Welcome to Tony Attwood's website

This website is a guide for parents, professionals and people with Asperger's Syndrome and their partners.

In this site you will find issues related to Asperger's Syndrome, resources, resource papers Tony has authored, related topics and Tonys presentation schedule.

PLEASE BE ADVISED THAT TONY HAS CHANGED HIS EMAIL ADDRESS. YOU WILL NEED TO UPDATE YOUR CONTACT LIST IN YOUR EMAIL APPLICATION. TONY'S NEW EMAIL ADDRESS IS:

tony@tonyattwood.com.au

DUE TO CLINICAL AND FAMILY COMMITMENTS, UNFORTUNATELY TONY DOES NOT HAVE THE TIME TO REPLY TO EMAILS THAT SEEK ADVICE REGARDING INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE NOT CURRENT PATIENTS OR SERVICES OUTSIDE HIS OWN CLINICAL PRACTICE.

PLEASE NOTE PROF TONY ATTWOOD IS NOT ON TWITTER.
Someone is currently impersonating him on Twitter under the name of Tony_Attwood and steps are being taken to remove this urgently.

A little on Tony

Tony Attwood is well known for sharing his knowledge of Aspergers Syndrome. He has an Honours degree in Psychology from the University of Hull, Masters degree in Clinical Psychology from the University of Surrey and a PhD from the University of London. He is currently adjunct Associate Professor at Griffith University in Queensland.

Tony has written several publications on Aspergers Sydrome. His book, titled Aspergers Syndrome, has now been translated into several languages.

Tony operates his clinic two days a week and supports children and adults by visiting them at school and home. He also spends a large amount of time travelling nationally and internationally to present workshops and papers.

Tony is married to Sarah with three children, Rosie, William and Caroline. They reside in Brisbane, Australia, in which Tony uses part of his home as his clinic to see families.

New Diagnostic & Treatment clinic

Minds and Hearts is a unique clinic located in Brisbane specialising in Aspergers Syndrome and Autism. This clinic was designed to provide specialised knowledge and assistance from a multidisciplinary team of experienced professsionals.

Minds and Hearts has 11 team members: seven psychologists, one sexologist, one educational psychologist, and two receptionists. Tony Attwood is one of the team members. Please go to this link for further information.

some audio

This Audio is an interview with Tony Attwood and the presenter of a programme called Actualise - Voices from the Edge series.

Get Flash to see this player.

asperger's syndrome

From my clinical experience I consider that children and adults with Aspergers Syndrome have a different, not defective, way of thinking.

The person usually has a strong desire to seek knowledge, truth and perfection with a different set of priorities than would be expected with other people. There is also a different perception of situations and sensory experiences. The overriding priority may be to solve a problem rather than satisfy the social or emotional needs of others.

The person values being creative rather than co-operative.

The person with Aspergers syndrome may perceive errors that are not apparent to others, giving considerable attention to detail, rather than noticing the “big picture”.

The person is usually renowned for being direct, speaking their mind and being honest and determined and having a strong sense of social justice.

The person may actively seek and enjoy solitude, be a loyal friend and have a distinct sense of humour.

However, the person with Aspergers Syndrome can have difficulty with the management and expression of emotions.

Children and adults with Aspergers syndrome may have levels of anxiety, sadness or anger that indicate a secondary mood disorder. There may also be problems expressing the degree of love and affection expected by others. Fortunately, we now have successful psychological treatment programs to help manage and express emotions.

Tony Attwood

catalyst on the abc

On Thursday, 12 February 09, Catalyst on ABC television aired a story which included an interview with Tony about his new Exploring Feelings Program: Cognitive Behaviour Therapy to Understand and Express Affection, together with information on the new The Transporters DVD developed by The Autism Research Centre, Cambridge University, UK. Ths Transporters is designed to help children, especially those with ASD, understand and recognise emotions and read facial expressions.

The segment was called Trains, Trams and AS. The link to the vodcast for the program is here.

The Affection Program is still being developed and a trial program for children from 8-12 years will be run in Brisbane later this year.

For those persons interested in 'The Transporters' DVD, this can only be ordered online from the UK via here.