From NeuroDiversity to NeuroHarmony

https://petervermeulen.be/peter-writes/

Peter Vermeulen, MSc and PhD in Psychology and Educational Sciences, has worked with people with ASD and their families for more than 30 years. He is a Senior lecturer at Autisme Centraal, a training and education centre for autism spectrum disorders.

Peter is an internationally respected lecturer/trainer and he presents all over Europe and beyond. Peter has written more than 15 books and several articles on autism. His books include, “This is the title: on autistic thinking” (2001), “I am Special: handbook for psycho-education” (2000, revised edition 2013), and “Autism as Context Blindness” (2012), a book than won several awards in the USA.

Peter wrote his first book in 1996. The title? “This is the title”. With this literal title for a book about literal minds, he set the tone. Since 1996, Peter wrote more than 15 books, but all share the same style: Peter explains science based facts about autism in a very comprehensible language, coupled with practical tips and always topped with a touch of humour. Science with a wink and a link to the real contexts of every day life.

https://youtu.be/wGCiIP2SDHI

To me, autism can only defined in terms of perception and cognition. Autism refers to a typical way of understanding the world. Therefore, we can understand autism only in the context of how an autistic brain experiences the world. – Peter Vermeulen

Peter wrote a short article about the autistic brain and how we need to see it in context in order to give autistic people a happy and fulfilled life.

And here’s a short animation video explaining autism as context blindness:

https://youtu.be/eEP_QJnN1bU

H.A.P.P.Y. -project

H.A.P.P.Y. is a programme that results in a personalized workbook for a young person on the autism spectrum with suggestions for activities that are concretisations of 10 evidence based wellbeing strategies.

Books:

I am special

I developed the first version of this workbook to introduce children, teens and adults to their autism diagnosis in 1998. A complete revised edition was developed and published in 2005. The workbook now exists in more than 10 languages.

Vermeulen, P. (2013). I am Special 2: A workbook to help children, teens and adults with autism spectrum disorders to understand their diagnosis, gain confidence and thrive. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers.

Autism as context blindness

In this book I explore the concept of context blindness as the common pathway in the differences in the autistic brain. Context blindness builds upon the work of Uta Frith, who wrote a testimonial.

Vermeulen, P. (2012). Autism as context blindness. Overland Park, KS: Autism Asperger Publishing Company.

Autistic Thinking: This is the title

Vermeulen, P. (2001). Autistic thinking: this is the title. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers. Vermeulen, P. (2002).

Articles:

Note:

Some of his articles are available online through his ResearchGate profile.

Vermeulen, P. (1998). Some impressions on autism and art: being au/rtistic. Link, 24 (3), 10-11. Vermeulen, P. (1999). I Am Special: a method and a workbook to introduce young people to their autism spectrum disorder. Paper presented at the Autism99 Internet Conference Vol. http//:www.autism99.org. Vermeulen, P. (2000). I’m special: a method to introduce children, adolescents and young adults to their autism spectrum disorder. Autism – Asperger’s Digest, September-October, 4-8. Vermeulen, P. (2001). C’est de famille. APEPA Info, 79 (Mai 2001), 16-24. Vermeulen, P. (2002). Ikke tro på alle løftene… Autisme i Dag, 29 (2), 95-100. Vermeulen, P. (2002). Ne croyez pas toutes ces belles promesses. La Lettre D’Autisme France, Nov (14), 12-14. Vermeulen, P. (2002). Autistic thinking: not seeing the forest for the trees. Autism Asperger’s Digest Magazine, Nov-Dec, 38-42. Vermeulen, P. (2002). Do not believe all the promises… Link, 34, 15-16. Vermeulen, P. (2002). Glauben Sie nicht an alle Versprechen… Link, 34, 16-17. Vermeulen, P. (2003). Ne croyez pas à toutes ces promesses. Info-APEPA, 86, 4-7. Vermeulen, P. & Vanspranghe, E. (2006). Psychological support of individuals with an autistic spectrum disorder. Good Autism Practice, 7 (1), 23-29. Descheemaeker, M.J., Govers, V., Vermeulen, P. & Fryns, J.P. (2006). Pervasive developmental disorders in Prader-Willi syndrome: The Leuven experience in 59 subjects and controls. American Journal of Medical Genetics, part A., 140A (11), 1136–1142. Vermeulen, P. (2011). Autism: from mind blindness to context blindness. Autism Asperger’s Digest Magazine, Nov-Dec, 39-41. Vermeulen, P. (2014). The practice of promoting happiness in autism – in: Jones, G. & Hurley, E. (Eds), Good Autism Practice: Autism, happiness and wellbeing. (pp. 8-17). Birmingham: BILD Publications. Vermeulen, P. (2015). Context Blindness in Autism Spectrum Disorder: Not Using the Forest to See the Trees as Trees. Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities, 30(3), 182-192 Vermeulen, P. (2018). Autism as contextblindness. Frontline: The Irish Voice of Intellectual Disability. Issue 109, 9 jan 2018. Autism as context blindess – Frontline article