The World of the Autistic Child : Understanding and Treating Autistic Spectrum Disorders

by Bryna Siegel

For thousands of loving and concerned parents of autistic children, the suspicion that something may be wrong comes long before the clinical diagnosis of autism, PDD (pervasive developmental disorder), or Asperger's syndrome. When rounds of testing and consultations confirm parents' worst fears, their emotional turmoil is matched by an overriding practical concern: What do we do next?
The World of the Autistic Child is by far the most complete and comprehensive book ever written for the parents of autistic children, and for the teachers, child specialists, and other professionals that care for them. Written by Dr. Bryna Siegel, a developmental psychologist and director of a large university clinic for autistic children, it provides help and hope not only for the children, but for their families--the parents, grandparents, siblings, and other caregivers who must come to grips with their own grief and confusion following a diagnosis of autism or other related disorder. Dr. Siegel believes that parents' best defense is to acquire, as early as possible, the knowledge and the parenting skills they will need to work with professionals to help their child fulfill his or her potential. This book, therefore, is about understanding the diagnosis of autism, the available treatments, and how to decide what is best for a particular child with autism or PDD.
Straightforward and sympathetic, Dr. Siegel guides readers through the thicket of symptoms and labels, explaining the crucial importance of intensive early education, and how to find the resources and help that are available. Behavior modification, the development of daily living skills, guidelines for selecting and designing schooling, mainstreaming, the role for traditional academics in educating higher functioning children and young people, building effective parent-teacher relationships, psychoactive medications, and dealing with the possibility of residential placement are all covered. Dr. Siegel teaches parents and professionals to use their own common sense and personal observations in evaluating the many highly publicized but unorthodox and often untested treatments for autism, including the much-touted facilitated communication (F/C), holding therapy, auditory training, "Options" therapy, allergy treatments, and special diets.
Pulling together a wealth of long-needed information on the latest educational and medical advances, The World of the Autistic Child is a superb guide and resource that no one who cares about autistic or developmentally disabled young people will want to be without.

Genres: Autistic Spectrum Disorder, Nonfiction

368 pages, Paperback

First published January 25, 1996

Reviews

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good but way too many spelling mistakes

[AV · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked this book up at a tag sale, as an autism diagnostician for a birth to three program I was very interested. While it had some good points and information, many of the statistics, diagnostic criteria, and treatments described were quite dated and are no longer applicable. It also seemed to focus on diagnosis and treatment of more severely autistic children rather than higher functioning children.

[Melissa Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Initial reactions to the diagnosis, autism and bereavement,

stages of coping: dissociation, disbelief, numbness, and saturation

blame and guilt/ hopelessness, denial, degree of autism

Professional Advocacy, defining "appropriate" education, burn out in intensive programs

Classroom visits and etiquitte, building and maintaining a good parent-teacher relationship

mainstreaming, peer tutor, getting the most from instruction, positive redirection

turn taking, reading, writing skills, toilet training, schedule training

A very informative book

[Heather Condiff · Rating 5 out of 5]

This amazing book helped me cope and navigate my way through my feelings, thoughts, misgivings, fears, and many other emotions that I have had over the past 18+ years. I have read this book 5 times since I first found it and I get something new and reassuring every. single. time.

[L.A. Jacob · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gave a little bit of an insight, but I think I was hoping more from it, wanting it to be the same as "the world of the dyslexic" with concrete examples of how an autistic thinks.