Sheldon Press Autism and Asperger Syndrome in Childhood: For parents and carers of the newly diagnosed

I've been reading several books on autism and this is the first I've read by a neurotypical person that I think really gets what it's like to have autism. For those who associate closely with autistic children, this book won't be enough on it's own, since it's very short and isn't intended as a hands-on guide, but every other book should be read through this lense.

I thought this was an excellent book. Covers a lot of different areas. Quoting from autistic people was extremely helpful as they were able to articulate issues well. For example, I feel I have a much better understanding of sensory issues from reading this book. The book is broken down into short sections so easy to absorb. This would be a great for someone who doesn't know much about autism and has found that they have an autistic child in their life.

This is a slim book and there are no real practical strategies for supporting your newly diagnosed child with autism. This book is squarely aimed at adults and teachers who parent or work with children with autism and encourages them to challenge their own preconceptions about autism.When I first suspected my son had autism as a toddler, I spent endless hours trying to identify things that would mean he wasn't autistic: he wouldn't look me in the eye... not good... but there, he's laughing at my funny face! He's normal after all.When you're scrolling through the symptoms of autism online, there are so many negatives listed. It's almost impossible not to develop the mindset that having autism would be a disaster for your child.This book challenges that idea. Yes, children with autism (the preferred term by Dr Beardon - rather than autistic children) can face challenges. But they can also be remarkable, talented and fascinating. Dr Beardon rejects the term 'diagnosis' for 'identifying' autism. Autism is not a problem or a curse. To quote: 'Autism is not a medical condition, it's simply a different way of thinking about and processing the world'.This book has given me the courage to talk to my son about the 'identification' of his autism and to do this in a way that makes him feel positive about it.Initially, as a family, we pursued a diagnosis of his disorder because of social problems and poor concentration in class; the reasons, the language - everything was negative. Even he referred to it as his 'difficulties' and his 'problems with concentration'. This negativity was all our fault - and perhaps the fault of a wider world that doesn't attempt to understand autism.This book has helped us to approach our son's autism differently. Now our motivation in identifying his autism is to help us to understand the way his amazing brain works and to support him to thrive. It's less about changing him and more about changing the mindsets around him - we want him to view his autism positively, focus on his many strengths, and understand the challenges he may face in the same way any child has challenges to overcome. He's different - but we're all different.When I do feel anxious I go back to this book, and it never fails to make me feel hopeful and positive about my son's autism.This book has also inspired me to find some inspirational role models for my son. We have discussed the career of Dan Ackroyd, a talented comedian with Asperger's Syndrome, who was obsessed with ghosts when he was a kid and wrote and directed Ghostbusters when he grew up. Now he always wants to watch any Dan Ackroyd movies! And Steve Jobs and Bill Gates, the founders of Apple and Microsoft respectively - both thought to have autism - are a big inspiration to him, especially as he loves computers.Perhaps our son will grow up to create a money spinning movie franchise or become a tech billionaire?!He believes that he could and, more importantly, now we do too.Update: we’ve found some new role models with autism! Greta Thunberg and Elon Musk :)

As a parent of a newly diagnosed 3 year old I found this book a breath of fresh air and it left me feeling uplifted and positive. All the other things I have read focus on ‘disorder’, ‘deficits’ and the like, and quite frankly left me feeling negative and worried about my child’s future.Whilst children with autism of course will face problems in their lives, a lot of these problems are brought about by a society that is not set up for them and is trying to force them into a mould where they don’t fit. This book attempts to challenge that.This book helped me re think my own parenting of my child. We don’t have to force him to behave a certain way to suit us, we need to adapt our parenting to his unique needs, and in doing so we will hopefully build a child who is free to be who he is and happy in his own skin. This is all I want for him.The book is short, my only criticism is that I was left wanting a little more explanation in certain areas, but to be fair it does advertise itself as a brief overview.The examples were lovely, there is one in particular that brought tears to my eyes, the little boy going into school that is set up for an autistic child, where he meets ‘his little autie mate and they flap happily at each other in greeting’. :-) I am tempted to buy a copy to give to my child’s school when he starts later this year! I think these are examples rather than real life situations but they are helpful nonetheless.Overall a fabulous book and I would thoroughly recommend for any parent/grandparent/Carer of a newly diagnosed autistic child. I say newly diagnosed as I don’t think it goes into enough detail perhaps to satisfy someone who has read widely on the subject, but as an introduction it is great.

I’ve started a new job working with autistic children and their families. Great explanations, good ideas and perfect ways of thinking. Highly recommend.