The Autistic Spectrum: A Parents' Guide to Understanding and Helping Your Child

Rating:
Summary: Disappointed
Review: Being the mother of an autistic daughter, I have read a few books on the subject. This book was much too clinical to the parent who basically wants to know what is happening to their child. I have read other books which talk on this subject in language which is easier to understand.

Rating:
Summary: Unfortunately among the better overviews
Review: I am an autistic person with a staff person who wants to understand more about autism. She finds autobiographies by autistic people to be too person-specific, and wants a general overview. Because of this, I have been surveying various books that try to provide such an overview. This is one of the better ones. This is unfortunate, because this is not entirely the idea of autism that I would want to leave someone new to the subject with.

This book gives a thorough overview of the mainstream opinions about what autism is, the difficulties associated with it, other conditions that can come with it, subcategories, ways of dealing with autism, and the impact of autism on non-autistic family members. It does this in clear, easily-understood language, with the parts of the book neatly broken down into categories and subheadings. It is quite easy to follow. It tries to cover all of autism, not just one kind of autism.

Unfortunately, it also reinforces the less useful of the mainstream ideas of autism. It divides autistic people into two categories, "dependent" and "more able", giving the illusion that autism itself divides this way so easily. It fails to distinguish the difference between wanting a cure and wanting assistance, and makes it sound as if autistic people who don't want to be cured are very able people who don't want help with anything. It makes it sound as if facilitated communication is simply a misguided attempt to cure autism. It makes it sound like only certain kinds of autistic people are capable of marriage, and makes it sound as if the failure of such marriages is the result of autism. These are not the sort of things I would want to show someone in an introduction to autism.

The rest of the book, though, is thorough. If read while applying a great deal of critical thinking, it provides a decent overview of the current mainstream views of autism. I just wish that things better than this were more common.

Rating:
Summary: Unfortunately among the better overviews
Review: I am an autistic person with a staff person who wants to understand more about autism. She finds autobiographies by autistic people to be too person-specific, and wants a general overview. Because of this, I have been surveying various books that try to provide such an overview. This is one of the better ones. This is unfortunate, because this is not entirely the idea of autism that I would want to leave someone new to the subject with.

This book gives a thorough overview of the mainstream opinions about what autism is, the difficulties associated with it, other conditions that can come with it, subcategories, ways of dealing with autism, and the impact of autism on non-autistic family members. It does this in clear, easily-understood language, with the parts of the book neatly broken down into categories and subheadings. It is quite easy to follow. It tries to cover all of autism, not just one kind of autism.

Unfortunately, it also reinforces the less useful of the mainstream ideas of autism. It divides autistic people into two categories, "dependent" and "more able", giving the illusion that autism itself divides this way so easily. It fails to distinguish the difference between wanting a cure and wanting assistance, and makes it sound as if autistic people who don't want to be cured are very able people who don't want help with anything. It makes it sound as if facilitated communication is simply a misguided attempt to cure autism. It makes it sound like only certain kinds of autistic people are capable of marriage, and makes it sound as if the failure of such marriages is the result of autism. These are not the sort of things I would want to show someone in an introduction to autism.

The rest of the book, though, is thorough. If read while applying a great deal of critical thinking, it provides a decent overview of the current mainstream views of autism. I just wish that things better than this were more common.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent book
Review: This is an excellent & up-to-date, no-nonsense book for parents of kids on the spectrum. I have found it to be easy to read,informative and helpful. I bought it because it was recommended by a doctor that knew I was confused by my son's behavior. It has helped me probably more than the other books I have on the subject.

Rating:
Summary: Exceptional
Review: This unpretentious work provides a wealth of information useful in the differential diagnosis and treatment of children with autistic spectrum disorders. One of it's strengths lies in the author's simple description of the range of behaviors and behavioral patterns associated with autism in childhood, adolescence, and adulthood. While some parents may find sections of this book too "clinical," mental health practitioners who work with children will find this book to be a valuable addition to their library.