Books:
Autism and The Predictive Brain
Absolute Thinking in a Relative World
Routledge, 2023.
What if our previous teachings and beliefs regarding processing stimuli, reading emotions and understanding human behaviour is all untrue? In this book, Peter Vermeulen investigates new findings on the predictive brain and what these insights mean for autism and current interventions.
Recent research has shown that the classic ideas about how the human brain first needs to process incoming information about the world before it can react are no longer tenable. Rather, to survive in the volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous environment of modern society, what we need is a brain that predicts the world quickly and unconsciously, while taking proper account of the context. This book explains the new theories relating to the predictive brain, summarising some of the more recent highly technical research studies about the predictive mind and autism into as accessible and understandable language as possible. Shedding new light on the predictive brain and its relation to autism, the chapters lead readers to the inevitable conclusion that many of the current interventions used in connection with autism urgently need updating and outline possibilities for revising.
This approachable book synthesises advanced research for professionals across disciplines working with people with autism spectrum disorder along with readers who have or have family members with ASD.
Curious to see the reviews by Uta Frith, Brenda Smith Myles, Richard Mills, Marita and Torbjörn Falkmer and the autistic self advocate Sam Peeters? Read this.
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:
ENGLISH: 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.
DANISH: Vermeulen, P. (2001). Jeg er noget helt særligt: at introducere born og unge til deres autismespektrumsforstyrrelse. Kobenhavn: Dansk psykologisk Forlag.
GERMAN: Vermeulen, P. (2002). “Ich bin etwas Besonderes”: Arbeitsmaterialen für Kinder und Jugendliche mit Autismus/Asperger Syndrom. Dortmund: Verlag Modernes Leren.
FINNISH: Vermeulen, P. (2004). Olen jotakin erityistä : kuinka kertoa lapsille ja nuorille heidän autismistaan tai Aspergerin oireyhtymästään. Jyväskylä : Haukkarannan koulu.
NORVEGIAN: Vermeulen, P. (2007). Jeg Er Enestående. Å introdusere barn og unge til sin autismespekterforstyrrelse. Oslo: SPISS Forlag.
Vermeulen, P. (2008). Jeg er noe helt spesielt! Psykoedukasjon for mennesker med autisme og Asperger syndrom. Oslo: Universitetsforlaget.
ESTONIAN: Vermeulen, P. (2009). Ma olen eriline. Psühholoogilise toimetulekuöpetuse töökaust autismiga inimestele. Tallinn, Eesti Autismiühing
SPANISH: Vermeulen, P. (2009). Soy especial. Informando a los niños y jóvenes sobre su trastorno del espectro autista. S.l.
FRENCH: Vermeulen, P. (2010). Je suis spécial : manuel psycho-éducatif pour autistes. Bruxelles : De Boeck
ROMANIAN: Vermeulen, P. (2011). Eu sunt special. Manual de psihoeducatie pentru persoanele cu autism, apartinatori si specialisti. București : ANCAAR
SWEDISH: Vermeulen, P. (2011). Jag är unik –att leda barn och ungdomar fram till förståelse för vad en autismspektrumdiagnos innebär. S.l.
ITALIAN: Vermeulen, P. (2013). Io sono speciale. Attività psicoeducative per la conoscenza di se nell’autismo. Trento: Centro Studi Erickson
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.
The book has been translated in different languages:
HUNGARIAN: Vermeulen, P. (2014). Az autizmus, mint Vakság Kontextus. Budapesti: Geobook Kiadó.
GERMAN: Vermeulen, P. (2016) Autismus als Kontextblindheit. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht.
FRENCH: Vermeulen, P. (2019). La pensée autistique : contexte et compréhension. Grasse : Autisme Diffusion.
FINNISH: Vermeulen, P. (2019). Autismi ja kontekstisokeus. Helsinki, Autismisäätiö.
Other books:
Vermeulen, P. (2001). Autistic thinking: this is the title. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers.
Vermeulen, P. (2002). Ceci est le titre: au sujet de la pensée autistique. Gent: Centrum voor Concrete Communicatie.
Vermeulen, P. & Schiltmans, C. (2004). Mieux ensemble. Gent: Centre de Communication Concrète.
Vermeulen, P. (2005). Comment pense une personne autiste ? Paris : Dunod.
Vermeulen, P. (2006). Autistické myšlenī. Praha: Grada Publishing.
Vermeulen, P. (2009). Autisme et émotions : un livre fermé. Paris / Louvain-la-Neuve : De Boeck Université.
Vermeulen, P. (2009). Autistisches Denken: dies ist der Titel. Steinhagen: Konzeptbildung.
Vermeulen, P. (2009). Comprendre les personnes autistes de haut niveau: le syndrome d’Asperger à l’épreuve de la clinique. Paris : Dunod
Vermeulen, P. & Degrieck, S.(2010). Mon enfant est autiste : un guide pour parents, enseignants et soignants. Bruxelles : De Boeck
Chapters in books:
Vermeulen, P. (2004). Understanding and coping with my autism: teaching people about their disability. – in: Geneva Centre for Autism (Ed.), Geneva Centre for Autism International Symposium on Autism 2004: Conference Proceedings (pp. 264-271). Toronto: Geneva Centre for Autism.
Vermeulen, P. (2005). I’m Special: a method to introduce children, adolescents and young adults to their autism spectrum disorder. – in: V. Zysk (Ed.), The best of Autism/Asperger’s Digest Magazine – Volume I (pp. 190-200). Arlington, Texas: Future Horizons.
Articles:
Note:
Some of my articles are available online through my 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