The book begins with an explanation of what autism is, and what it is not. From there the author explains the diagnostic process and autism treatments. My favorite chapter is the one that answers common questions asked by parents of children with autism. Terms, references and resources are found at the end of every chapter, which helps parents key in on issues one at a time.

I can’t say that this book will take away all the fears and worries parents will have about their newly-diagnosed child, but it sure will help parents know what questions to ask when working with doctors and therapists.

Two years ago Heather Pint published a book review here of Temple Grandin’s memoir, Thinking in Pictures: and Other Reports from My Life with Autism. In her review, Pint described Grandin’s early years as isolating, particularly since autism spectrum disorders were fairly unknown at the time.

During the Fresh Air interview Tuesday, Terry Gross asked Grandin what it was that prevented her from being isolated like that her entire life. Grandin’s answer? Early intervention. “I started speech therapy when I was two-and-a-half years old.”

Patricia Wright, the National Director of Autism Services here at Easter Seals, wrote a blog post last April about the merits of early intervention.

Autism affects everyone differently and involves challenges in communication, social skills, and behaviors. If you’re worried your child may have autism — or feel something just isn’t right — follow your instincts. Don’t assume that your child will catch up. Share your concerns with your pediatrician. Look into your state’s early intervention program. Get a diagnosis. And seek support from community service and treatment providers like Easter Seals.

I’m sure Temple Grandin would agree with Patricia! If you missed the Fresh Air interview you can access it as a Fresh Air archived podcast or via iTunes.

One essay was written by Tom Keating, a Ph.D., who specializes in assistive technology. He says his perspective is strongly influenced by his role as primary care provider for a brother with autism. Another author, Ann P. Kaiser, wrote an essay called Transition about her brother, who wasn’t diagnosed with autism until adulthood.

The essays by adult siblings of people with autism were not all sugary-sweet — the authors reveal both positive and negative aspects of growing up with someone who has autism. That’s what I liked best about the essays — they were honest.

Thicker than Water gave me an insider’s view of the decisions so many siblings have to make in regards to their families. All in all, an interesting and eye-opening read.

In Autism Frontiers: Clinical Issues and Innovations, authors Bruce Shapiro and Pasquale Accardo (along with their multiple collaborators) do a great job of covering a variety of topics in a concise 200+ pages.

Many of the topics — early intervention, labels & diagnosis, complementary and alternative medicine, educational interventions, effectiveness of medication, autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and co-morbid disorders — could have been stretched into longer publications. By keeping the book relatively concise, however, Autism Frontiers: Clinical Issues and Innovations provides a good overview and examination of medical and clinical research related to ASD.

Autism Frontiers: Clinical Issues and Innovations is seemingly targeted to a professional audience — the handouts and references included in the text should prove as nice additions to any clinician’s ASD toolbox. While not a “page-turner,” Autism Frontiers: Clinical Issues and Innovations does provide an up to date reference guide to the often confusing world related to autism spectrum disorders.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Autism

July 24th, 2007

What can reading a Harry Potter book teach us about autism? Well, ask a teenager with autism who also happens to be a Harry Potter fan — he can tell you!

James Williams is 18 years old and speaks about autism regularly at conferences. He spoke at the Autism Society of America (ASA) conference I recently attended with others from Easter Seals. The speech James gave at the ASA conference was about being “In Search of the Proper Autistic Friend”.

The transcripts to all of the speeches James gives are available at his Web site – that’s where I found out how someone with autism could relate to the characters in Harry Potter books. In his cleverly-titled speech, “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Autism”, James describes how Harry Potter sometimes has trouble approaching his friends. James can relate. He also relates to Hermione, who obsesses over wizardry, fixates on specifics and is often accused of being a know-it-all.

Most importantly, James says that Harry’s feelings of relief after being “diagnosed” as a wizard are similar to his own feelings of relief being diagnosed with autism. Before Hagrid told Harry that he was a wizard, Harry had no idea that wizards who are angry tend to use magic even if they do not want to.

“Kids with autism often make things happen that they can’t explain,” James says. “And if they don’t know they have autism, they don’t know why, no matter how hard they try, they are always getting in trouble.”

Harry did well when working with teachers who acknowledged and worked with his special talents and needs. James can relate.

When I was writing my book about my brother, Boy Alone, I wished I had a story of hope and salvation. It is miracles that sell books. There seems to be an insatiable demand for narratives that end in triumph over an affliction: the cripple walks, the mute speaks, the autistic boy laughs and hugs and cries.
We hunger for that uplifting journey, as opposed to the cruel odyssey I had to tell. What did I have to offer? My adult brother, still autistic, still nonverbal, still lost. As much as I hope that all the autistic boys and girls will get better, and as much as I can encourage their families to fight with all the hope they have, I also know that they will not all recover. The boy or girl will grow up, and there won’t be a miracle; instead there will be an effort, something like what my family goes through every day, to figure out what to do.

At Easter Seals Southern California, we are directly involved in moving adults with autism and other disabilities from state-run institutions into community-based living arrangements. We have assisted several adults with autism, many with severe disabilities such as the ones described in the article. What we have found is that people often flourish, beyond the expectations of even their family members, in a home setting with enhanced staffing support. We have also learned to celebrate the smallest milestones which are often overlooked.

Individuals are supported in all skills of daily living including grocery shopping, cooking and cleaning. Some require only a picture calendar to remind them of the day’s activities while others require hand-over-hand support.

Regardless of support level, ALL are involved in activities of daily life. The respect that is given to any human being when you take the time to teach rather than do, is a value and philosophy that we embrace.

A lot of the schools we went to prepared the kids ahead of time for our visit. They highlighted books about blindness, held reading sessions, did activities to give the children an idea what it might be like to be blind, or how they might assist a person who is blind.

So I was thinking: why not do this with autism?

It seems so much attention is given to making adults more aware of what autism is … wouldn’t it be good for kids to be more aware, too?

From my experience, I can easily imagine people with autism — or parents of children with autism — visiting classes to teach the kids about autism, explaining what it’s like to have autism. Classes could prepare for the visits by reading books ahead of time. Amazon.com features a terrific Listmania list for folks looking for children’s books about autism, and a fair number of the books on that list are available at our Easter Seals and Autism bookstore. Every time you order a book through our bookstore, a portion of that sale will go to Easter Seals.

One book in our bookstore that would be particularly useful during a classroom visit: The Friendship Puzzle, Helping Kids Learn About Accepting and Including Kids with Autism. Katy Neas recently reviewed this book on our Easter Seals and Autism blog.

The voice of the book is a typically developing elementary school girl — the story is about her journey to understand the new kid at school who has autism. The book presents information in a kind and factually accurate manner and offers activities that kids can do with kids with autism.

This would be a perfect book to recommend before a classroom visit about autism. Those of you who have autism or have a loved one with autism should consider visiting classrooms to teach kids about what it’s like. You’ll be surprised about how curious the kids are — and what fun you’ll have answering their questions.

Mr. Hornby, whose son attends a TreeHouse school in north London, said: “When my son was diagnosed with autism there was a total lack of information and advice on what we should do next.

“It seems that little has changed – and that is a national scandal.”

It’s funny – usually when I tell outsiders that I moderate a blog about autism for Easter Seals, they say something about how much they’ve heard about autism the past couple of years. But still, according to parents like Nick Hornby, we need to talk more, make more people aware.

For the third year in a row, during April’s Autism Awareness Month and World Autism Awareness Day, Easter Seals Autism Spokespersons Network (ASN) and Affiliate Marketing Partners (AMP) members, at both the local and national levels, are actively promoting Easter Seals role as the largest nonprofit provider of autism services. Our goal is to let people know that Easter Seals is a trusted expert around autism services and drive the message that there is an urgent need for treatment and services for families living with autism.

I just read a really nice book: The Friendship Puzzle, Helping Kids Learn About Accepting and Including Kids with Autism. The book was written by Julie L. Coe, inspired by Jennifer Maloni, and illustrated by Sondra L. Brassel. These collaborators are all moms, some have children with autism and some have typically developing children. Their goal was to write a book to help all children understand that each of us is unique and that each of us can learn to care about others.

The voice of the book is a typically developing elementary school girl — the story is about her journey to understand the new kid at school who has autism.

The book presents information in a kind and factually accurate manner and offers activities that kids can do with kids with autism. I’d recommend this book be included in all elementary school libraries.

Choldenko, Gennifer. Al Capone Does My Shirts. Putnam’s Sons, 2004.
Twelve-year-old Moose Flanagan moves to Alcatraz Island in 1935 when his father takes a job at the maximum-security prison there. Moose struggles to make friends while taking care of Natalie, his older autistic sister, and their mother unrealistically tries to have Natalie accepted at a special school. For grades 5 to 8. Newbery Honor book, 2005.

Lord, Cynthia. Rules. Scholastic Press, 2006.
Sometimes twelve-year-old Catherine resents her brother David, who is autistic, breaks all the rules, and gets all her parents’ attention. Then she meets Jason, a teenage nonverbal paraplegic, at David’s therapy center. As the two become friends, Catherine realizes that accepting differences matters more than any rules. For grades 5 to 8. Schneider Family Book Award, 2007.

You might wonder how I learned about this American Library Association list in the first place. Well, I must confess, one of the books listed caught my eye. Or better put, it caught my ear:

Finke, Beth. Hanni and Beth: Safe and Sound. Blue Marlin, 2007.
Seeing Eye dog Hanni describes her routine duties to guide and protect her partner Beth, a woman who is blind. Both Hanni and Beth provide personal notes about their background. For kindergarten to grade 3. ASPCA award.

All three of these books are available at the Easter Seals and Autism Bookstore link on our autism Web site – the online bookstore features books reviewed on this blog, and every time you order a book through our bookstore, a portion of that sale goes to Easter Seals.

Happy reading!