Helping Children with Autism Learn: Treatment Approaches for Parents and Professionals

by Bryna Siegel (Author)

• Used

  Hardcover
  2003

  $8.89

  Bryna Siegel gives parents of autistic children what they need most: hope. Her first book, The World of the Autistic Child, became an instant classic, illuminating the inaccessible minds of afflicted children. Now she offers an equally insightful, thoroughly practical guide to treating the learning disabilities associated with this heartbreaking disorder. The trouble with treating autism, Siegel writes, is that it is a spectrum disorder - a combination of a number of symptoms and causes. To one extent or another, it robs the child of social bonds, language and intimacy, but the extent varies dramatically in each case. The key is to understand each case of autism as a discrete set of learning disabilities, each of which must be treated individually. Siegel explains how to take an inventory of a child's particular disabilities, breaks down the various kinds unique to autism, discusses our current knowledge about each, and reviews the existing strategies for treating them. There is no simple cure for this multifarious disorder, she writes, instead an individual program, with a unique array of specific treatments, must be constructed for each child. She gives practical guidance for fashioning such a program, empowering parents to take the lead in their child's treatment. At the same time, she cautions against the proliferating, but questionable treatments hawked to afflicted families. She knows the panic to do something, anything, to help an autistic child, and she offers parents reassurance and support as well as sensible advice, combining knowledge from experience, theory and research. For parents, autism in a child is heartbreaking, but it need not be overwhelming. Bryna Siegel offers a new understanding, and a practical, thoughtful approach, that will give parents new hope.

• Used

  Paperback
  2007

  $15.59

  Children with autistic spectrum disorders have unique learning styles, or autistic learning disabilities . These pose unique challenges to parents seeking the best educational path for their autistic child, and for educators shaping educational programs for children with autism and related disorders. In Helping Children with Autism Learn, Dr Siegel, a developmental psychologist and director of a large university clinic for autistic children, provides concrete guidance for dealing with these challenges. The book not only enumerates the autistic learning disabilities , but critiques all of the available educational programs for these children, pointing out the strengths and weaknesses of each program and the appropriateness of a program for specific disabilities . Helping Children with Autism Learn is structured so that the parent and teacher can use it as a program planner and can evaluate the success and appropriateness of each strategy, refining the program as necessary. Key areas of concentration are language, academic skills, social skills, as well as adapting the child to independence and day-to-day needs. Throughout, Siegel emphasises the need to tailor programs to fit each child's unique needs, and to adapt programs as the child matures and ages. Dr Siegel pulls together a wealth of long-needed information. She provides a superb guide and resource for parents, teachers, clinicians, and other educators who work with autistic children.

• New

  Paperback
  2007

  $27.94

  Children with autistic spectrum disorders have unique learning styles, or autistic learning disabilities . These pose unique challenges to parents seeking the best educational path for their autistic child, and for educators shaping educational programs for children with autism and related disorders. In Helping Children with Autism Learn, Dr Siegel, a developmental psychologist and director of a large university clinic for autistic children, provides concrete guidance for dealing with these challenges. The book not only enumerates the autistic learning disabilities , but critiques all of the available educational programs for these children, pointing out the strengths and weaknesses of each program and the appropriateness of a program for specific disabilities . Helping Children with Autism Learn is structured so that the parent and teacher can use it as a program planner and can evaluate the success and appropriateness of each strategy, refining the program as necessary. Key areas of concentration are language, academic skills, social skills, as well as adapting the child to independence and day-to-day needs. Throughout, Siegel emphasises the need to tailor programs to fit each child's unique needs, and to adapt programs as the child matures and ages. Dr Siegel pulls together a wealth of long-needed information. She provides a superb guide and resource for parents, teachers, clinicians, and other educators who work with autistic children.