All Cats Are on the Autism Spectrum

Product Information

Haley Moss is an autistic attorney, author, artist and advocate. In these words, taken from her foreword to Kathy Hoopmann’s new All Cats are on the Autism Spectrum , she explains how the book has personal meaning for her. For children known to be consistently kind with the cat, the relationship could offer an at-home brief break for the parents. In the Netherlands, animals are used to provide a short break for children with ASD at care farms ( 23), but having a calming animal at home offers a more consistent and convenient source of affection. Simply seeing the child being calmer with the cat can be comforting to the parents, as indicated in some of the volunteered comments by parents. 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. The descriptions of autism are astute, humorous and encouraging for the autistic person and their family.’ 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.

The pictures of all the cute cats, together with the short but precise description of what it’s like to be on the autism spectrum, makes it the perfect book to learn about autism in a gentle, heart warming and humorous way, regardless of whether you are on the spectrum, a parent or other family member, classmate, friend, colleague or professional in the autism field. The pictures call for both seriousness and laughter, and it also gives the reader an opportunity to talk about a difficult topic in an easy and enjoyable way. 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.

Materials and Methods

We hypothesized that a relaxed cat that can be held and/or carried about could be a therapeutic companion for a child with ASD, perhaps offering ongoing calming comfort supplementing that from a parent or other human family member, and also facilitating social behavior by the child. This is a fabulous concept for a book, and in execution it's cute a lot of the time. Maybe even most of the time. But some of the humor comes off as trying a little bit too hard, stretching a little too much. The text could stand to be a little less clinical and a little more whimsical (to match the kitty-cat theme) and, if handled skillfully, would not lose any of its truthfulness... and would actually wind up being much more memorable. 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. It was clear that the specified cats varied considerably in behavior. The study has revealed the importance of having a cat that is inherently low in aggression, socially outgoing, and affectionate as a family companion for a child with ASD or that is typically developing. One such resource that explores purebreds and domestic shorthair and longhair cats in this regard has rated the breeds on scales for these traits ( 11). A study where adult cat owners rated personality attributes of their cats also suggests the importance of careful pet selection. Six personality dimensions were identified, and one of these, amiability, was strongly correlated with the respondent’s satisfaction with the cat and the bond quality, and the extent to which the cat was not perceived as troublesome ( 19). Active selection for an affectionate cat could improve the chances of a calming rewarding relationship of cat and child. 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.

There is a great deal of truth in humour. If you have only just begun to discover why someone with Asperger's syndrome is different, this book will inform and entertain you. The descriptions provide an accurate balance between the qualities and difficulties associated with Asperger's syndrome, while the photographs will make the journey of discovery enjoyable and remarkable.' 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.’ Delightful colour photographs of cats bring to life familiar characteristics such as sensitive hearing, scampering at the first sign of being stroked, and particular eating habits.

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!! Kathy Hoopmann’s newest edition of All Cats Are on the Autism Spectrum will bring lots of smiles and autism awareness information to readers of every age.’ Liane Holliday-Willey, EdD, author of Pretending to Be Normal: Living with Asperger’s Syndrome and Safety Skills for Asperger Women: How to Save a Perfectly Good Female Life

Here's a delightful book explaining the traits of Asperger's Syndrome, with short, simple text over illustrative and cute pics of kittens and cats. It's obviously aimed at children but it wouldn't be a bad first place to start learning as an adult and it only takes a few minutes to read cover to cover. The idea probably came from the quote "Cats are autistic dogs," which is quite apt... Compared to all the other books I have read, this is the one that made me feel good about my diagnosis. To be explained away by a label can be dehumanising – because we are more than just medical advice or science. It also does not cover up challenges as being a ‘super power’. Autism is not a fairytale. And I feel this way of thinking does more harm than good. 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 Details

ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

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. Most of the ASD children (55%) always or usually wanted to hold, pet, snuggle, or sleep with the cat (Table 2). However, the median range of time these children were reported to actually spend per day with the cat was just 1–2 h. Only 25% of these cats slept in the child’s bedroom. Despite the child’s strong interest in the cat, most of the hours of the day most cats spent much of their time apart from the specified child.