An essential guide to the highly recommended Floortime approach for treating children with any of the autism spectrum disorders (ASD). 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. With practical advice for every scenario you may face with your autistic child at any age -- including sensory craving, overactivity, avoidant behavior, eating, toilet training, developing social skills and more -- Engaging Autism offers hope for families and redefines how we see children with ASD.

Winner of the American Horticultural Therapy Association's Book Publication Award 2014 A garden or nature setting presents the perfect opportunity for children with Autism Spectrum Disorders and special needs to learn, play and strengthen body and mind. This book empowers teachers and parents with little gardening know-how to get outside and use nature to motivate young learners. Using a mindfulness approach, Natasha Etherington presents a simple gardening program that offers learning experiences beyond those a special needs student can gain within the classroom. The book outlines the many positive physical, cognitive, sensory, emotional and social benefits of getting out into the garden and provides specially adapted gardening activities for a variety of needs, including those with developmental disabilities and behavioural difficulties, as well as wheelchair users. With a focus on the therapeutic potential of nature, the book shows that gardening can help reduce feelings of anxiety, provide an outlet for physical aggression, build self-esteem through the nurturing of plants and much more. With this practical program, teachers and parents can easily adopt gardening activities into their schedules and enjoy the benefits of introducing children with special needs to nature and the rhythms of the seasons.

RESPECTING AUTISM: The Rebecca School DIR Casebook for Parents and Professionals adroitly describes the results of Tina McCourt and Michael Koffler's efforts to conceive and create a new school in New York City for children diagnosed on the autism spectrum.

Drawing from the author’s extensive clinical experience, this autism casebook offers stimulating reflections and a fresh perspective on how we assess, diagnose, and ultimately treat young children thought to be autistic. Challenging what she perceives as the rampant over-diagnosis and misdiagnosis of autism, and the commonly accepted status of autism as an unchangeable trait, Dr. Levin Fox illustrates how the developmental play strategies of DIRFloortime, combined with the creative psychological perspective of Reuven Feuerstein, create an effective way of identifying the child's strengths behind the autistic symptoms. The chapters are an accessible mix of clinical insights, theoretical reflections and vivid case stories that argue and illustrate that qualitative assessment methods based on play have the power to yield a more accurate clinical understanding of a child's difficulties—and strengths—than conventional symptom-focused autism assessment methods. This engaging casebook will stimulate practitioners, educators and students in the field of autism to question commonly held assumptions when assessing and treating autistic children, as it both urges and illustrates more reflective practice. Parents of children considered autistic will find renewed encouragement and hope in these enlightening case stories.

My Autism Book is a beautifully illustrated picture book that helps parents to explain an autism diagnosis to their child in a sensitive, positive and accurate way. When a child is diagnosed with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), parents often feel overwhelmed and uncertain about how to communicate the diagnosis to their child. This book is designed to be read with the child as a simple introduction to their diagnosis. Written by a doctor and a children's author, the book is tailored precisely to the needs and experiences of the child with ASD aged 5 and up. It explains what an autism diagnosis means and encourages an exploration of the child's likely strengths and differences using clear language that speaks directly to the child. The colourful pictures throughout show how the world looks from the child's perspective and the book ends with a summary checklist to encourage the child to record and discuss how autism affects them.

With clarity and compassion, Dr. Robert Sears guides the reader through the maze of autism, explaining what precautions parents can take to decrease their baby's risk, how to detect autism at the earliest possible age, and how to proceed once a diagnosis has been made. This book provides parents with a simple and clear understanding of the biomedical treatment approach that Dr. Sears has used successfully with many of his young patients. It lays out a plan for developmental, behavioral, and learning therapies; shows parents how to begin treatments without a doctor's help; presents information on vaccines and their safe use; and includes an extensive resources section. The Autism Book provides all the information and reassurance parents need.

Offers guidelines to parents of children with developmental challenges