Spectrum Disorder

Given the great deal of attention paid to music and autism, it is surprising to discover that autistic people have rarely been asked to account for how they themselves make and experience music or why it matters to them that they do. In Speaking for Ourselves, renowned ethnomusicologist Michael Bakan does just that, engaging in deep conversations - some spanning the course of years - with 10 fascinating and very different individuals who share two basic things in common: an autism spectrum diagnosis and a life in which music plays a central part.

Do you know a child who struggles to get started with things or who resists trying something new? Maybe they argue or have trouble joining other kids in conversation and play. Do you hear yourself prompting your child again and again? Do you feel frustrated or stuck, and long for a better way - a more positive way - to engage your child while guiding them toward independence? This book was written for parents, caregivers, professionals, and more - to guide you on how to move away from prompting and prodding kids - and toward authentic connections and competent roles.

From the renowned child psychiatrist who developed the groundbreaking Floortime approach for children with autism spectrum disorder, Engaging Autism is a clear, compassionate road-map for parents. Unlike approaches that focus on changing specific behavior, Dr. Greenspan's program promotes the building blocks of healthy emotional and behavioral development, showing that children with ASD do not have a fixed, limited potential, and may often join their peers to lead full, healthy lives.

Recognizing Autism in Women & Girls provides the perspective needed to see how autism manifests in gendered ways allowing for a more accurate diagnosis. In addition to describing each point in the diagnostic manual to include feminine presentations, Dr. Marsh has created “Five Fictional Female Figures” who've been misdiagnosed because they also display symptoms of other similar conditions. She describes their behaviors, both obvious and hidden, from early childhood to adulthood, and demonstrates how these behaviors meet diagnostic criteria for autism spectrum disorder.

There is a significant divide between autistic advocates and parents of autistic children. Parents may feel attacked for their lack of understanding, and autistic adults who offer insight and guidance are also met with hostility and rejection. Meghan Ashburn, a mother of two autistic boys, and Jules Edwards, an autistic parent, were no strangers to this tension and had an adversarial relationship when they first met. Over time, the two resolved their differences and are now co-conspirators in the pursuit of disability justice.

The book How to Parent a Child with High Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorder: 36 Symptoms, Solutions, Strategies, and Real-Life Stories offers not only excellent advice but also 36 powerful real-life accounts from families who have triumphantly handled the difficulties of caring for a kid with HFASD. These first-person accounts reassure parents that they are not traveling alone by providing them with encouragement, inspiration, and a sense of community.

Low-demand parenting allows you to drop the demands and expectations that are making family life impossible and embrace the joyful freedom of living life with low demands. It can be a particularly effective approach for children with high anxiety levels including neurodivergent children. Parent to neurodivergent children and autistic adult Amanda Diekman outlines a parenting approach that finally lowers the bar for the whole family, enabling the equilibrium of the home to be restored.

This companion guide to Is This Autism? A Guide for Clinicians and Everyone Else shows clinicians how to assess for the possibility of autism in clients of all ages. This very practical clinical guide provides a clear and neurodiversity-affirmative approach to autism assessment, particularly for autistic individuals who have previously been missed. It is relevant to all healthcare professionals who want to learn how to identify autism in their clients.

Based on the latest research in neuroscience, Self-Regulation and Mindfulness provides highly practical, kid friendly lessons to teach therapists, parents, educators, and children about their brain and body, so they can build the needed skills to self-regulate.

Written by a therapist who is actually autistic, this neurodiversity-affirming workbook offers skills to help you cultivate self-acceptance, manage intense emotions, and be your own advocate when needed. You'll take a good look at the situations or people that caused you to mask in the first place.

In the beloved classic book The Way I See It, Dr. Temple Grandin gets to the real issues of autism — the ones parents, teachers, and individuals on the spectrum face every day. In this updated and expanded fifth edition, Temple offers helpful dos and don’ts, practical strategies, and try-it-now tips all based on her insider perspective and a great deal of research.

It may not be an easy journey, but it’s definitely worth the fight—here’s how to help your child with autism survive and thrive in life while taking care of your mental health.

Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) is a group of neurodevelopmental conditions characterized by difficulty in social interaction, communication, and repetitive behaviors. The history of autism dates back to the early 20th century, when doctors and researchers first began to describe and study the condition. While there is still much to be learned about autism, the history of the disorder has shown that the understanding of the condition has come a long way.

The Essential Guide to Raising Complex Kids is a wake-up call, a clear path for action, and a message of inspiration, providing a reality-based recipe for raising complex kids, while not making yourself (or your family) crazy in the process. Parenting expert Elaine Taylor-Klaus of ImpactADHD.com walks you through a proven coach-approach method that provides essential tools for clearly setting effective and realistic expectations for your kids to eliminate daily battles and constant upheaval.

In How to End the Autism Epidemic, Generation Rescue’s cofounder J.B. Handley offers a compelling, science-based explanation of what’s causing the autism epidemic, the lies that enable its perpetuation, and the steps we must take as parents and as a society in order to end it.

Raising five children would be challenge enough for most parents, but when one of them has been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, life becomes a bit more chaotic, a lot more emotional, and full of fascinating glimpses into a unique child's different way of thinking. In this moving memoir, Carrie Cariello invites us to take a peek into exactly what it takes to get through each day juggling the needs of her whole family.

Temple offers helpful dos and don’ts, practical strategies, and try-it-now tips, all based on her insider perspective as well as a great deal of research. Most excitingly, she argues that raising and education for kids on the autism spectrum must focus on their long-overlooked strengths to foster their unique contributions.

Welcome to My Life shares the 14-year journey of a true warrior mom advocating for her nonverbal, severely autistic son, from diagnosis through his teenage years. This brutally honest and heartwarming account details the daily struggles and often lack of social understanding that families face when raising a child who relies on parental assistance for every need.

Temple Grandin offers the world yet another great work, an inspiring and informative book that offers both hope and encouragement. In this audiobook, Temple presents the personal success stories of 14 unique individuals that illustrate the extraordinary potential of those on the autism spectrum. One of Temple’s primary missions is to help people with autism, Asperger’s syndrome, and ADHD tap into their hidden abilities.

Combining years of professional and personal experience with general best practices, author Kim Gallo wrote this book as a comprehensive guide to help you shift your thinking. By breaking down complex ideas and terminology, she takes the mystery and confusion out of neurodivergence. She also stresses the importance of pivoting your thinking patterns to create a healthier, positive environment.