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All Cats Are on the Autism Spectrum

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It also states that the first signs of Aspergers are detected when the person is very young. I only partly agree, because while those signs might exist at an early age, they are often not recognized! There are many people who only discover their AS as adults. Kathy Hoopmann's books, using animals to explain aspects of SEND, have pride of place on my shelf. In fact I have two copies of each, so that I always have a spare to loan out. Each person who borrows one ends up buying their own copy as they are a must-have for anyone interested in the areas covered. This revision of All Cats Have Aspergers, has been sensitively updated to include developments in understanding of autism. The gender neutral language now recognises that autism is not a 'male' condition and the differences of everyone on the spectrum is beautifully illustrated with tangles of colour. The photos are as endearing as ever, making this a sensitive approach for any SENCO, parent or child who is trying to explain or understand the high functioning autistic condition. Two copies of All Cats are on the Autism Spectrum now sit next to the rest of my collection. Woodgate RL, Ateah C, Secco L. Living in a world of our own: the experience of parents who have a child with autism. Qual Health Res (2008) 18(8):1075–83. doi:10.1177/1049732308320112 You can look at beautiful cats' pictures and at the same time learn about Asperger Syndrome! Genius!

Many children seek an affectionate relationship with their cats and may benefit from the affection, but their desires are often not fulfilled. Cats that are affectionate to adults, but that are not affectionate to young children, may not tolerate attempts to be held by a child. Some well-known rearing practices of kittens, that would logically predispose cats to being affectionate to young children, are socially habituating (socializing) kittens to several young children and even dogs and other cats. The early weeks of cats’ lives are known to be a sensitive period for inducing friendly, affectionate behavior in cats ( 21, 22). This updated edition of the bestselling All Cats Have Asperger Syndrome provides an engaging, gentle introduction to autism. When considering placing a cat with a child with ASD, the cat’s welfare is sometimes a concern. We found that in most cases, the cat was spending only an hour a day or less with the child. Appropriately, this means that the cats were able to spend most of the day in various other activities, and, if the child’s behavior with the cat could be problematic, supervising the child’s behavior with the cat would not require extensive time commitments from a parent. The study did not include an opportunity to conduct direct observations of the interactions of the child and cat; rather, parents provided their perspectives on the behavior of the cat and the relationship of the child and the cat based on their ongoing lives with child and cat. Further, the role of the cat’s breed could not be assessed because of the small numbers of cats. Discussion A majority of cats in all groups were at least moderately affectionate with the children. Specified cats were significantly less likely to be very affectionate with severe ASD children when compared with the specified cats for the less severe ASD or typically developing children ( p< 0.040). However, the likelihood of the cat being quite affectionate or moderately affectionate with the child did not differ among groups.Service dogs have particular utility in assuring the safety of the child, giving the family respite, taking the social focus off the child, adding stature to the family and assuring safety by keeping the child from bolting and running away ( 5). Service dogs were shown to decrease cortisol secretion upon awakening in children with ASD, and parents reported improvements in behavior of the child when having a service dog ( 6). Not surprisingly, the use of dogs with autistic children is an expanding role for service dogs, with the numbers of dogs placed in families with an autistic child increasing among facilities accredited with Assistance Dogs International (ADI) and also among non-accredited facilities in the U.S. ( 7). Hall SS, Wright HF, Hames A, PAWS Team, Mills DS. The long-term benefits of dog ownership in families with children with autism. J Vet Behav (2016) 13:46–54. doi:10.1016/j.jveb.2016.04.003

Kathy Hoopmann wrote in 2006 the classic All Cats Have Asperger’s Syndrome, a book that has a very special place in my heart. It came out shortly after my son was diagnosed with autism and the book was a huge help in introducing him to autism in a positive, funny and appreciative way. Lydia, an Autistic individual documents life on the Autistic spectrum. She interviewed me about why I wrote this updated version. Read all about our chat here. Casey RA, Bradshaw JWS. The effects of additional socialization for kittens in a rescue centre on their behavior and suitability as a pet. Appl Anim Behav Sci (2008) 114:196–205. doi:10.1016/j.applanim.2008.01.003

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. Of the 19 specified cats that were very affectionate toward the specified child, not all were affectionate toward adults, as indicated by only eight of these cats (42%) being very affectionate toward adults ( p< 0.05). The same was true for other children in the family ( p< 0.05). Thus, these very affectionate cats were more affectionate to the specified child than to adults or other children in the family. Among the 19 cats that were very affectionate to the specified child, five (26%) were over 6 years of age; 31% of the remaining less affectionate cats were over 6 years of age (ns).

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!) 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. 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. All Cats are on the Autism Spectrum is written with the very best intentions to reflect the wishes of the autistic community in language and concepts. I know that my choices will not please everyone and that views on language will continue to evolve. 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.

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.

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