Mindful Living with Asperger's Syndrome

Chris Mitchell was diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome in 1998, when he was 20 years old. Having completed an MA (Hons) in Information and Library Management, he currently works as Operational Manager at Autism Works, a social enterprise that provides sustainable employment in software testing for adults on the autism spectrum. He is an active advocate for raising awareness of the positive aspects of AS, giving talks, seminars and mindfulness workshops throughout the UK and internationally. He has been practicing mindfulness since 2005 during which time he has participated in extended monastic stays and meditation retreats as well as completing an eight-week Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction course in 2010. His previous books include Glass Half-Empty, Glass Half-Full: How Asperger's Syndrome Has Changed My Life and Asperger's Syndrome and Mindfulness: Taking Refuge in the Buddha.

Introduction: Mindfulness in a Secular Context. 1. Asperger Comfort Zones: Bringing Asperger's Syndrome out of Automatic Pilot. 2. Changeability of Asperger's Syndrome: Impermanence within Asperger Traits. 3. Asperger's Syndrome in the Present Moment: Tuning the Effects of Asperger's Syndrome to the Present. 4. Mindful Movement: Acknowledging Physical Capabilities and Limitations through Simple Stretching. 5. Getting in Touch with Emotions: How to Be Mindful of your Emotions and Become Flexible Towards the Emotions of Others. 6. Recognising Body Language: Releasing Tension and Understanding the Body within the Body. 7. Managing Sensory Issues through Mindfulness: How to Notice when Autism-Related Sensory Issues Influence Thought Patterns by Opening to Them. 8. Obsessions, Habits, Fixations and Thoughts: Trapped or in Control? 9. Refreshing Asperger's Syndrome: Expanding Sensory Experience Through Practicing Mindfulness of Walking. 10. Steering the Raft through the Social World: You Can't Control the Social Flow, but You Can Adapt your Asperger's Syndrome to it. 11. Mindfulness and Quality of Life: How I Feel that Mindfulness has Enabled Me to Tune In to Here and Now Through Applying Equanimity. 12. Please Don't Rush: Finding Flow Here and Now. Bibliography. Useful Links and Contacts.