All Cats Are on the Autism Spectrum

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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. Smiles from the book’s feline friends were contagious within my house; my mom and dad shared the magic of cats on the autism spectrum with me. I couldn’t stop thinking about the many ways All Cats Have Asperger Syndrome made me smile as an autistic teenager, and the book loyally sits in my joy-filled autism library well into adulthood. 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.

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. 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!! Parents described the special role of the cat for the child with the following sample of quotations: “When the specified child is upset, the cat will sit by or in the lap of the specified child.”“The only time we get to hear our autistic child spontaneously speak is when he is interacting with this cat.”“He is non-verbal and doesn’t sign for much, but he does sign for his kitty numerous times each day!”“My son just likes to look at the cats and talk to them.”“He will sit and read to the cats although you can’t understand what he is saying.”“The specified cat helped my child say new words.”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. Me-wow! I was 13 years old when my mom brought All Cats Have Asperger Syndrome home from an autism conference. You’d expect teenagers to think they’re too old for picture books when they so desperately want to be seen as adults, but nope – the adorable cats and simple yet positive words to connect everything together made me, a lifelong dog owner and lover, feel a deep connection with cats and autism. I couldn’t describe the magic of how cats perfectly explained everything I felt and knew about myself. Kathy’s stunning depictions of autism resonated deeply with me. I was already confident and proud to be autistic, and that pride was solidified in a picture book. I am really looking forward to using the book in my work as an autism advocate and give it my warmest recommendations. All in all this book is pretty amazing in the way it explains Aspergers in simple terms, and using large letters to explain each kitten photo in terms of children with Aspergers. By using these adorable photos to explain how cats can be very quirky, aloof and creatures of routine, and that their behaviors, at times, can be somewhat similar to children with Aspergers.

Cats in households with an ASD child appeared to be affectionate and minimally aggressive with the ASD child. However, the cat’s level of affection seems higher among cats living with children developing typically as compared with those with severe or less severe ASD. Limitations of the Research 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. A majority of cats in all groups were at least moderately affectionate with the children. Specified cats were significantly less likely to be very affectionate with severe ASD children when compared with the specified cats for the less severe ASD or typically developing children ( p< 0.040). However, the likelihood of the cat being quite affectionate or moderately affectionate with the child did not differ among groups.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.

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. 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.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.

of Anatomy, Physiology and Cell Biology, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California-Davis, Davis, CA, United States It is relevant to point out that cats vary a great deal in affection and aggressive behavioral predispositions toward family members. This variability is also evident when comparing purebred cats ( 11). Selecting a purebred that is genetically predisposed to be affectionate and comforting could play a role in the assessment of which cats would be most likely to be best for a child with ASD. An extensive study on cat breeds revealed that the most affectionate, socially outgoing, and least aggressive, breed is the Ragdoll. While not approaching the Ragdoll in the absence of aggression, the popular domestic shorthair also was rated as very affectionate. In terms of sex, neutered males were rated as being more affectionate than females. Although genetics and gender are important, so also are the manner in which the cat is reared and managed and the ways in which humans behave toward the cat.I pray that my readers will see past the finer details of disagreement and join with me in celebrating, and growing in understanding of, the richness and diversity of the autistic community. Kathy has an ingenious way of blending the characteristics of beloved kitty cats to showcase the nuances and diversity of people on the autism spectrum. The richness of the pictures within this book, captures the essence and spirit of autistic people through the eyes of our purry, furry friends, that many autistics share a love for, and a commonality in the charm, inquisitive nature and love they have to give to the world.’ I am very excited, and honoured, that my Danish translator, Anne Skov Jensen has written her own foreword to the Danish version, ‘ Alle katte er på autismespektret’ . ( You can buy the Danish version HERE) In addition, all specified cats were relatively low in aggression, with 47% never being aggressive to the specified child. And 47% of cats also were never aggressive to adults, but only 25% of specified cats were never aggressive to another child in the household. Mirroring the affection results, this leads to the assumption that these cats were more likely to be attached, affectionate, and non-aggressive to the ASD child and often preferred the specified child rather than adults or other children in the household. Cat’s Behavior Affecting the Child–Cat Relationship