased in a way that struck true or were a bit unclear and maybe some minor relevancy issues. Although, at one point, I was definitely thinking, "How is this relevant?"

[Benjamin Bookman · Rating 4 out of 5]

As with most research-based works, some of the terms and resources are already out of date. And since this book was written outside of the US, some of the recommendations and language is impractical for US audiences. That all being said, the big picture material and message is spot-on. It is hopeful without being condescending. It is concrete without being overly pedantic. There are tips as well as general info, all while remaining readable. I didn’t need to read all of the chapters, on all sorts of conditions I don’t have, but yet it still felt worthwhile to do so and learn something anyway.

[Adam · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this a useful book that provided some helpful information and new ways of looking at things that I hadn’t considered before.

That being said, a lot of the content was aimed at autistic people who may struggle with more day-to-day challenges (having a job, living alone etc.) and this made it less relevant to me.

[Zei · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting and covers many aspects and facets of psychological life of people on the spectrum. The section at the end of every chapter feels a bit redundant but maybe it helps as a reminder of the most sallient points to keep in mind.
The tone can sometimes be a little condescending, not being neurodivergent myself though maybe I am seeing offense where there really is none..?

[Gigi Maroulis · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked up this book because I got recommended it on the app I use. While at first I thought it would be an interesting read, there were a couple of sections that I couldn't particularly agree on, though at the same time there were some that I could definitely take something from. This is why I gave it the score I did, though in part I wish there was a .5 star so I could rate it 3.5.

[Jackeline · Rating 2 out of 5]

ruimzim demais, bicho.

[brooke ‧₊˚ ☽ ⋅ · Rating 2 out of 5]

meh, had some good points, wouldn’t recommend especially after it called suicide selfish.
nothing i couldn’t get from a regular/neurotypical ‘self-help’ book

[Sophia · Rating 1 out of 5]

What a fucking joke.

[Matthew Blokzyl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a great resource

So glad I found this book off of a recommendation from a friend. Great depth of information. Definitely recommend this book

[Casey Henderson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ended summer hoping for a zesty book. Not quite what I expected but, so it goes!

The book focused on people with “autism and mental health conditions” (not specifically those with both). It was meant to help readers understand the root of their mental health challenges and learn strategies to cope. There were a wide range of topics, from suicidal thoughts and medication to the benefit of pets and strategies to aid sleep. These topics were sometimes technical but often common sensical (at least to anyone who has given mental health a skosh of attention in their own life).

One dialogue that I did appreciate was the gray area of mental health. The author noted the difficulty for medical professionals to differentiate diagnoses of autism and mental health conditions. Sometimes, autistic people aren’t assessed for additional mental health diagnoses because their challenges in that area are considered intrinsic to their autism (sensory overload triggering anxiety, for example).

Besides this commentary, autism intertwined only some themes in the book. It was usually presented as one supporting point or as an introduction to a topic. I couldn’t help but think the book would be nearly the same if it was simply ‘The Guide to Good Mental Health.’ Certainly the mental health shares weren’t throwaway, but I didn’t get the depth of specificity in autism that I expected.

That said, I would recommend this book for a person on the autism spectrum with low support need who is seeking information from an autistic author to understand mental health. Each chapter does include peer mentoring advice, which can offer a sense of community and comfort to a reader who thinks “they’re the only one.” Although I wouldn’t suggest this as a front-to-back read, it could be a good resource to keep on the shelf for general topical reference. Sure not a page-turner, but glad I read it!

[Andy Carlisle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Found this publication to be easy to understand, well-balanced. and is definitely a book that I would recommend to others!

[Mashiara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good if you have little idea about autism and mental health. Not much new information if you're already somewhat informed.