Autism book recommendation for a teacher?

[perla75]

Hello,

I am looking to get recommendations for a book to give a colleague of mine. She is a preschool inclusion teacher and this is her first year working with children with autism. She is looking for a book that will give her an easy to read overview of autism & it's characteristics as well as general classroom teaching tips to help her understand what she is doing.

Thanks & I look forward to hearing your suggestions!!

Thanks!

 

[KirstenB]

I really like Dr. Stanley Greenspan. His book, Understanding Autism gives great advice in different ways to connect with children with autism, especially younger children.

 

[perla75]

I really like Dr. Stanley Greenspan. His book, Understanding Autism gives great advice in different ways to connect with children with autism, especially younger children.

Thank you!

Stanley Greenspan is the Floortime guy, right? Is it easy to read? She is very new to autism, but she is a very experienced preschool teacher.

Does it have a nice overview of autism & it's characteristics?

Does it touch on different types of therapies & interventions or does it just focus on Floortime?

 

[mechurchlady]

http://books.google.com/bkshp?hl=en&tab=wp
google then click on more then books
You can preview some books and read some books depending on the book.
There is even Autism for Dummies. groans
Though the people on this board have the best book suggestions usually.

http://books.google.com/books?id=KbxPsJQIDN0C&pg=PP1&dq=Temple+Grandin&ei=HwFwSeaTJYbWlQTa9ZG6Dg
That is one book by Temple Grandin who has a phd and was an autistic child who grew up when disabled kids had no rights to speak of. Tony Attwood is another good writer on the subject.

there is not set typical autistic or asperger's child. Some have other disorders like OCD, ADD, and SID/SPD while others have physical problems that may not even be related to the autism. It is call the spectrum because it is a wide variety of symptoms that can in mild cases be misdiagnosed or not even diagnosed. Some adapt and that hides underlying problems.

http://books.google.com/books?id=AZ...=ALLTYPES&ei=AwBwSdv9FJLElQSblrHHDg#PPA457,M1
There is a book by Greenspan. If she is working with autistic children or any other kids with miswired brains then she needs to know why and how they think the way they do. bookwormde said that for example an asperger or autistic child will actually at times prefer the punishment like a time out because they then are in a quiet area away from the overwhelming stuff in life. One kid was happy to be with the big boys in detention, lol.

There is easy reading up on miswired brains like those above seem easy enough to understand. Have her read the stories on this board by people dealing with miswired brains. What works for one kid does not work for others. One kid believes her doll is real and takes it with her everywhere. One kid demands that everything be fair. One boy has one name for each thing in life like pants are not to be called dungarees, slacks, or trousers. In a class how do you deal with a kid who will correct you if you say you are wearing slacks? In a class how do you deal with a kid who chooses one word and could for life say something like roasty beefy samwich for roast beef sandwich because his teacher said it that way?

 

[perla75]

http://books.google.com/bkshp?hl=en&tab=wp
google then click on more then books
You can preview some books and read some books depending on the book.
There is even Autism for Dummies. groans
Though the people on this board have the best book suggestions usually.

http://books.google.com/books?id=KbxPsJQIDN0C&pg=PP1&dq=Temple+Grandin&ei=HwFwSeaTJYbWlQTa9ZG6Dg
That is one book by Temple Grandin who has a phd and was an autistic child who grew up when disabled kids had no rights to speak of. Tony Attwood is another good writer on the subject.

there is not set typical autistic or asperger's child. Some have other disorders like OCD, ADD, and SID/SPD while others have physical problems that may not even be related to the autism. It is call the spectrum because it is a wide variety of symptoms that can in mild cases be misdiagnosed or not even diagnosed. Some adapt and that hides underlying problems.

http://books.google.com/books?id=AZ...=ALLTYPES&ei=AwBwSdv9FJLElQSblrHHDg#PPA457,M1
There is a book by Greenspan. If she is working with autistic children or any other kids with miswired brains then she needs to know why and how they think the way they do. bookwormde said that for example an asperger or autistic child will actually at times prefer the punishment like a time out because they then are in a quiet area away from the overwhelming stuff in life. One kid was happy to be with the big boys in detention, lol.

There is easy reading up on miswired brains like those above seem easy enough to understand. Have her read the stories on this board by people dealing with miswired brains. What works for one kid does not work for others. One kid believes her doll is real and takes it with her everywhere. One kid demands that everything be fair. One boy has one name for each thing in life like pants are not to be called dungarees, slacks, or trousers. In a class how do you deal with a kid who will correct you if you say you are wearing slacks? In a class how do you deal with a kid who chooses one word and could for life say something like roasty beefy samwich for roast beef sandwich because his teacher said it that way?

Thank you so much for your help! I do understand that all children with autism look, act, are taught differently. I guess what I mean is exposure & a broad overview of different therapies (ABA, DIR, RDI, etc) & common teaching techniques (picture schedules, PECS, etc...). She just wants to be familiar with these terms so when specialists train her, she is somewhat familiar with what they are talking about. She is also just looking to know more about the disability to help her further understand her students.

So far, I'm thinking the Autism for Dummies might suit her, but I feel funny recommending her something called "For Dummies"!

 

[mechurchlady]

So far, I'm thinking the Autism for Dummies might suit her, but I feel funny recommending her something called "For Dummies"!

She is your friend but you are calling her a Dummy? tsk tsk
I am sure someone will come along with some great suggestions.
Hugs
Laurie

 

[bookwormde]

Since the social challenges at the preschool age are much less demanding, sensory issues often have the largest impact. I will assume since it is an inclusion classroom that most of the children will have significant communication abilities either through PECS or verbal means. While this would not be a “first read” I would place “The Highly Sensitive Child” by Elaine N Aron near the top of the list. It is also helpful with children with spectrum characteristic who fall well below the diagnostic standard but are still impacted by the characteristics. My first “read” recommendation would be Attwoods’s book as others have said if the children are relatively high functioning.

If she finds that she wants to make this area a life long endeavor to be proficient you really need to read at least one book a month on the subject and try to pick ones with a relatively new copyright date since the “state of the art” is advancing so quickly.

bookworkme

 

[mechurchlady]

http://books.google.com/books?id=mE...aine+N+Aron&ei=92xwSb2tC4vKlQTqyvX7DQ#PPA6,M1

You can preview her book on google books.
I am very short on sleep so doubt anything makes sense to me right now but I am going to read everything I can on any neurovariations that may affect my mom and me. Back to reading bits of that book. I wonder what else bookworm has to offer.

OMG, bookworm that is my mother to a tee. I am reading the book and for me I am sensitive to some things, tolerate others and crave some sensory stuff. Mom is so sensitive like "chicken or steak" ends up in a major event. I probably am just trying to shove a square peg into round peg. Thanks for the book bookworm.

 

[KirstenB]

Perla,
The Greenspan book is an easy read. You're correct, he is the Floortime guy. The book describes autism, and how other related disorders are sometimes mischaracterized as autism. Because it teaches how to do FLoortime with kids of varying points on the spectrum, I think it's not only ideal for pre-schoolers, but for all different levels of autism. He describes how to reach kids, even if they're severely autistic. Can you tell I love this book?

 

[perla75]

Perla,
The Greenspan book is an easy read. You're correct, he is the Floortime guy. The book describes autism, and how other related disorders are sometimes mischaracterized as autism. Because it teaches how to do FLoortime with kids of varying points on the spectrum, I think it's not only ideal for pre-schoolers, but for all different levels of autism. He describes how to reach kids, even if they're severely autistic. Can you tell I love this book?

I can't find this book on my web search-could you give me a link?

Thanks!!!

 

[KirstenB]

It'd help if I got the title right, it's Engaging Autism. I ordered it from Amazon.com. I don't know how to do links at all, or I'd do one.

 

[perla75]

It'd help if I got the title right, it's Engaging Autism. I ordered it from Amazon.com. I don't know how to do links at all, or I'd do one.

Ok, I've seen that one!!!

 

[mechurchlady]

It'd help if I got the title right, it's Engaging Autism. I ordered it from Amazon.com. I don't know how to do links at all, or I'd do one.

I am a good bloodhound and could not find the book, no wonder.

http://books.google.com/books?id=1y...rr=0&as_pt=ALLTYPES&ei=HzNxSdqUGIL8lQTi45C_Dg
There is the google books preview version so you can see if it is what you need but I think from what I see it will help her.