Rating: 
Summary: informative first-stop for parents of the newly diagnosed
Review: Although somewhat dated (the next edition is adding revisions to reflect new information & research), this was an excellent first read when my son was first diagnosed. A friend visited a chat room where the topic was "My child has just been diagnosed with autism. What do I do?" Powers' book was overwhelmingly recommended & it's easy to see why. This is a very comprehensive text giving the good, the bad & the ugly about autism (something the previous reviewer didn't appreciate). Autism isn't a pretty picture but knowledge is power & what you do with it determines your child's future. This is a good start.
Rating:
Summary: informative first-stop for parents of the newly diagnosed
Review: Although somewhat dated (the next edition is adding revisions to reflect new information & research), this was an excellent first read when my son was first diagnosed. A friend visited a chat room where the topic was "My child has just been diagnosed with autism. What do I do?" Powers' book was overwhelmingly recommended & it's easy to see why. This is a very comprehensive text giving the good, the bad & the ugly about autism (something the previous reviewer didn't appreciate). Autism isn't a pretty picture but knowledge is power & what you do with it determines your child's future. This is a good start.
Rating:
Summary: A must read
Review: Dr. Powers has been a major contributor to the understanding of autism spectrum disorders for many years. The ORIGINAL book was one of the few available on the subject at the time of publishing, and while it is NOW outdated, it has been replaced by the current edition published in 2000. This edition contains much useful information that parents will not find elsewhere. I was, therefore, somewhat confused that the reviews for the previous edition are still on this website, as they really describe a different book, which is very misleading.
Rating:
Summary: A must read
Review: Dr. Powers has been a major contributor to the understanding of autism spectrum disorders for many years. The ORIGINAL book was one of the few available on the subject at the time of publishing, and while it is NOW outdated, it has been replaced by the current edition published in 2000. This edition contains much useful information that parents will not find elsewhere. I was, therefore, somewhat confused that the reviews for the previous edition are still on this website, as they really describe a different book, which is very misleading.
Rating: 
Summary: Find a Better Book
Review: For the record, this is a book with three different introductions, and each chapter is written by a different author. So you'd think it would represent a fairly broad perspective on various topics. Maybe it does. But I just don't care for the perspectives.One chapter focuses on Autistic Adults, how their parents can plan for their future and help them get jobs and so forth. It refers to living arrangements in the most doom-portending categorizations: inadequate, poor, or too expensive for foolish mortals (quoting annual sticker-prices of $125,000 to $900,000). I don't need a book to put on a smiley face when it relays me depressing information, but the utter absence of decent and affordable living arrangements doesn't seem, well, TRUE. In the chapter about IEPs and education, the basic tenet seems to be "you're going to have to fight like a ram in mating season to get your child the services they need". More emphasis should be put on constant contact, active communication, and sympathetic cooperation with teachers, principals, service coordinators, etc. And granted that not all parents are born lawyers and/or understand semantic distinctions, why dwell on (with extended quotations) the unfortunate few who don't understand that a right to an "appropriate" education does not guarantee "the best that money can buy"? Why provide yet another forum for people who think school districts exist to serve their child and their child alone? The discipline chapter, meanwhile, presents the same discipline solutions ANY childhood discipline book would recommend. "Catch them being good", "reward good behavior", and "make instructions clear and simple" is fine advice, but people who read this book are looking for real applications to people with autism, not the kind of universal, sound recommendations you could get from any mom at the park. The book irks in its failure to deliver valuable information. There are plenty of good books on the subject of autism, so go read one of them instead. Temple Grandin has written some very worthwhile and intriguing books on the subject, and the several paragraphs she wrote in one of the introductions to this book do not justify reading the whole thing.
Rating:
Summary: Find a Better Book
Review: For the record, this is a book with three different introductions, and each chapter is written by a different author. So you'd think it would represent a fairly broad perspective on various topics. Maybe it does. But I just don't care for the perspectives. One chapter focuses on Autistic Adults, how their parents can plan for their future and help them get jobs and so forth. It refers to living arrangements in the most doom-portending categorizations: inadequate, poor, or too expensive for foolish mortals (quoting annual sticker-prices of $125,000 to $900,000). I don't need a book to put on a smiley face when it relays me depressing information, but the utter absence of decent and affordable living arrangements doesn't seem, well, TRUE. In the chapter about IEPs and education, the basic tenet seems to be "you're going to have to fight like a ram in mating season to get your child the services they need". More emphasis should be put on constant contact, active communication, and sympathetic cooperation with teachers, principals, service coordinators, etc. And granted that not all parents are born lawyers and/or understand semantic distinctions, why dwell on (with extended quotations) the unfortunate few who don't understand that a right to an "appropriate" education does not guarantee "the best that money can buy"? Why provide yet another forum for people who think school districts exist to serve their child and their child alone? The discipline chapter, meanwhile, presents the same discipline solutions ANY childhood discipline book would recommend. "Catch them being good", "reward good behavior", and "make instructions clear and simple" is fine advice, but people who read this book are looking for real applications to people with autism, not the kind of universal, sound recommendations you could get from any mom at the park. The book irks in its failure to deliver valuable information. There are plenty of good books on the subject of autism, so go read one of them instead. Temple Grandin has written some very worthwhile and intriguing books on the subject, and the several paragraphs she wrote in one of the introductions to this book do not justify reading the whole thing.
Rating: 
Summary: An Awakening
Review: I am an Inclusional Aide for two children with Autism. I love my job and expend enormous amounts of emotional and physical energy daily. This book helped me to understand the incredible struggle and wonderful rewards parents of Autistic children realize every day. I specifically feel the financial advise for future planning is of the utmost importance. This book provides some realistic facts, many we may not want to face, but need to.
Rating:
Summary: Essential reading for parents and caretakers
Review: In Children With Autism: A Parent's Guide, Michael Powers has gathered together an indispensable guide to the nature and terminology of the conditions collectively referred to as "autism" or Pervasive Developmental Disorder, including Autistic Disorder, Asperger's Disorder, Rett's Disorder, Childhood Disintegrative Disorder, and Pervasive Developmental Disorder Not Otherwise Specified. Parents are provided comprehensive information relevant to daily and family life, development, early intervention, educational programs, legal rights, advocacy. Of special note is the chapter dedicated to adults with autism. Current diagnostics criteria surveyed included Applied Behavior Analysis, medications, IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act), as well as autism advocacy resources on the Internet. Highly recommended, essential reading for parents and caretakers of autistic children of any age or degree of severity, Children With Autism is thoroughly "reader friendly" and enhanced with a glossary, reading and resource list (including extensive web site listings), and photographs of children with autism.
Rating:
Summary: Check the date published!
Review: My son was recently diagnosed, so I'm cruising and buying a lot of books ... and this one was recommended by the team that did my son's diagnosis. But it was published in 1989! There is so much new and evolving information about autism that I would be very cautious about buying a book even a few years old, let alone one that's over a decade out of date...
Rating:
Summary: A depressing, horrible book, read only after you've given up
Review: Please, do not let this be the first book you read when your child is diagnosed. This book is depressing and includes no information about actually helping your child or dealing with the biological aspects of this disorder. This book assumes you have given up on treating your child's illness and that there are no comorbid disorders associated with the autism diagnosis, which is completely wrong. Keep searching, there is help and much better books.
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