UBC Press Helping Adults with Asperger's Syndrome Get & Stay Hired book Paperback

Employment expert Barbara Bissonnette provides strategies that professionals and parents need to guide individuals with Asperger's Syndrome (Autism Spectrum Disorder) to manageable jobs, and keep them employed.Career counselors and coaches, vocational rehabilitation specialists, other professionals, and parents are often unsure of how to assist people with Asperger's Syndrome. Traditional career assessments and protocols do not match their unique needs. In this practical book, readers will gain insight into how people with Asperger's Syndrome think and the common employment challenges they face. It explains how to build rapport and trust, facilitate better job matches, improve interpersonal communication and executive function skills, and encourage flexible-thinking and problem-solving.With tried-and-tested advice, assessment tools, and in-depth profiles of actual coaching clients and innovative companies that are utilizing the specialized skills of people with Asperger's, this book shows the way to a brighter employment future for those on the autism spectrum.

Barbara Bissonnette is a certified coach and the Principal of Forward Motion Coaching. She specializes in career development coaching for adults with Asperger's Syndrome and Non-Verbal Learning Disorder. She also provides training and consultation to employers. Prior to this, Barbara spent more than 20 years in business, most recently as Vice President of Marketing and Sales for an information services firm. She holds a graduate certificate in executive coaching from the Massachusetts School of Professional Psychology and is certified by the Institute for Professional Excellence in Coaching (iPEC). Barbara is the author of The Complete Guide to Getting a Job for People with Asperger's Syndrome and Asperger's Syndrome Workplace Survival Guide, also published by Jessica Kingsley Publishers. She lives in Stow, Massachusetts.