Focusing on the positive - New book for parents of autistic children
The new book A Parent's Guide to Asperger Syndrome and High-Functioning Autism: How to Meet the Challenges and Help Your Child Thrive
Though I've not yet read it, I do plan to. I've written before about the importance of working with our autistic kids' strengths, and this seems to be a key aspect of this book:
The book's guiding principle is to focus on a child's strengths, not weaknesses, and to have parents channel their child's unusual behaviors and ways of thinking into positive achievements.The reviews on Amazon are all favorable so far, I'll let you know what I think once I've had a chance to read it.
'There are many examples of children with Asperger syndrome or high-functioning autism who grew up to be successful adults. The key was their being able to use their strengths,' said Dawson. 'There is a tendency to focus on children's problems so they don't get a chance to figure out how to use their strengths. These children have unique ways of learning so it is very important to identify a child's learning style. This can help them blossom rather than flounder.'
'Most parents are devastated and the impact on the family is great. Divorce is very common and other siblings sometimes can be neglected. But many parents rally and are able to start on this journey to find their child. They need to know this process is a distance race, not a sprint, and that eventually their child can lead an extremely satisfying and productive life.
'There is no reason why many people with Asperger syndrome and high-functioning autism can't get married, go to college, get a job and give to society. All are reasonable goals that can be reached, but usually with a lot of work,' she said.
tagged as: Autism, Asperger's, Books, Sally Ozonoff, Geraldine Dawson, James McPartland
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