Ep. 144: Professor Tony Attwood - The Asperger’s Syndrome

Full PreFrontal

What do wigs, cookie jars, pizza dough, supermarket flyers, unpaid invoices, airplane menus, and a mummified human foot have in common? Those are some of the Andy Stuff found amongst 641 boxes left behind by the Pop Art legend Andy Warhol, which is now on display at the Andy Warhol museum in Pittsburg. Truman Capote was once said to refer to Warhol as 'a sphinx without a riddle’; a callous jab at the artist whose quirks and idiosyncrasies accentuated his highly restrictive interests and extremely limited social-interactional interactions. Many individuals on the Autism Spectrum present with Warhol’s vulnerabilities and find social navigation difficult if and when the world around them is less than accepting.

For World Autism Awareness Month, our podcast guest, clinical psychologist, adjunct Professor at Griffith University in Queensland, and consultant psychologist at the Minds and Hearts Clinic, Professor Tony Attwood, discusses the nature of Asperger’s syndrome and the upside and downside of these individuals’ remarkable abilities in a chosen area of expertise. Improving Executive Function skills can positively impact social reciprocity skills allowing mutualized harmonious engagement with the world which has room for all of us.

About Professor Tony Attwood
Tony Attwood, PhD is a clinical psychologist, adjunct Professor at Griffith University in Queensland, and consultant psychologist at the Minds and Hearts Clinic, in Brisbane, Australia. Professor Attwood has over four decades of experience with individuals with ASD and has helped thousands of individuals across the autism spectrum. His books and videos on Asperger’s Syndrome and High-functioning Autism include The Complete Guide to Asperger’s Syndrome, Asperger’s Syndrome: A Guide for Parents and Professionals, and the Exploring Feelings program manuals.
Website:

• www.tonyattwood.com.au

Books:

• The Complete Guide to Asperger's Syndrome
• Exploring Depression and Beating the Blues: A CBT Self-help guide to understanding and coping with depression in Asperger’s syndrome.
• Been There. Done That. Try This! An Aspie’s Guide to Life on Earth

About Host, Sucheta Kamath
Sucheta Kamath, is an award-winning speech-language pathologist, a TEDx speaker, a celebrated community leader, and the founder and CEO of ExQ®. As an EdTech entrepreneur, Sucheta has designed ExQ's personalized digital learning curriculum/tool that empowers middle and high school students to develop self-awareness and strategic thinking skills through the mastery of Executive Function and social-emotional competence.
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