Managing Anxiety in People With Autism: A Treatment Guide for Parents, Teachers and Mental Health Professionals

by Anne M. Chalfant

2012 Int'l Book Award-winning Finalist Anxiety is one of the biggest challenges facing people with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and their families. They can experience anxiety in all areas of their lives--school, family, and social life--and it compounds the difficulties they already may have with communicating, interacting socially, and controlling their emotions. Managing Anxiety in People with Autism is one of the first books to provide practical information about dealing with anxiety in people with ASD. Drawing on her experience diagnosing and treating anxiety in people with ASD at the treatment center she founded in Sydney, Australia, Dr. Chalfant provides clear, understandable explanations of the different types of anxiety disorders, how they affect people across the autism spectrum, and what interventions can help. The book teaches
-to know how and why their child is prone to anxiety
-to understand their role in their child's anxious behavior
-to recognize and respond to anxious behavior appropriately Case studies and research findings help to illustrate the author's points and clarify the causes and symptoms of anxious behavior. Managing Anxiety explains a range of different types of strategies that can help manage and treat anxiety in school, home, and clinical settings and takes into consideration the different roles people play in a child's or adult's parent, sibling, teacher, etc. Readers learn about ways to modify behavior and/or the environment to indirectly reduce anxiety, as well as interventions, such as medication or psychotherapy, which deal with symptoms directly. The discussion of more formal interventions--psychotherapy, Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT), and medication--show how these methods can target specific anxieties. Because anxiety is generally more common in parents and siblings of a child with ASD, the author also offers ways they too can reduce their symptoms.

Genres: Autistic Spectrum Disorder, Nonfiction

275 pages, Paperback

First published May 15, 2011

Reviews

[Ashley Adams · Rating 3 out of 5]

Published in 2011, this resource is a little outdated. It is also pretty limited in scope. The recommendation seems to combine medication and cognitive behavior therapy. All of the information pertaining to anxiety and coping strategies is pretty basic. Also, be prepared for the author's overt endorsement of her own Cool Kids Child Anxiety Program.

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

It has some good explanations and ideas, but it can get repetitive. I actually found it to explain anxiety and treatments better than a lot of books on anxiety in general. A few of the suggestions did seem a little condescending though.

[Lion]

Why is "the child" a "she"?

[Jean · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book. As parents, we all have certain books that "work" for us. Well this one works for us. From page 1 I was hooked. I had 5 sticky notes within the first 2 pages. The case studies had so many commonalities for my son, it was as if the Dr. who wrote the book took bits of my son and pretended they were her patients. She explained what is happening to my son and WHY! SHe gave practical solutions.

She says at the start there are parts of the book that will help and parts that won't really matter to you and your specific situation and she is right. There were some bits of info I completely devoured and literally said "thank you" out loud too. There were other parts I was able to skip. But, there are parts I skipped I KNOW I will need in the future. So I went ahead and ordered a copy from Amazon to have on hand. I highly recommend this one to anyone with a child on the spectrum struggling with anxiety...which pretty much means all parents of kids with autism.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wish that this book had been published a year ago! There are definitely some good ideas in this book. I also appreciate that the author suggests other books that go into more details about cognitive behavior therapy. There is also an appendix with a list of free online anxiety assessments for young children which I found helpful. The issue of anxiety in children with autism is often overlooked, I'm happy to see a book written to address this!

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

A practical guide to anxiety, this educational book combines practical examples with theoretical tips. It's packed with helpful advice I will definitely use. Like the title says, if you're a parent, teacher or mental health professional, you can use this book to make a difference in the life of an anxious child or adult.

[Heather]

Informative for the parent who is starting to learn about anxiety in their child. Helpful for me to recognize where my anxiety stems from.

[Jennie]

Alameda Library has a copy.