"All children with autism have ways of dropping into their own world, leaving us behind for a minute, an hour, a day."
This is the essence of autism: a disorder that is, at its heart, about interaction. Many of the symptoms associated with autism come from either a lack of paying attention to other people or a lack of interest in joining in with the rest of the world.
Because this is the case, it is important that when you work with your child, you are addressing the core issue of autism: your child, for one reason or another, is not spending enough time in our interactive world.
What You Can Do Right Now to Help Your Child with Autism gives you the best techniques you can do―right now―to work with your child and draw him or her back into our interactive world.
The ten techniques in the book are not just explained in detail, they are also illustrated by true stories of Mr. Levy's work with children with autism (and their parents).
Topics include:
- Don't React: How you respond to your child's behaviors can make all the difference. Learn why most people are ineffective in discouraging their child's 'problem' behaviors and how you can do it differently.
- Make Eye Contact a Priority: Understand why eye contact is vital to your child's development and easy steps you can take to help your child to look more.
- Join with the Stims: A different and powerful approach to your child's self stimulating and repetitious behaviors.
- Respond Differently to Crying: Most of us give children great reasons to cry and act unhappy. Learn to teach your child a more effective way to communicate with you and the rest of the world.
- Give Your Child as much Control as Possible: Most children with autism are told "No" much of the time by their parents, teachers, and family members. Make interacting with people more attractive to your child by allowing him to do more of what he wants and moving against him less.
- Focus on Your Attitude: A hidden factor in your child's development is how you feel as you work with her. Learn why this is the case and how to feel better, more of the time.
- Work One-On-One in a Non-Distracting Room: Why school isn't the best place for your child to develop and grow. Understand the three main factors in a successful educational environment.
- Be Dynamic with Your Child: Enthusiasm matters to your child's growth. Learn the three tools you can use to demonstrate energy, excitement, and enthusiasm.
- Get More Language: There are three categories of language ability, which does your child fit into? Master techniques that will enable your child to improve her speech, whatever her current level.
- Make Sure Food Isn't Part of the Problem: An explanation of dairy and wheat intolerances, and why sugar isn't helping your child. Also, how to introduce new foods so he actually eats them.
When parents feel their world spinning out of control, What You Can Do Right Now to Help Your Child with Autism puts the power back in their hands to work with―and help―their child.
Jonathan Levy has worked one-on-one with over 800 children with diagnosis ranging from severely autistic to Asperger's syndrome and trained parents individually and in seminars since 1994. He has a master's degree in Public Administration from the Kennedy School at Harvard University and currently lives in Brooklyn, New York.
