45 45 FREE SPIRIT PUBLISHING KIDS & TEENS 10 Chapter 1 Chapter 1 What Is ASD? ASD stands for autism spectrum disorder. But disorder isn’t a very friendly word. If you want, you can think of ASD as a brain difference. Because the difference starts in the brain, ASD has an effect on your body too. Your brain is like your command center. It sends billions of messages 24/7 to all areas of your body. Messages like: “Legs, run!” “Hey, what’s that noise?” “Ouch, that bright sun hurts my eyes.” “Mmmm, I smell lunch. Time to eat.” SGKidswithASD-TEXT.indd 10 CHAPTER 1 What Is ASD? 11 Your brain plays an important role in three areas having to do with autism spectrum disorder: 1. Communication: This is about how you listen, speak, write, or get messages across to others. 2. Socialization: Socializing is doing things with other people. Your brain affects how you socialize with others and how much you want to socialize with them. It affects how you fit into a group, like your family, friends, or community. 3. Interests and behaviors: Interests are the things you think about and the activities you enjoy. Behaviors are the things you do and how you act. Your brain plays a role in how often you think or do things, and how much you enjoy them. If you have ASD, your brain has to work harder when it comes to communicating and socializing. All this hard work might make you feel tired or frustrated, but you can do it! This book will tell you how. On pages 1 6–24, you’ll learn more about each of the three key areas mentioned above. But first, a word about rainbows . . . The Many Colors of ASD Rainbows? What do rainbows have to do with the autism spectrum? You might have seen the word spectrum if you’ve read about rainbows. The spectrum refers to the colors of light in a rainbow (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet). Just like the rainbow, autism comes in many colors, including your special color! The “spectrum” part of ASD means that each and every person with this condition is different and unique. SGKidswithASD-TEXT.indd 11 Ages 5–13+ 9 titles Pub Date: 2013–2026 Paperback 128–300 pages Trim Size: • 6 in. x 9 in. • 7 in. x 9 in. The Survival Guide for Gifted Kids: For Ages 10 and Under 9798885549509 The Gifted Teen Survival Guide 9781631986789 The Survival Guide for Money Smarts 9781631980282 The Survival Guide for Making and Being Friends 9781575424729 The Survival Guide for Kids with ADHD 9798885549622 The Survival Guide for Kids with Behavior Challenges 9781575424491 The Survival Guide for Kids with Autism Spectrum Disorder 9781631985997 LGBTQ: The Survival Guide for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Questioning Teens 9781631983023 IntroduCtIon Do you struggle to keep your things organized? Do you have trouble paying attention at school? Do you have difficulty sitting still or staying in one place? Do you sometimes have trouble making friends or getting along with others? Do you sometimes focus so much on something that you lose track of what’s going on around you? If you answered YES to any of these questions, read on! 1 How This Book Can Help You This book can help you if you have ADHD. ADHD stands for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. The brains of kids with ADHD work in unique ways so that it’s hard for them to do some things—like pay attention, stay calm, sit still, or stay organized. When I wrote the first edition of this book way back in 2006, some information about ADHD was available, but there were many misunderstandings about it. Since then we’ve learned a lot more about ADHD. This third edition gives you updated information that is even more accurate and helpful and based on research that psychologists, physicians, scientists, and other ADHD experts know today. If you have ADHD, you probably face some challenges other kids don’t. You probably have some amazing talents too. ADHD can affect many parts of your life. It can affect how you experience strong emotions like anger, sadness, or excitement. It can even affect how well you get along with your family, how you do daily chores and routines, how well you sleep, your thoughts about yourself, how well you manage your behavior, and even what you like (and don’t like) to eat! ADHD also affects the ways you learn best at school, how well you stay organized, and how you stay focused. You can read more about words in bold type in the glossary on page 106. 2 The Survival Guide for Kids with ADHD
