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Parenting a Child with Autism: A Modern Guide to Understand and Raise your ASD Child to Success

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Parenting a Child with AutismBy Best-Selling Author Richard Bass
Unlock 3 FREE The Positive Discipline Playbook + Printable Daily Planner+ Positive Self Talk Guide (Details Inside!)

What do you do when your parenting instincts whisper something’s not right—and Google only makes it worse?
From the first cry to first steps, you’re flooded with expectations. But when those milestones don’t come—or arrive differently than expected—fear sets in.

If you’re noticing delays, silence instead of babbling, or “off” behaviors others don’t see, you’re not being paranoid—you’re being a parent.

Autism is complex. And while no parent is ever fully prepared, you can feel informed, equipped, and supported.


Inside This Book, You’ll A clear breakdown of ASD signs, symptoms, and common myths

What the world looks like through your autistic child’s eyes

What happens during an autism diagnosis, and which specialists to expect

Fascinating advances in brain research—including how the vagus nerve might be your ally

Why just 5 focused minutes a day can lead to big changes

Essential sensory tools like fidgets and poppers that actually work

The connection between ADHD, anxiety, and autism symptoms

6 proven therapies and treatment types to support your child’s daily life


Also Includes Practical Tools 20 simple, no-cost games to build social and communication skills

How to make an emotional thermometer and why it’s a game-changer for the whole family

A free Social Interaction Checklist to pinpoint your child’s needs


Perfect feeling overwhelmed or unsure where to begin

Families navigating recent or suspected autism diagnoses

Anyone seeking real-life tools—not just theory—to support their child’s growth

You don’t need a psychology degree—you just need the right guidance.
Early support makes a lasting difference. With the insights in this book, you'll learn how to respond with confidence, compassion, and calm.

Scroll up and click “Add to Cart” now to start making that difference today.

188 pages, Paperback

Published June 14, 2022

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Richard Bass

135 books11 followers

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5 stars
60 (38%)
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54 (35%)
3 stars
28 (18%)
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
Profile Image for Erica.
123 reviews1 follower
October 19, 2023
Wow. This book is NOT a good one for parents of autistic kiddos. It is written in a very depressing tone, making autism feel like such a horrible “condition”. It focuses on all of the negatives one could perceive autism as and how to fix it. I should have known just based on the title; “child with autism”, which is not a phrase accepted by the autistic community. It’s “autistic child”. Your child doesn’t “have” something. Their brain just works differently. There are also multiple occasions where the author suggests to simply have these in depth conversations with your autistic child to solve xyz, even though he acknowledges in depth that most autistics have significant speech difficulties. The book encourages treating symptoms of autism and goes so far as to suggest medicating autistic kids. The author is pro ABA which encourages abuse and compliance until a child acts neurotypical. Ugh. Hated the book. I won’t even be donating it since it spreads so much misinformation. Into the 🗑️ it goes.
Profile Image for April.
267 reviews10 followers
November 29, 2022
Book 100! I wasn’t going to include this into my reading count this year because it didn’t seem like it was something to include. But if I’m honest it was the best book I read this year. Sure I love me some ACORT but this opened my eyes so much to my parenting and the things I was already doing for my son. The things I need to start and areas I need to improve. Happy it was book 100. Kai was diagnosed in September of this year and ever since it’s been appointment after appointment and arguing with insurances to cover his therapies. I’m happy to say Kai is doing great and I’m so proud of him 🥹
Profile Image for Meg Mueller.
201 reviews13 followers
July 18, 2023
I haven't read any other books on parenting a child with autism, so I don't have much to compare it to. I found this book to be easy to digest, broken down into sections that kept my focus and interest, all while being informative yet not dry.

The only thing each chapter could have down without is the key takeaway after each chapter. It felt like a mini Spark note after each section and was a waste of time to read.

Other than that I learned a lot, not only about Autism, but about the many misdiagnosis and the other diagnosis that frequently go hand in hand with Autism.

To better understand the minds of neurodivergent individuals, this book is an elementary introduction worth checking out.
Profile Image for Lara.
4,242 reviews348 followers
March 20, 2026
Free from Audible, so I figured I’d see if it had any new info for me. It maybe had a little, but I felt like a lot of this does not really apply to our situation. It did give me a couple of new avenues to investigate though?
Profile Image for Becky.
6 reviews1 follower
January 9, 2024
wow! incredibly thorough and helpful for a parent of a newly diagnosed child

It’s overwhelming to received a diagnosis of ASD, but this book has been very helpful in helping understand how we can best parent our developing child. It’s not often that I purchase a hard copy after reading the kindle version, but this is a book I anticipate returning to frequently and want sitting on my shelf!
Profile Image for Kendra.
463 reviews1 follower
July 16, 2023
I will preface this with the fact that I came into this book with a pretty solid foundational knowledge of ASD. After our 3 year old was diagnosed we have been looking for additional resources to help support him. While there was a lot of information in this book, it was very base level and personally, I didn’t feel like it was super representative of a wide array of complex autistic profiles.
Profile Image for Candice Bailey.
6 reviews1 follower
August 5, 2024
Super helpful, quick, and concise. It goes through diagnosis, therapies, nutritional needs, and parenting styles. The only downside is it is geared toward mostly younger children (most common time of diagnosis) and it would be so helpful if there was a book for children diagnosed later, or even parenting tweens/teens with autism.
Profile Image for Christina.
64 reviews4 followers
July 7, 2023
Informative

Very informative for someone with limited or no previous knowledge of autism. Will use the exercises and other suggestions in the book.
1 review
November 1, 2023
Very well researched and gives concrete examples combined with the Teens version it vreates a great resource for all the years to come.
Profile Image for Audrey Marandino.
45 reviews2 followers
July 3, 2024
This was a good "primer". Did I learn a couple new things? Yes. Did I mostly reinforce what I already knew? Also yes. Worth picking up if you're a newbie.
Profile Image for Jonathan Shuerger.
Author 19 books77 followers
July 4, 2022
Educational and Clear

I’m a dad of three little girls and one more on the way. I found this book enlightening and educational in how to understand and nurture a child with ASD. It kind of reads like a long college paper, and I wish more of his statements and points had references and evidence to back them up, but on the whole, I would recommend this book.
Profile Image for Rachel.
262 reviews
April 1, 2024
0Well I've decided not to continue reading this book as it's simply full of inaccuracies, which quite frankly I don't approve of.
🧩Autism can be caused by the environment including air pollution. No it can't.
🧩Autism is diagnosed age 3. Not true, can be much earlier.
🧩If a child on the spectrum doesn't speak by age 10, they will never speak. Not true and this quite frankly is so negative and scares parents.
🧩Autistic people cannot show empathy. Not true.
🧩By 12 months of age, babies know which emotion to show correctly in relation to a situation. Not quite true that one, my child Psychology diploma would disagree with you.
🧩Raising a child with Autism can increase a parents chance of heart disease. Way to scare us thanks!.
🧩Consult a doctor to run a metabolic test to see which nutrients your child lacks and supply such things as vitamin B1, Acetylcholine (support the nervous system), these can help to reduce your child's over exposure to the environment and help reduce stimming. So basically stop stims then? Seems like another ABA trick. No thanks.
🧩ABA, applied behaviour analysis. Already a big no.

This is only a handful of things I simply don't agree with.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Alina.
767 reviews4 followers
August 28, 2025
"Parenting a Child With Autism" is an excellent guide for parents navigating the challenges of raising a child with ASD. I genuinely wish I had discovered this book earlier, as it consolidates crucial information and resources in one easy-to-navigate volume.

This guide provides a clear roadmap, helping parents understand the necessary steps to obtain support and proper intervention for their child. It covers essential topics such as diagnosis, therapy options, nutritional needs, and effective parenting styles, all presented in a concise and reader-friendly manner.

One limitation is that the book primarily focuses on younger children, reflecting the age most commonly associated with diagnosis. While this is immensely helpful for parents of young children, those with older children may find some sections less relevant. Nonetheless, the insights and foundational principles offered in the book are valuable for any parent/caregiver seeking to support their child with autism.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews