The Survival Guide for Kids with Autism Spectrum Disorders (And Their Parents)
$22.00
This positive, straightforward book offers kids with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) their own comprehensive resource for both understanding their condition and finding tools to cope with the challenges they face every day. Some children with ASDs are gifted; others struggle academically. Some are more introverted, while others try to be social. Some get “stuck” on things, have limited interests, or experience repeated motor movements like flapping or pacing (“stims”). The Survival Guide for Kids with Autism Spectrum Disorders covers all of these areas, with an emphasis on helping children gain new self-understanding and self-acceptance. Meant to be read with a parent, the book addresses questions (“What’s an ASD?” “Why me?”) and provides strategies for communicating, making and keeping friends, and succeeding in school. Body and brain basics highlight symptom management, exercise, diet, hygiene, relaxation, sleep, and toileting. Emphasis is placed on helping kids handle intense emotions and behaviors and get support from family and their team of helpers when needed. The book includes stories from real kids, fact boxes, helpful checklists, resources, and a glossary. Sections for parents offer more detailed information.
From the brand
Kids encounter challenges everywhere—at home, in school, and in the wider world. Regardless of the choices, changes, and opportunities they face, Free Spirit has remained dedicated to equipping children and teens, along with the adults who support them, with the tools to think independently, tackle obstacles, and create a positive impact in the world.
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For 40 years, Free Spirit has empowered children and teens with tools to think independently, overcome challenges, and create change.
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Publisher : Free Spirit Publishing
Publication date : March 22, 2012
Edition : The Free Spirit Survival Guides for Kids
Language : English
Print length : 240 pages
ISBN-10 : 1575423855
ISBN-13 : 978-1575423852
Item Weight : 1.14 pounds
Reading age : 8 – 13 years
Dimensions : 7 x 0.49 x 9 inches
Grade level : 2 – 8
Lexile measure : 810L
Best Sellers Rank: #539,442 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #58 in Teen & Young Adult Nonfiction on Disabilities #1,511 in Special Education (Books) #67,578 in Education Supplies & Craft Supplies
Customer Reviews: 4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 874 ratings var dpAcrHasRegisteredArcLinkClickAction; P.when(‘A’, ‘ready’).execute(function(A) { if (dpAcrHasRegisteredArcLinkClickAction !== true) { dpAcrHasRegisteredArcLinkClickAction = true; A.declarative( ‘acrLink-click-metrics’, ‘click’, { “allowLinkDefault”: true }, function (event) { if (window.ue) { ue.count(“acrLinkClickCount”, (ue.count(“acrLinkClickCount”) || 0) + 1); } } ); } }); P.when(‘A’, ‘cf’).execute(function(A) { A.declarative(‘acrStarsLink-click-metrics’, ‘click’, { “allowLinkDefault” : true }, function(event){ if(window.ue) { ue.count(“acrStarsLinkWithPopoverClickCount”, (ue.count(“acrStarsLinkWithPopoverClickCount”) || 0) + 1); } }); });
11 reviews for The Survival Guide for Kids with Autism Spectrum Disorders (And Their Parents)
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trc –
Where has this book been all my life!!??
My husband & my boy girl twins are all on the spectrum. It has been a huge learning experience for me to navigate relationships with each of them as they are all unique in their traits. This book is like the holy grail of books for kids and parents in helping them to understand what it means to be on the spectrum and giving a clear way to navigate through life in a way that helps them to feel confiedent about who they are. My hubby and I are reading it to our children each night individually (since twins love to compete for attention). Our whole family is getting so much out of this book. Thank you to the authors for writing this! It is exceptional!!
David –
Authoritative and Superbly Written Guide for Autism Spectrum Disorders
This superbly written guide is educational and entertaining for parents and their kids with developmental disorder. Generally, I would say that this is an authoritative monograph written by two authors who have personal experience with their own special needs child. The illustrations and easy-to-read chapters make this a fun book for youngsters, and the guide provides insightful and practical approaches to parenting of kids with autism spectrum disorder. Dr. Reeve, a psychiatrist with loads of experience in the field, provides perfect balance of professional advice on difficult topics including social skills and family functioning.I would think that every parent of a child diagnosed with autism, Asperger symdrome or pervasive developmental disorder will benefit in reading this book cover to cover. A number of other books are recommended by the authors for additional information about autism; references are also provided on the best organizations that provide support or additional educational assistance to parents and professionals or educators. As a physician, I found this book to be a real gem among the guides that are available to us on autism spectrum disordered kds. Educators, clinicians, and parents will benefit from having this text on their bookshelf for reference and encoragement. I do hope that the authors will go on to publish a guide addressing older adolescents and young adults with autism spectrum disrders and co-morbid conditiond, as this age group (and their parents) really struggle with their disability. If you are looking for a good guide for this topic, then this book is well worth the investment.
Andrea L –
Comprehensive, approachable guide
Got this guide as a mental health professional who works with kids on the autism spectrum and their families. All in all, I’m very pleased with the amount of information in this guide and the way it’s presented. Because they are attempting to write a catch-all guide, there are certain topics/sections that won’t apply to every child/person. To me this doesn’t diminish its usefulness! Especially useful for finding “language” to borrow in discussing a variety of issues.The one potential issue I could see some people having is the rather straightforward description of ASD as a disorder with concrete symptoms. I think this is a valid concern. To me, this information is presented in a factual way, makes it clear that no two people are the same, and is well-balanced with positive information and encouragement for ways to cope.Also, Free Spirit Publishing rocks!
Erika –
Good Book for Boys on the Spectrum and Kids in Regular School
Overall, I really liked this book. It’s hard to find good books about kids with Autism. My complaints with it are that it focuses mainly on boys and on school situations. I realize that there’s a reason for that (with more boys diagnosed and kids spending the majority of their days in school) – however, I have a daughter on the spectrum and she’s homeschooled – so a lot of the situations were not the kind that my daughter encounters on a regular basis. Also, there was an emphasis on sensory seeking behavior – and my daughter is a sensory avoider, so that confused her. I feel like this is a really hard topic to write a book about, since Autism expresses so differently in different people. I would really love a book about girls on the spectrum especially. It’s very hard for my daughter to find peers she can relate to…and this book sort of reinforced that, unfortunately. The book also focuses a lot on Autism as a disorder and a “problem” – and also (like another reviewer pointed out) – emphasizes medication. I don’t like reinforcing that my daughter is “different” because she has a disorder . I would have liked to see more focus on the positive aspects of having Autism and how we can really celebrate those differences without having to necessarily fit into mainstream neurotypical society. I guess I’m for neurodiversity, and acceptance of different ways of being – and I felt like this book was more about how to Survive (like the title says!) in a Neurotypical world.
J. Black –
Incredibly useful!
I found this book to be incredibly useful at explaining some basics of ASD that my 15 yr old daughter, her sisters and us parents found super useful. It was a positive read for my daughter who kept saying: “yes that’s me!” And then could take some of the advice and find it very applicable. It’s a long book and maybe not at a reading level for younger kiddos depending on maturity and reading level. My girl was diagnosed very late and so this has been very educational for us! Thank you!!
Kindle Customer –
A great learning tool for parent & child
I have learned so much and confirmed a lot of what I always suspected with this book. What I especially love is the easy language used. I have read or started reading books & articles on Autism and stopped immediately because of the vocabulary, I felt I had to have a PhD in order to understand them. And, I also love the fact that my 10 year old son can read, relate and understand this book. I could see on his face as we were reading when a situation struck close to home. I’m glad that he can see for himself that it’s not just happening to him and that his differences are not bad things. Thank you ladies and Amazon for having this book available to me
BraunU –
I have bought many books on ASD through the years, but this one is hands-down the most essential text. It is meant to be read with your ASD child and it covers all of the topics relevant to that condition. I’ve read it from cover to cover and find nothing lacking in its depth of treatment of each of the ASD issues that preoccupy us as parents. Read with the child, it will bring to light all of the behaviours and traits that need addressing – many of them described to perfection in the main text and in real-life examples in the sidebars – with helpful methods as guidance. There is no other text that I’ve found that compares with this one. Many of the books I have bought deal with ASD as a condition and its traits and attributes. Others deal with therapies only. These each have their purpose and usefulness. But this text is unique in that it is meant to help the afflicted directly – by having him/her read the text and come to many conclusions and realizations about themselves. To provide the answers they need and in a language they can understand. For me as a parent, it puts the words in my mouth as to what I will one day have to explain to my child. And for that, I am eternally grateful to the authors.
Mrs. C. J. Wise –
This book has been great so far as my son has ASD and is aged 7 we have been on courses to help us help him, but there is always the tricky way of letting him know why he feels so different and frustrated with the world. I know 7 may sound a bit young but in our case he is already aware and we were advised to talk about it. This book gives you the great opportunitie to start talking about ASD and come back to when you want to talk and understand more. We have only gone through a few pages with our son just to touch the surface and it was enough of an opening for him to talk about how he feels. We will leave it to him when he wants to talk some more. Its well laid out and shows pictures to help him visualise and talks about him having this amazing brain. He thinks our brains are boring now and he has the super brain 🙂
venkatesa krishnan –
good
Dorset Mum –
Found this book while Googling ‘Rainbow – autistic spectrum disorder’ while completing two autism training courses, including the Early Birds Plus course. We now sit and read a few pages at a time with our eight-year-old son as a tool to help him and us understand autism and his diagnosis. It is so good that his school SENCo has encouraged teachers and support staff to read it too and people on the course have also bought one after looking through our copy. We love how it is written for kids and adults to read and understand the content. Adults can also pick and choose sections or read from the start. It is written by two Mums who have children with autism and it feels that they understand the concerns and worries of both parent and child and have covered all aspects.
Byung Joo Suh –
I wouldn’t hesitate to evaluate this books as one of the best guide book among others which I purchased. Visible illustration, comprehensive explanation, impressive examples effectively delivers practical understanding as well as its solutions.Good for parents, teachers and even for those children with high functioning autism.