Conceived and designed all phases of study; collected and analyzed data, and drafted and compiled manuscript: LAH, BLH. APT. Also conceived and designed Phase 1, edited ms: LAL. Provided access to the CHARGE study families with ASD and typically developing children who met eligibility criteria and volunteered for this study; provided confirmed diagnostic and covariate data for the analysis: IHP. Conceived and conducted extended statistical analyses for Phase 1, and drafted text for methods and results pertaining to results and figures that resulted, with specific edits: NHW. Reviewed and edited interim and final draft manuscripts: LAH, APT, NHW, LAL, IH-P, BLH. Conflict of Interest Statement

All Cats Have Asperger Syndrome takes a playful look at Asperger Syndrome (AS), drawing inspiration from the feline world in a way that will strike a chord with all those who are familiar with AS. Touching, humorous and insightful, this book evokes the difficulties and joys of raising a child who is different and leaves the reader with a sense of the dignity, individuality, and potential of people with AS. This engaging book is an ideal, gentle introduction to the world of AS. Delightful colour photographs of cats bring to life familiar characteristics such as, for example, sensitive hearing. All Cats Are on the Autism Spectrum by Kathy Hoopmann – eBook DetailsIt is relevant to point out that cats vary a great deal in affection and aggressive behavioral predispositions toward family members. This variability is also evident when comparing purebred cats ( 11). Selecting a purebred that is genetically predisposed to be affectionate and comforting could play a role in the assessment of which cats would be most likely to be best for a child with ASD. An extensive study on cat breeds revealed that the most affectionate, socially outgoing, and least aggressive, breed is the Ragdoll. While not approaching the Ragdoll in the absence of aggression, the popular domestic shorthair also was rated as very affectionate. In terms of sex, neutered males were rated as being more affectionate than females. Although genetics and gender are important, so also are the manner in which the cat is reared and managed and the ways in which humans behave toward the cat.

Okay, I did not know what to make of this book when I saw it on the table at a recent book sale, but cat lover that I am, how could I pass it up for 50 cents?

ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Over the years, I have recommended the book to a lot of people and have time and time again experienced that both children and adults on the spectrum and their families have shown the same enthusiasm for it. That is really the best recommendation a book can get. I am so incredibly happy that I have been given the opportunity to translate this new edition into Danish. While there was a range in reports of relationships with the specified cat and autistic children, for a majority of respondents, there was a very favorable relationship between the cat and ASD child, as well as with cats and less severe ASD and typically developing children. Among parents of typically developing children, 9 offered very positive comments. “Cat and child love each other.”“Child likes to talk to our baby about the cat and bring the cat over to the infant to say hi.”“Child loves to carry the cat around.”“Child loves the cat.”“Cat tries to guard the family.”“Fun to watch the children loving to interact with the cat.” Two parents had no comment. Another described the cat and child ignoring each other, and two said the child was slightly fearful of the cat. Two said the children hated and were afraid of unfriendly cats; one usually unfriendly “cat comes into the bedroom at night purring to get petted, child will scream for parents to come get the cat.”

Every time I read in it, it still gives me a sense of being heard, met and understood as an autistic individual, and I’m certain that others will feel the same way. And I will never get tired of looking at all the beautiful and cute cats. Kathy has an ingenious way of blending the characteristics of beloved kitty cats to showcase the nuances and diversity of people on the autism spectrum. The richness of the pictures within this book, captures the essence and spirit of autistic people through the eyes of our purry, furry friends, that many autistics share a love for, and a commonality in the charm, inquisitive nature and love they have to give to the world As described in the Statistical Methods, a PCA was run on all responses that pertained to the quality or depth of the relationship between the autistic child and the specified cat. The child’s gender and the cat’s gender, intact status, and breed first were found to be insignificant factors. The first principal component summarized this information, with positive factor loadings for all positive cat/child interactions, except for “aggression toward child,” which had a negative factor loading. Thus, high values of the first principal component indicated a positive/deep relationship, and low values indicated a poor/shallow relationship. Sometimes his relatives think they could bring him up better than his parents." Yes, not to mention his scout leaders, the court ... The public school system couldn't handle his behavior & turned him over to the court system, who threatened to take him away from us. Thx to the social worker who they assigned to us, he was released from probation. And his juvie record has been expunged!!All Cats Are On The Autism Spectrum is a more sophisticated version of a social story; the pictures accompany the text. The book explains the nuances of being on the spectrum – but in simple, straightforward language – such as being stereotyped as not having any emotions. (Spoiler: we can feel!) Some of the photographs are also funny. If you can’t laugh, you’re going to go mad; it is an antidote to dark times. This book provides exactly that. However words do matter, and sometimes we get things wrong, and that’s ok if we are gracious about respecting the views of others and are prepared to use their preferred language once we know what it is. Although the surveys did not ask about the age of the cat at adoption, half of the feral cat adopters voluntarily mentioned acquiring their cats as kittens (whereas adopters from other sources did not); thus, we attribute the positive results for feral and purebred cats to their younger status at adoption, which is consistent with other aspects of the results. Persons seeking to acquire a suitable cat for a child in the family could do well to adopt a calm kitten at weaning, assuring that it has frequent gentle interactions with people of all ages, especially ASD children. Expecting that a cat would be affectionate with a child may pose particular challenges, since cats were found by Mertens ( 12) to prefer adults to young children, in terms of approaches and duration of proximity. Cats in families preferred adult women, with whom they reportedly had their most reciprocal relationships. These findings raise a possibility that predicting the interactions of cats with children may be more challenging.