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Author Bryna Siegel defines the purpose of this book as "to
guide teachers, therapists, and parents who are directing
the development of children with autistic spectrum
disorders." Mainly, it is about how these children learn and
how to teach autistic children based on their individual
learning styles. Autism is different in each person who is
diagnosed with it. Unlike many disorders, there is no one
correct way to teach someone with autism. Over the past
fifteen years, the diagnosis of autistic spectrum disorders
has been fine-tuned and improved, but so has the controversy
on the best approach to treatment.
Part I focuses on The Fundamentals of Autistic Learning
Styles. It discusses the possible origins of autism, how
learning proceeds, autistic learning disabilities and how
these contribute to autistic learning styles. Some of the
language in these chapters is highly technical and is not
written for the reader casually interested in the subject.
Chapters are divided into sections and words are clearly
defined, but this might not be the book to start with if one
is new to the diagnosis. I can mostly see it useful for
those directly involved with teaching and therapy
situations, and parents who have had some training and
perspective on the disorder.
Part II discusses learning styles. Social, communication for
both non-verbal and verbal children, objects, and daily
living skills are all explored. Different treatment styles
are covered and success rates, strategies, and reinforcement
is clearly defined. Questions such as "should I spank an
autistic child?" and different strategies for handling
situations will be extremely helpful to parents who are
looking for practical advice. This section is much more
applicable to parents and is not too technical to understand
and apply.
Part III talks about different methods of teaching children
with autism. Applied Behavior Analysis, TEACCH,
mainstreaming, model programs, and IEP are all thoroughly
discussed and analyzed. Again, I think parents need a bit of
perspective before tackling such detailed information. I
have a friend with a son who has been diagnosed with autism
for three years. I had her look through the book and make
some comments to me. She agrees with a great deal of the
information (her son attends Applied Behavior Analysis
therapy) but also cautions that it's a gradual learning
process for parents as well as their children.
Helping Children with Autism Learn is a valuable book but
must be taken, not as a "bible" of information about autism,
but as one source to be processed and taken as a part of an
entire treatment regime. This book is a valuable resource
and can be a helpful part of any parent's or educator's
library.
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Helping Children With Autism Learn: A Guide to Treatment Approaches for Parents and Professionals