Perigee Bookmarks

Welcome to Our Wheelhouse

Posted by Marian Lizzi

April is Autism Awareness Month, which means a lot here at Perigee, where we are proud to publish quite a few books about autism and related conditions—a category broadly known as Special Needs.

As an editor, I can honestly say that these books are the most important projects I work on. As diagnosis rates continue to soar, autism remains one of the last true medical mysteries. Meanwhile, we're seeing the first generation of young adults who came of age knowing they are "on the spectrum." This means, among other things, that there's an amazing amount of talent out there—authors who are not the white-coat experts of old, but living, thriving (or not-so-thriving) examples of what it means to live with autism. I feel truly honored to publish some of these fresh and important voices.

One such author is Jesse Saperstein, who is in his late twenties. Jesse has Asperger's, and while that presents some challenges, it does not define him as a person. He's a college graduate, a popular speaker, and the author of a truly engaging and funny memoir called Atypical: Life with Asperger's in 20 1/3 Chapters. I'm surely biased, since I'm his editor, but I would challenge anyone to read this book without laughing out loud—and seeing the experience of Asperger's through a remarkable new lens. It's the type of book you want to share when you're done. It's a labor of love by a talented writer who will surely go on to even greater heights.

 
 
Here's a video of Jesse giving a talk to students at his old middle school. The subject couldn't be more timely: handling bullying.

And as we continue through the month, we are now launching next April's titles, with a few more entries into this important category. I couldn't be more proud to be a part of this publishing effort.

Graduation Day

Posted by Marian Lizzi

 

Lest you think my list is as fluffy and light as a cirrus floccus cloud (see Gavin Pretor-Pinney’s The Cloudspotter’s Guide, the first book I acquired when I came to Penguin six years ago this week), I hasten to add that there’s another side to what I acquire, edit, and publish. A more practical side.

 

And within that practical side is the niche that I’m probably most proud to be a part of: special-needs parenting—that is, books about the autism spectrum, sensory processing disorder, ADHD, and related conditions.

 

This area has become a strong suit for Perigee. Ever since The Out-of-Sync Child was first published here in 1998, the imprint has developed into a go-to source for authoritative, timely books for parents and other adults concerned about these conditions (see the covers and links below for some examples). The authors of these books—who are variously doctors, teachers, parents, occupational therapists, and other hands-on experts—are passionate about helping every child reach his or her full potential. They know their stuff. And they’ve taught me some truly amazing lessons.

 

A case in point: Tomorrow, Jeremy Sicile-Kira will graduate from high school. Autistic and severely impaired, Jeremy communicates using an electronic keyboard, and by pointing at a letter board. Like many people with autism, he has difficulty with his senses; his vision, hearing, and motor skills are impaired, and he often relies on repetitive movements (“stimming”) to hold his concentration. (“If I don’t concentrate, the world seems surreal,” he said recently.)

 

When Jeremy addresses his fellow graduates tomorrow, with the help of a laptop and TextAloud software that turns his text into speech, he will be celebrating not just his own hard work, but that of his mother, author and advocate Chantal Sicile-Kira, as well as teachers, occupational therapists, support staff, and many others.

 

Chantal, more than anyone else, always knew that Jeremy could learn. When an “expert” told her, early on, that the best she could expect for her young son was for him to wipe tables at a fast-food restaurant, she vowed never to let that happen. He would progress, achieve, and reach his full potential.

 

Which is just what he’s doing.

 

I could not be more proud to work with this passionate, informed, and inspiring author, whose three books on autism demystify the condition and offer practical advice on everything from getting an accurate diagnosis and knowing your child’s educational rights to coping with puberty, finding meaningful work, and much more.

 

Tomorrow will be her day too.

 

Jeremy’s graduation speech ends with this:

 

“Teachers, never underestimate your students no matter how disabled they may appear or what difficulties they face.

 

Parents, believe in your children and encourage them to fulfill their dreams.

 

Students, give yourself the power to hear the voice inside telling you that you can create the life you dream of. Believe in yourself, and never allow anyone to discourage you.”

For more on Jeremy's story, you can read about him in the Carmel Valley News.  He was also part of the "I Have Autism" episode of MTV's documentary series, True Life.

Books by Chantal Sicile-Kira:

Autism Spectrum Disorders

 

 

Adolescents on the Autism Spectrum

 

Autism Life Skills

 

 

 

 

 

Here are some of Perigee's other special-needs titles:

The Out-of-Sync Child

 

 

 

The Out-of-Sync Child Has Fun

 

 

 

Growing an In-Sync Child

 

 

 

 

 

Disconnected Kids

 

 

 

 

 

Asperger's from the Inside Out

 

 

 

 

 

Atypical

 

Being an Editor: A Feast for All Senses

Posted by Marian Lizzi

 

In my (gulp) twenty years as an editor of nonfiction, I’ve learned countless things from the authors I’ve worked with. Thanks to these amazingly varied and knowledgeable writers, I can hold my own in cocktail-party conversations about the differences between cirrus and stratocumulus clouds, how to carve a pumpkin using a power saw, the history of the phone book, and how to pop a Champagne cork with a sword -- among many other topics (I could go on, and I often do, especially after a whiskey smash or two).

 

But one of the most fascinating things I’ve learned comes from what also happens to be the first book I edited when I came to Penguin in the summer of 2004 -- the revised edition of a special-needs bible called The Out-of-Sync Child, which has sold more than 750,000 copies to date.

 

Here’s what I learned:  We have seven senses, not five.

 

Sure, we’ve got sight, hearing, smell, touch, and taste. But we also have a sense of what our body is doing, even when we can’t see it (the proprioceptive sense), and a sense of balance (the vestibular sense). When the brain isn’t processing sensory information efficiently, these two senses, along with the others, can be a bit “out-of-sync.”

 

Working with an author like Carol Kranowitz – whose book has been translated into a dozen languages and has touched countless special-needs parents, educators, therapists, and of course kids – is truly a privilege, and a learning experience.

 

Now, twelve years after The Out-of-Sync Child was first published, I have the added privilege of working with Carol and her talented new co-author, perceptual motor therapist Joye Newman, on book that, we all hope, will touch an even wider audience.

 

Growing an In-Sync Child takes the principles of the first book to a new level, because it turns out that ALL kids, not just those with special needs, need to run, jump, roll, skip, and balance on their tip-toes. Why? Because these movements help the brain develop as it’s supposed to.

 

So take your kids to the park. And let’s go out for a cocktail sometime (but only one, or else my seven senses will start to get a little foggy).

 

 

 

 

Growing an In-Sync Child goes on sale today

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 The Out-of-Sync Child

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Out-of-Sync Child Has Fun

Don't Go Changing

Posted by author Jesse Saperstein

 

I recently logged on to Facebook and discovered the format of the popular social networking site had been radically altered.  Along with my hundreds of Tweeter/Twitter/Whatever-obsessed “friends” (one fourth of whom I do not even know), I griped aloud about the changes.  “I liked the way it was before.  Why did they have to fix what was not even broken?” 

 

I expressed the exact same grievance the very next day upon hearing the dreaded news that the American Psychiatric Association is planning to drop the term Asperger’s syndrome (AS) from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.  When the DSM-V is released in a few years, Asperger’s syndrome will be erased from the manual and incorporated into the umbrella term “autism spectrum disorder.”  I will eventually grow used to and maybe even appreciate the new Facebook changes.  I highly doubt the same will ever be true of the DSM-V.

 

This change is not only disrespectful to Hans Asperger (the Austrian pediatrician who gave individuals like myself a voice), but would also wreak havoc on a community affected by the mildest, most misunderstood form of autism. 

 

I was diagnosed in 1996 at age fourteen, after years of incorrect diagnoses and the relentless efforts of my parents to find answers.  Like many people with Asperger’s syndrome, I have struggled with doomed first impressions, chronic misunderstandings, and, yes, difficulty with change. Since graduating from college, I have had a string of short-lived, usually disastrous jobs (group-home employee, night-shift factory worker, assistant funeral director, substitute teacher). A member of the neurotypical (non-Asperger’s) community would only have to attend a support group meeting of the Global and Regional Asperger’s Syndrome Partnership (GRASP), Inc., to find abundant evidence that the stigma has not gone away.  Many GRASP members have struggled for acceptance in spite of their talents (usually an astonishing skill connected with a particular special interest). 

 

Slowly, things are getting better.  My story is an example of what can happen when people give someone like me a chance.  My first book—Atypical: Life with Asperger’s in 20 1/3 Chapters—is being released in April with complimentary advance reviews from individuals like Sigourney Weaver and Dr. Temple Grandin.  Regardless of what the DSM-V claims in 2012, I will continue to tell people, “I have a condition known as Asperger’s syndrome.”  And I have no doubt that most of my peers will continue to do the same.  The term is becoming more recognized in the neurotypical community, and it seems to work.  Why change it?

 

 

 

Atypical goes on sale April 6

Blurb Anxiety

Posted by Marian Lizzi

 

It’s not every day that I get a call from Temple Grandin. So I was pretty excited (read: nervous and star-struck) one morning a few months back when the renowned professor, reformer, and bestselling author, who is one of the world’s most famous individuals living with autism (and subject of an acclaimed new HBO movie), called me about the manuscript I’d sent her for one of my forthcoming books.

 

Under the best of circumstances, sending an advance manuscript or galley out for blurbs is nerve-wracking. Will the recipients – each one an expert, author, and or otherwise notable quotable – like the book? Will they rave about it, or rage against it? Will they dismiss it out of hand? Or let it languish in a snowdrift of mail (electronic or otherwise), never to be opened? Am I pissing off the very person I’m asking a favor of?

 

In this case, the book in question is a memoir called Atypical, written by Jesse Saperstein, an immensely talented man in his twenties who has been diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome, a mild form of autism. The book is a guided tour through his struggles, pleasures, insights, coping mechanisms, and flights of fancy. It’s filled with humor, honesty, and a generous spirit that struck me from the first page. Jesse Saperstein does not hold back.

 

That includes sharing his quirks, compulsions, and peccadilloes – everything from his abiding love of sending lengthy handwritten notes (I’ve received quite a few of them myself) to his short-lived hobby of hoarding droppings from the family cat (Jesse’s good-natured father made him walk that particular garbage bag to the curb straight away).

 

An atypical memoir indeed.

 

So when the phone rang and a dignified voice said, “This is Temple Grandin,” my heart raced. Maybe this esteemed professor wouldn’t find the book as disarming and insightful as I had. Why had I sent it to her, anyway?

 

Happily, Dr. Grandin proceeded to tell me that Jesse’s writing is brilliant. I scribbled down her words and tried to keep my sigh of relief inaudible. She went on to tell me that she gets so many galleys for books about autism that she just throws most of them in the trash. (Note to self: Your worst fears are not without merit.)  We got a wonderful quote from a beloved, bestselling author. Mission accomplished.

 

As I prepare to reach out to another batch of potential blurbers about a different memoir (this one recounting one man’s attempt to live by Ben Franklin’s thirteen virtues), I’m steeling myself once again, a bit chastened but as hopeful as ever.

 

Atypical goes on sale April 6.