WIREDGOV

Asperger Syndrome and Alcohol: Drinking to cope? by Matthew Tinsley and Sarah Hendrickx

Any book giving personal experiences and information regarding substance misuse is of interest to us as workers in that field. When it is connected to a condition such as Asperger's it increases our interest. But when the co-author is an ex-resident of the Northampton Service then we are all very keen to read the book, especially the bits where Matt Tinsley describes his time at Aquarius!

The description of the book on the jacket cover says that 'Asperger's Syndrome and Alcohol exposes the unexplored problem of people with Autism Spectrum Disorders using alcohol as a coping mechanism to deal with everyday life.' It goes on to say that use of alcohol can relieve the symptoms of social anxiety and help those with Autism Spectrum Disorders feel as if they can handle social situations and fit in.

Matt's story is interspersed with factual information on the link between alcohol and autism, taking it from childhood to the problems adults can experience in friendships, marriage and the workplace. It also looks at the types of help available and what life can be like following treatment.

The forward by Temple Grandin describes his own problems with Autism and he empathises with Matt as he says how easily he could have turned to alcohol as a coping strategy. He says that being well-informed about the condition of Asperger's Syndrome is the way forward in being able to deal with it. He finishes by saying 'by spreading awareness of the potentially huge number of people on the spectrum who in some way find themselves drinking to cope, Sarah Hendrickx and Matthew Tinsley are doing the AS community a huge service and will hopefully help others to avoid the same problems,' (p2).

So, on a professional as well as a personal level, we recommend this book to you as either workers in the field or as people interested in Asperger's Syndrome. Matt is an example of doing it well; he worked so hard to overcome his problems with alcohol and now is going on to help others.

For anyone who is interested in purchasing a copy of the book, the details are as follows:

Tinsley, Matthew and Hendrickx, Sarah (2008)
Asperger Syndrome and Alcohol: Drinking to cope?  
London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers.  
ISBN 978 1 84310 609 8