Overcoming Autism: Finding the Answers, Strategies, and Hope That Can Transform a Child's Life
Author: Lynn Kern Koegel
There have been huge advances in our ability to diagnose autism and in the development of effective interventions that can change children's lives. In this extraordinary book, Lynn Kern Koegel, a leading clinician, researcher, and cofounder of the renowned Autism Research Center at the University of California at Santa Barbara, combines her cutting-edge expertise with the everyday perspectives of Claire LaZebnik, a writer whose experience with a son with autism provides a rare window into the disorder. Together, they draw on the highly effective "pivotal response" approach developed at the center to provide concrete ways of improving the symptoms of autism and the emotional struggles that surround it, while reminding readers never to lose sight of the humor that lurks in the disability's quirkiness or the importance of enjoying your child. From the shock of diagnosis to the step-by-step work with verbal communication, social interaction, self- stimulation, meltdowns, fears, and more, the answers are here-in a book that is as warm and nurturing as it is authoritative.
Publishers Weekly
Clinician Koegel (cofounder of the Autism Research Center at the University of California Santa Barbara) and novelist LaZebnik (Same As It Ever Was), mother of an autistic boy, team up "to show you how intelligent, well-planned early interventions... can improve the symptoms of autism enormously." That doesn't mean that they offer easy remedies to what's practically an epidemic (they estimate 1 in 150 births result in an autistic child). The technique of "applied behavior analysis" (a behavior modification program stressing close observation and positive reinforcement by parents and doctors), say the authors, can reduce the withdrawal and other characteristic behaviors of autism while improving a child's prognosis for intellectual and social development. They organize chapters by behaviors typical of autism, e.g., "Ending the Long Silence"; "Tears, Meltdowns, Aggression, and Self-Injury"; and "Self Stimulation." The coauthors take turns in each chapter, first discussing symptoms clinically and then anecdotally from a parent's perspective. Koegel believes disruptiveness and self-involvement are often attempts to communicate, and suggests ways to tailor replacements for such conduct. LaZebnik adds soothing, often wry first-person advice. As the mother of a boy who "was entirely nonverbal at age two and a half," LaZebnik's good news leavens Koegel's sometimes daunting program of behavior analysis, positive modeling and incentives. Encouraging but realistic, the authors' humane, proactive tactics toward improving autistic behavior will interest parents willing to take a labor-intensive, teaching approach to their child's disorder. Agent, Kim Witherspoon. (On sale Apr. 12) Forecast: Parents of autistic children should gravitate to this optimistic guide's bright yellow book jacket, aided by a five-city author tour and national print features. Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.
Table of Contents:
| Acknowledgments | vii | |
| Introduction | xiii | |
| Chapter 1 | Diagnosis: Surviving the Worst News You'll Ever Get | 1 |
| Chapter 2 | Ending the Long Silence: Teaching Your Child to Communicate | 37 |
| Chapter 3 | Tears, Meltdowns, Aggression, and Self-Injury: Breaking the Cycle | 73 |
| Chapter 4 | Self-Stimulation: Flapping, Banging, Twirling, and Other Repetitive Behaviors | 113 |
| Chapter 5 | Social Skills: Turning Language and Play Into Meaningful Interactions | 133 |
| Chapter 6 | Battling Fears and Fixations: Bringing Your Child Back to the Real World | 185 |
| Chapter 7 | Education: Finding the Right School Placement and Making it Even More Right | 210 |
| Chapter 8 | Family Life: Fighting Your Way Back to Normalcy | 252 |
| Conclusion: Another Angle on Andrew | 284 | |
| Appendix | 291 | |
| Behavior Data Sheet | 293 | |
| Toilet Training Data Sheet | 294 | |
| Resources | 295 | |
| Index | 301 |
See also: Meaningful Work or Economics and the Philosophy of Science
Beyond the Influence: Understanding and Defeating Alcoholism
Author: Katherine Ketcham
This invaluable work will contribute much to the battle against our number one disease."
--from the Foreword by George McGovern, former senator and author of Terry: My Daughter's Life-and-Death Struggle with Alcoholism
Alcoholism is a disease. It's time we started treating it like one.
Science has offered undisputed proof that alcoholism is a disease rather than a weakness of character, yet millions of alcoholics continue to suffer due to inappropriate treatment. Now the co-author of the modern classic Under the Influence has teamed up with prominent alcoholism experts to provide new answers to this national epidemic.
Based on the latest scientific research, Beyond the Influence clearly explains the neurological nature of the disease and reveals why some people drink addictively and others do not. It also spells out what needs to be done to treat alcoholism, including:
Steps to take for an intervention
How to find the right treatment program
Which psychological approaches work best
Why spirituality is essential to recovery
New insights into relapse prevention
What you should know about diet, exercise, and nontraditional treatments such as acupuncture
Provocative and eye-opening, compelling and compassionate, Beyond the Influence is not only a message of hope for alcoholics--it is a blueprint for saving lives.
BEYOND THE INFLUENCE explains that alcoholism is a disease of the body, not a weakness of character. Drawing on the latest scientific studies, the authors present new research on the central role of genetics and neurotransmitters in addiction. Continuingwhere the prior book left off, it also includes:
Steps for diagnosis and intervention, plus ways to prevent relapses
Various treatment models, including inpatient and out-patient programs and a review of new drug treatments
The most effective types of psychological counseling
The critical role of nutrition
Non-traditional healing methods for recovery
The importance of a spiritual component to recovery
The authors also critique our nation's alcoholism policies, including education and prevention programs, efforts to curtail college bingeing and underage drinking, and the advertising and marketing strategies of the alcohol industry. -->
Publishers Weekly
In the nearly 20 years since Ketcham coauthored Under the Influence, it has become a classic in identifying and treating alcohol addiction. Now, with new coauthor Asbury (an experienced journalist and "recovered" alcoholic), she restates much of her original material, with additional support from recent scientific research. The authors define alcoholism as "a genetically transmitted neurological disease," not the result of a character defect or moral weakness. They explain in exhaustive detail the effects of "the drug alcohol" on the human body and brain in both alcoholics and nonalcoholics. Clearly and concisely, they offer abundant information on such usually neglected topics as the importance of nutrition and identifying early to middle-stage symptoms of the disease. They also break with conventional wisdom in other ways, encouraging intervention rather than waiting for alcoholics to "hit bottom" and seek help on their own, and they label alcoholics with six years of sobriety as "recovered" rather than continually "recovering." The most surprising statistic here is the relatively small number of people who consume most of the alcohol sold; the authors level a stinging indictment of the "Big Alcohol" industry and its deceptive tactics. The glare of their harsh light also falls on the government (for failing to hold the alcohol industry accountable and for jailing alcoholics rather than getting them into treatment that works), and on doctors (for failing to identify the disease earlier and treat it as a hereditary biochemical disorder that requires medical and nutritional treatment). This book offers a plethora of timely information; a blow to old stigmas, myths and stereotypes; and hope for a future in which many senseless tragedies can be avoided and lives saved. (Apr.) Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.|
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