National Autism Awareness Month: Home

Autism is the first book on the condition that seeks to combine medical, historical and cultural approaches to an understanding of the condition. Its purpose is to present a rounded portrayal of the ways in which autism is currently represented in the world, It focuses on three broad areas: the facts of scientific research, including new ideas surrounding research into genetics and neuroscience, as well as the details of diagnosis and therapy; the history of the condition as it developed through psychiatric approaches to the rise of parent associations, neurodiversity and autism advocacy; and the fictional and media narratives through which it is increasingly expressed in the contemporary moment.

Growing up in Australia in the 1970s, Caiseal Mór was labelled `retarded' and `an idiot', and his parents were led to believe that physical punishment could cure his autism. In this courageous and captivating autobiography, Mór vividly captures his early experiences of dissociation from his true existence - a common reaction by children suffering from repeated abuse - and the various personas through which he lived through in his teens and early adulthood.

The emotional trauma that families go through when they find out their child has an autism spectrum disorder can feel like being plunged into darkness. Francesca Bierens is here to show that there is also a light at the end of the tunnel.

Kelly Harland's stories explore her son's life to the age of 14, and the new and unexpected universe she and her husband - both professional musicians - must learn to navigate with him. Will's fears, anxieties, and obsessions can dominate daily life, making a trip to the grocery store seem like a walk across a minefield. But amidst these unpredictable 'flip-outs' and 'freak-outs,' there are moments of wonder. When Will finally learns the give and take of conversation, or dreams about his future, it rekindles his mother's belief that anything is possible.

Anne's sister Becky was born in 1958, long before most people had even heard of autism. Diagnosed with "emotional disturbance," Becky was subjected for much of her childhood to well-meaning but futile efforts at "rehabilitation" or "cure," as well as prolonged spells in institutions away from her family.

Parenting a child with autism can be isolating, draining, and stressful. Parenting a neurotypical child alongside them is even more complicated and confusing. Coach Yourself through the Autism Spectrum offers an opportunity to access your inner creativity, resourcefulness, strengths, and abilities in order to create positive change in your family. Short sections on common problems such as visits to the doctor, community outings, bullying and child care make this book easy to read from start to finish, or dip into as needed.

Providing a theoretical foundation for understanding communication and language impairments specific to autism, Olga Bogdashina explores the effects of different perceptual and cognitive styles on the communication and language development of autistic children. She stresses the importance of identifying each autistic individual's nonverbal language - which can be visual, tactile, kinaesthetic, auditory, olfactory or gustatory - with a view to establish a shared means of verbal communication.

Going to college can be a daunting prospect for any young person, but for teenagers on the autism spectrum this is especially true. This book describes the unique needs that ASD students entering further or higher education are likely to have. The author identifies the key skill-sets they will need to develop in order to be successful in college and in life, and shows how they can be helped to develop these.

Individuals with autism and their caregivers face unique challenges in later childhood and adolescence. This volume translates research on the needs of this population into practical recommendations for clinicians and educators. The book features vivid case examples and an in-depth, reproducible assessment form. Accessible guidance and hands-on suggestions are provided for supporting positive behavior, communication, and social skills; managing issues related to mental and physical health and sexuality; helping families access services and navigate the legal system; and optimizing the educational and transition planning process.

The first book to address the increasingly urgent need for information about psychiatric problems in people with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs), Mental Health Aspects of Autism and Asperger Syndrome systematically explains the emotional and psychological difficulties that are often encountered with ASDs. The author, an experienced psychiatrist specializing in autism, describes each of the conditions that are commonly seen in autistic children and adults, including schizophrenia, depression, anxiety, and tic disorders, and gives sound guidance on their early detection and treatment. Easy to use and authoritative, this book is an essential tool for use by both family and professionals.

Quality Activities in Center-Based Programs for Adults with Autism: Moving from Nonmeaningful to Meaningful describes what constitutes meaningful versus nonpurposeful activities for adults with autism and other severe disabilities in a classroom or center-based program. Then this step-by-step guide presents an evidence-based process for changing nonpurposeful activities, using behavior analytic research and application.

An excellent book from start to finish, this story chronicles one year in the life of an autistic eleven-year-old-boy. Written with candor and honesty by Nicholas' mother, Jennifer, the diary touches on the bad days as well as the good. It also sheds light on the toll that raising an autistic child can take on a parent, as well as the obstacles and milestones that Nicholas meets along the way... the faith, hope and love that the Overton's have is reflective in every page.

Marc Fleisher's new self-help guide for autistic teenagers and adults will help readers improve their quality of life and overcome many everyday challenges, be it through the development of independent living skills, building a more varied and fulfilling social life, or mastering a course in higher education and broadening one's opportunities for the future.

The Identiplay intervention helps children on the autistic spectrum, and those with specific communication disorders, learn to play. Through the use of play scripts the approach promotes the development of social skills, understanding, imagination and exploration. By learning these skills the young person can enjoy reciprocal play with an adult or peer. Supported by case studies the theory behind the approach is fully outlined and scripts are provided for instant use in a number of settings.

For many years Eileen Miller's daughter, Kim, was unable to verbalize her experiences and emotions, but she was able to communicate using a less conventional language: her art. The Girl who Spoke with Pictures tells the story of a young woman with autism, and how her enlightening drawings enabled her to share her view of the world. Illustrated with drawings created by Kim between the ages of 3 and 17 years old, the book gives an insight into how Kim expressed her thoughts and feelings through pictures, revealing her capacity to learn and be understood by those around her.

How the love and labor of parents have changed our understanding of autism Autism has attracted a great deal of attention in recent years, thanks to dramatically increasing rates of diagnosis, extensive organizational mobilization, journalistic coverage, biomedical research, and clinical innovation. Understanding Autism, a social history of the expanding diagnostic category of this contested illness, takes a close look at the role of emotion--specifically, of parental love--in the intense and passionate work of biomedical communities investigating autism.

Autism is a word most of us are familiar with. But do we really know what it means? What we do know is that children with autism are challenged by the most essential human behaviors. Autism generally has lifelong effects on how children learn to be social beings, limiting their ability to take care of themselves and to participate in the community. Education is the primary form of treatment for this mysterious condition.

Educating College Students with Autism Spectrum Disorders is one of the first books to specifically address the accommodation of students with significant learning differences in postsecondary education. Developed with the support of Autism Speaks, and piloted at Pace University, each component of this book is scientifically-based and provides a model of emerging best practices for college instruction involving students with ASD.

Children who have autism require comprehensive educational and treatment services. There are a myriad of approaches currently recommended to practitioners and parents, but little is known about their efficacy. Which are the most effective in teaching skills, overcoming behavior challenges, and improving quality of life? Methods must be based in research settings, but be easily extended to real world settings where children with autism live, go to school, socialize, and recreate. Identifying and validating effective practices is a complex and multi-faceted process, but an essential one for responsible research and practice.

Everyday Heaven is the much-awaited fourth installment in Donna Williams' series of best-selling autobiographies about her life with autism. A humorous, riveting, roller-coaster of a book, Everyday Heaven covers the monumental nine years from the time Ian left their accidental, 'autistic marriage', to Donna's candid, funny, often bumbling explorations of sexuality and orientation, the challenge of coming to terms with the sudden deaths of those closest to her and finally knowing what life was like without the invisible cage of her 'Exposure Anxiety'.

This manual is a user-friendly, comprehensive description of the Center for Autism and Related Disorders (CARD) model of autism treatment--the latest scientific information on what truly works in treating autism in an integrated, organized, consumable format. The book details effective early behavioral intervention, covering topics such as challenging behavior, visual modification, parental involvement, improving language, cognition, and social skills, and ends with a section that explains how all of the treatments can be put together in real-life service provision organizations.

Flexible and Focused: Teaching Executive Function Skills to Individuals with Autism and Attention Disorders is a manual written for individuals who work with learners who struggle with executive function deficits. The manual takes the perspective that executive function skills can be improved through effective intervention, just like any other skills.

His discovery only in retirement that he has high-functioning autism provided Edgar Schneider at last with an explanation for his many differences, explored in Discovering my Autism. In this book he takes up the story, telling of his marriage to a like-minded woman, and of the day-to-day realities of life with this condition. His description of autistic attitudes towards relationships, politics, theology and health are rich and original. Schneider argues that if people with high-functioning autism and Asperger Syndrome are left to their own devices they are capable of making lives for themselves that are rich and rewarding.

In the decade since the first edition of The Neurobiology of Autism was published, research has revealed valuable new information about the nature and origins of autism, including genetics and abnormalities in such neurotransmitters as acetylcholine and serotonin. For this long-anticipated new edition, neurologists Margaret L. Bauman and Thomas L. Kemper bring together leading researchers and clinicians to present the most current scientific knowledge and theories about autism.

Play-Based Interventions for Children and Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorders explores the most recognized, researched, and practical methods for using play therapy with the increasing number of children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs), and shows clincians how to integrate these methods into their practices. Using a diverse array of play-based approaches, the book brings together the voices of researchers and practicing clinicians who are successfully utilizing play and play-based interventions with children and adolescents on the autism spectrum.

Realizing the College Dream with Autism or Asperger Syndrome is both a practical and a personal account of one ASD student's successful experience of going to college. This accessible book focuses on how to get there and stay there: deciding to go, how to get in and how to get the most out of it.

The media, scientific researchers, and the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual all refer to "autism" as if it were a single disorder or a single disorder over a spectrum. However, autism is unlike any single disorder in a variety of ways. No single brain deficit is found to cause it, no single drug is found to affect it, and no single cause or cure has been found despite tremendous research efforts to find same.

Growing up with a sibling on the autistic spectrum can be difficult, and the needs of a child with autism often overwhelm a family, leaving neurotypical children feeling overshadowed. For the first time, the 'neurotypical' siblings get to have their say. They recount the good, the bad, and the downright annoying in a way that all young people in a similar situation will immediately recognise. Young siblings of all ages candidly recount how being 'the neurotypical one' can be tiring, frustrating, and lonely, but equally rewarding, and every story is injected with wisdom gained by young people who often have to grow up a lot more quickly than their peers.

What is it like to grow up with a sibling on the autism spectrum? What kind of relationship do such siblings have? How does that relationship change as the siblings get older? In this moving collection of beautifully-written personal accounts, siblings from a variety of backgrounds, and in different circumstances, share their experiences of growing up with a brother or sister with autism. Despite their many differences, their stories show that certain things are common to the "sibling experience": the emotional terrain of looking on or being overlooked; the confusion of accommodating resentment, love, and helplessness; and above all the yearning to connect across neurological difference.

Autism and its Medical Management explains the medical aspects of autism and how both parents and professionals can use current medical knowledge to better understand how to address the medical aspects of autism.

Intimate, bold, and inspiring, Autism Heroes provides a compelling and sensitive account of the experiences of 38 families from different walks of life confronting the challenges of autism with courage, tenacity and love. With empathy and expertise gained from her three decades of leadership of The Help Group and commitment to children with special needs, Dr. Barbara Firestone engages the families in candid, powerful and deeply affecting conversations about their lives.

In DSM-5, published in 2013, the classification of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) was created, subsuming several diagnoses and representing a significant evolution from its first appearance in the DSM-III three decades earlier. Autism Spectrum Disorders reflects this evolution, offering clinicians and families a succinct, definitive, and up-to-date guide to current research in the field and its impact on assessment and treatment.

Updated to reflect contemporary academic studies, this practical guide helps solve the many challenges of working with children diagnosed with both autism and severe learning difficulties. Educators, caregivers, and parents of children with autism will find thorough information on how to provide effective treatment for those with the condition as well as solutions for how to best care for autistic children from early childhood through adulthood. .

The increasing number of people being diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) cannot simply be explained by changes in diagnostic criteria or greater awareness of the condition. In this controversial new book, Richard Lathe contends that the recent rise in cases of ASDs is a result of increased exposure to environmental toxicity combined with genetic predisposition.

Autism, Play and Social Interaction is a fully illustrated guide that explains how to help children with autism spectrum disorders engage in interactive play, which is vital for the acquisition of social skills and attention to shared activities. The authors explain how to set up suitably structured play environments, games schedules and play routines, and how to use visual aids and other props to facilitate co-operative play and interaction.

When a child is diagnosed with autism, the parents' initial reaction is often one of hopelessness and fear that nothing can be done. Olga Holland experienced these emotions when her son Billy was diagnosed, but instead of giving up hope, she developed strategies to contain Billy's autistic behaviors, and since then she and her family have come to view autism as a blessing, not a curse.

You'll just feel a little scratch then it will all be over.' This well-worn phrase to reassure patients about injections is unlikely to win over the patient if they happen to have autism. Communication difficulties, sensory overload and extreme discomfort with physical contact are all traits common in autism that make basic patient care and routine medical procedures extremely difficult. In a patient who is exquisitely sensitive to touch, how do you go about taking blood pressure or dressing a wound?

Maureen F. Morrell and Ann Palmer are raising two very different children: Justin, a whirlwind of activity and mood swings, who is supervised in a residential farm community, and Eric, quiet and passive, who lives independently at college. The authors give an account of the striking similarities as well as the stark differences in their experiences of parenting children at opposite extremes of the autism spectrum. The two mothers speak openly about their children's diagnosis and early childhood through to adolescence, young adulthood and the day they leave home.

Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) is increasingly recognised as a highly effective way of helping children with autistic spectrum disorders. It is based on a variety of methods and techniques which can be used to promote skills for daily living and change difficult behavior. In Raising a Child with Autism, Shira Richman explains how parents can adapt the practical techniques used in ABA for use at home, providing tips and guidelines to increase play skills, improve communication and sibling interaction and increase independence. The book also covers toilet-training, food selectivity, self-dressing and community outings, and includes an overview of the theory behind ABA as well as a list of resources for further reading.

The acclaimed approach to helping children with autism, profiled in the award-winning documentary Autism: The Musical This groundbreaking book outlines seven integrated keys for educators and parents to make meaningful connections with children on the autism spectrum. The book is based on the unique approach used by Elaine Hall and Diane Isaacs of The Miracle Project, a musical theater program for children with autism and their peers and siblings.

Michael is a young man who has succeeded in managing his autism and is experiencing success in life despite a diagnosis that might have predicted only disability and despair. He did not talk in early childhood and displayed the classic traits of a severely autistic child, but he has broken out of his silence to help others to learn from his insights and experiences.

Teaching Music to Students with Autism is a comprehensive resource for everyone who works with students with autism within the music classroom. The authors focus on understanding autism, advocating for students and music programs, and creating and maintaining a team approach by working together with colleagues effectively.

That's Life with Autism is full of advice and inspiration, written by parents for other parents and professionals caring for children on the autism spectrum. The overall message of this book is that people affected by autism are not alone. Each chapter addresses a specific topic, and range from the effect of autism in the family on couple or sibling relationships and intervention options to educational issues, diet, and the role of friends and relatives.

A celebration of the talents and insights of children on the autism spectrum, The Hidden World of Autism presents a collection of writings and drawings contributed by 21 autistic children. The children's work covers topics that are of primary importance in understanding some of the common experiences that children with autism, and their families, go through.

Treating Feeding Challenges in Autism: Turning the Tables on Mealtime distills existing research on feeding disorders treatment into the very best, most effective and most practical strategies for practitioners to implement with their clients who have autism and other developmental and behavioral disorders. The book focuses on the few but highly effective feeding treatment procedures that work in the large percentage of cases.