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Summary: Behavioral Intervention for Young Children With Autism
Review: Behavioral Intervention for Young Children With Autism : A Manual for Parents and Professionals
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Summary: Great ABA Book - BUT. . . .
Review: For those of you who need to setup a program, particularly in-home program, this book would make a great guide, and a good start.
For those of you who hope to learn more about ABA - - this book might be too clinical and nitty gritty.
This book is edited by Ms. Maurice, not written by her, so be aware that only the preface is written by Catherine Maurice. The remainder of the book is written by other well-known figures in the world of ABA. Very informative.
BUT - - -
The only thing that this book recommends is ABA. While I, myself, do not believe in each and every therapy out there, this book attempts to discredit many therapies and treatments that are very effective for some people, based solely on the fact that there is no scientific data. There are children out there who have improved overnight due to diet changes, or AIT, or have been helped immensely by SI. These issues are very real and prevalent in the world of autistic children, and should not be touted as unreliable or false, as it truly depends on the child. While some children do not have digestive problems, or hearing sensitivities, others do. For them, AIT may astoundingly help ABA. A GFCF diet "may" help their child to learn, or even better, be recovered.
While I do acknowledge that this book supplies great detail where ABA is concerned, it oversteps its boundaries where other treatments are concerned. ABA is great, and works wonders for many children who may not have learned otherwise. While I do agree that every child should go through ABA first, I cannot agree that all other treatments should not supplement the ABA, particularly the ones where the benefits are well-known.
On this point, this book starts to sound like the voice of a woman whose children recovered, instead of the voice of a woman who would do anything to recover their children.
Rating:
Summary: Parent Friendly
Review: Having an autistic kid is difficult enough especially with people around me telling me that my kid should be doing this and that now.I am thankful that this book helps me to achieve goals through simple, understandable and doable steps. This book helped me prepare my own IEP for my child that I can do at home. Thank you very much for coming up with this book.
Rating: 
Summary: Great for Treating Symptoms
Review: I had tremendous success with ABA therapy for my son, and this book is an excellent tool for implementing an ABA program. I also have great respect for the author of this book. However, I would like to caution readers that Ms. Maurice believes that autism is a nothing more than a behavioral disorder, and dismisses every other treatment that is not ABA. As we all know, every child with autism is different. Nobody knows why her kids recovered from ABA alone when so many do not. Although hundreds of doctors and thousands of parents believe that autistic children (especially those with gastrointestinal problems) are physically ill, and metabolically, immunologically and nutritionally unstable, Ms. Maurice dismisses this as pseudoscience without entertaining the possibility that science may someday bear this out. I had great success with ABA, true, but I know many more kids who recovered from ABA plus biological intervention (GF/CF diet, anti-fungal treatment, immunotherapy) than from ABA alone. I researched my child's autism for years, and the most important thing I learned along the way is that autism is a complex disorder, with many subtypes. As a result of dietary intervention, my son lost his diagnosis and is now mainstreamed. During his treatment, missing a day of ABA didn't make a difference. Missing a day of dietary intervention set him back a month. For some of the kids, the autistic behaviors DO actually seem to result from the improper breakdown of certain proteins, and removing them actually takes away the disorder. When the scientific studies are completed and this is borne out, I pity the parents who listened to the chapter in this book in which such therapies are scorned and dismissed. Until we really understand autism, a closed mind can be disastrous for our children.
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Summary: A Helpful Start
Review: I just received the book and haven't implemented any of these therapies, but I read "Let Me Hear Your Voice" and felt that this was a must-have. I like the practical "how-to's" and instructional chapters, but I don't like the way other therapies seem to be so harshly dismissed. I don't pretend to be an expert on this subject, but I think there are other therapies which might help in conjunction with a behavioral program. For instance, Auditory Integration Therapy was helpful to us in the sense that it greatly reduced my son's sound sensitivity almost immediately. It did not appear from what I read in the Maurice family story that her children experienced this difficulty. AIT wasn't a miraculous cure, but certainly helpful. I also feel Occupational Therapy was helpful to us, but the authors don't feel there is enough "supporting data". Dietary interventions are dismissed as well. Many parents swear by these treatments, especially if their children have bowel problems. I don't recall that the Maurice children had intestinal difficulties mentioned, but I think if your child does, diet is certainly an area of concern. The authors seem to believe that an intense behavioral program is the only way, and other therapies will detract from the time spent with the behavioral program. While I want to use the strategies in this book, I think other therapies may be helpful as well, particularly when your child has some additional problems which may make learning difficult. There are no problems like this mentioned in the book; it is as if all children on the autistic spectrum are regarded as the same.
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Summary: Not worthwhile if your child is high functioning
Review: I purchased this book on the reccomendation of a therapist and found that it was not at all useful for a child with Asperger's Syndrome. If that is the situation with your child, you will not find this book to be of much help.
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Summary: pragmatic but C. Maurice's opinions are tiresome...
Review: I suspect that the bulk of the book was written by Green and Luce... The practical exercises are terrific for building an APA programme for an autistic child. There is unfortunately too much editorializing by Maurice which is oddly out of place in an otherwise well laid out and pragmatic volume. Buy the book but try to ignore the preachiness...
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Summary: Yes, a great starting place, but...
Review: I think the review from the reader from Manhattan, "Great for Treating Symptoms" is definitely right on the mark. I first found and read this book about four years ago. Autism was brand new to me, to our family, to our now 9 yr.-old "high-functioning" autistic son. He has come a long way, due to the fact that I never stop looking for new information, new materials to work with, etc. It's true that all children with autism are different and I hope that medical research will soon tell the world that there's a lot more going on there than simply a behavioral disorder (ie. gastrointestinal problems, autoimmune problems...) Our son also benefitted greatly from ABA and I believe it is probably the best starting place for most, if not all children with autism and related disorders, but it shouldn't be the only tool tried.
Rating:
Summary: Yes, a great starting place, but...
Review: I think the review from the reader from Manhattan, "Great for Treating Symptoms" is definitely right on the mark. I first found and read this book about four years ago. Autism was brand new to me, to our family, to our now 9 yr.-old "high-functioning" autistic son. He has come a long way, due to the fact that I never stop looking for new information, new materials to work with, etc. It's true that all children with autism are different and I hope that medical research will soon tell the world that there's a lot more going on there than simply a behavioral disorder (ie. gastrointestinal problems, autoimmune problems...) Our son also benefitted greatly from ABA and I believe it is probably the best starting place for most, if not all children with autism and related disorders, but it shouldn't be the only tool tried.
Rating:
Summary: An excellent source, but...
Review: I was very motivated after reading Maurice's ideas, but the sad truth is, ABA is an incredibly expensive option. One very reputable program in our area is $60,000 per year! I want the best for my son, who has symptoms of autism. However, there are other programs out there that do not cost an arm and a leg to begin. All that said, this book is great! Lots of wonderful ideas, and very helpful if you are planning on beginning an ABA program for your autistic child.
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