Tony Attwood (born 1952 in Birmingham) English psychologist who lives in Queensland, Australia, and author of several books on Asperger's Syndrome. His most famous book — listed below — provides information on diagnosis, problems of social relations, sensory issues, motor control and other typical issues which face people with Asperger's and their support networks.

Book

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Attwood, Tony. Asperger's Syndrome. A Guide for Parents and Professionals. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 1998. Foreword by Lorna Wing. ISBN 1853025571.

Asperger syndrome and certain interests

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Attwood notes a strong association between certain types of interests and Asperger syndrome (AS). In a talk for partners of people with AS in 2000 he illustrated what he describes as the "courtship" phase of AS by reference to Star Trek conventions, calling them "reunions for people with Asperger's" - a classification he also extended to train spotters in the UK similarly characterised ^*. These statements have been repeated since.

Although clearly intended as illustrative of a class of readily-identified behaviours, these statements give to some the impression of being a mass diagnosis of a pervasive developmental disorder merely because they are fans of a particular television program. Attwood is clear that it is focus on the interest itself over and above the people who share that interest which he considers as a marker; nonetheless, these remarks are unpopular with some "trekkers".

External links

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• Tony Attwood's web site. Includes autobiographical information
• "About Asperger's" by Stephen Fay, Ellsworth (Maine) American, July 29, 2004, retrieved December 23, 2005
• "Workshop for Partners of People with Asperger's Syndrome" by Tony Attwood, May 2, 2000, bottom of page 3/top of page 4, retrieved January 12, 2006.

1952 births | Living people | Natives of Birmingham | English psychologists

Tony Attwood | Tony Attwood