Girls Growing Up on the Autism Spectrum: What Parents and Professionals Should Know About the Pre-Teen and Teenage Years
Shana Nichols - 2008
This book covers all the concerns commonly faced by girls with ASDs and their parents, from periods and puberty to worries over friendships and "fitting in".1000Guide on what to expect and how to help girls on the spectrum as they grow up0600The authors unflinchingly address the most challenging issues of girls and puberty with grace and matter-of-fact discussions of pelvic exams, periods, eating disorders, healthy sexuality, and self-perception. The discussions range from choosing undergarments to the difference in boys' and girls' aggression in adolescence. Full of hints from other parents, research results, and suggestions from professionals, this book is an essential guide to adolescence for parents of girls on the spectrum (and it's also great for parents of boys!).the Spectrum, The Newsletter of The Autism Society of North Carolina, US0600This book provides a valuable insight into the concerns commonly faced by girls with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs), and their parents. It offers advice and coping strategies on a host of areas, including approaching adolescence, navigating puberty, self-perception and self-confidence, understanding friendships, looking at healthy sexuality, promoting personal safety and many more...The book has a warm and engaging reading style, and the may case studies of experiences from families, daughters and educators provide brave testimonies and excellent recommendations for support; a useful reference list is also provided. This book is a must have read for those interested in helping females on the autistic spectrum.Youth in Mind0600It gives me great pleasure to introduce ASQ readers to this terrific book!...Girls Growing Up on the Autism Spectrum is an A+ read!Liane Holliday Willey, EdD, Autism Spectrum Quarterly0600This book is not only reassuring; it is inspiring, and bursting with ideas and achievable strategies. The authors write with authority and conviction, and tackle even the most difficult and delicate of topics. If ever you needed to be convinced that girls with ASD can overcome the difficulties and challenges of puberty and adolescence, have successful friendships and relationships and enjoy a healthy sexuality, then take the time to read this book - it is a must-have for families, teachers and therapists alike.Sarah Attwood, author of Making Sense of Sex: A Forthright Guide to Puberty, Sex and Relationships for People with Asperger's Syndrome0600The authors tackle an important and sensitive issue for young people with ASC. The information presented is based in research and presented clearly in a most usable format. I would not hesitate to recommend this book to young people (it might even help a few boys!) with ASC and their parents.E. Veronica Bliss, psychologist and Director of Missing Link Support Services, Ltd0600Shana Nichols, Gina Marie Moravcik, and Samara Pulver Tetenbaum provide solid, specific advice on teen issues - social life, changing bodies, friendships, diet and nutrition, self-reliance, anxiety, and more. This is an excellent beginning, with resources listed (books, articles, Web sites, blogs) in every chapter and short case studies that break up the text throughout. The authors tackle the bigger issues of socialization and friendships, plus the nitty-gritty of raising an adolescent girl - periods, ob-gyn exams, weight, privacy, and hygiene.ForeWord0600There's really only one way to say this: If you have a daughter anywhere on the autism spectrum, or even with unexplainable quirky behaviour, this book is a must. While there are hundreds of good books about autism, girls have their own unique issues when it comes to this puzzling disorder. Dr. Nichols' book is a standout. Addressing girls on their own, and in such an insightful, scholarly and reader-friendly way, what 'Girls...' has done is invaluable. You'll be shocked at how easy it is to have a girl on the spectrum misdiagnosed or not therapeutically treated correctly, but you're not left on your own. Nichols provides great counsel. 'Girls...' offers not only important information about the child, but it also provides necessary strategies for parents (and medical professionals) to help improve the child's life, and not a single subject goes untouched. The teen years are tough enough for any girl, but for one who has spectrum challenges, it can be devastating. Nichols, the clinical director of the Fay J. Lindner Center for Autism and Developmental Disorders, provides expert advice that is practical and necessary, on topics ranging from cognitive concerns and everyday behaviours to sexuality and just fitting in, which for a teenaged girl can be the most important issue of all--on the spectrum or not. Nichols draws from many wells here - vast research, conversations and interviews with parents, teachers and medical experts, and most importantly, these young girls. This is one of those hallelujah books for which parents search high and low.Long Island Press0600Rather than constructing a "how-to" book, in which pre-planned lessons have been created focusing on puberty or sexuality issues, the authors provide a broad conceptual treatment of the relevant sociological and cultural issues. That is, not only do they address the social, communication, and behavioural vulnerabilities that these girls may display, but they place these vulnerabilities in the context of a girl's social world. From this vantage point, the authors describe concrete steps and processes which may be useful for working with girls on the spectrum to help them cope with the issues they confront as they mature...This volume continually reminds the reader to think about the challenges typically developing girls and young women face throughout the pre-teen and teenage years as the context for their understanding of a girl with an ASD.Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders0200This book covers the concerns faced by girls with ASDs and their parents, from periods and puberty to friendships and "fitting in". Looking at these issues within the context of specific areas of difficulty for girls with ASDs, the authors provide families with the knowledge and advice they need to help the whole family through the teenage years.0400Foreword. Acknowledgements. Author’s Notes. 1. What Do We Currently Know About Girls and Women with Autism Spectrum Disorders? 2. Approaching Adolescence: Anticipation, Anxiety, Adaptation and Acceptance? 3. Puberty or ‘Do My Parents Know You’re Here?’ 4. The Red Spot: Periods, Pads and Pelvic Exams. 5. Feeling Good Inside and Out: Self-perception and Self-confidence. 6. The Social Landscape of Adolescence: Friendships and Social Status. 7. Healthy Sexuality for Girls with ASDs. 8. Keeping Girls Safe: Promoting Personal Safety in the Real World. 9. Our Journey: A Mother and her Daughter with Asperger's Syndrome. Conclusion: Embracing Change. References. Index.01000301http://www.biblioimages.com/jkp/getim...
Get Out of My Life, but First Could You Drive Me & Cheryl to the Mall?
Anthony E. Wolf - 1991
Anthony E. Wolf tackles the changes of the past decade with the same wit and compassion of the original. Today's teenagers navigate a faster, less clearly anchored world, and Dr. Wolf's revisions include a new chapter about the Internet, a significantly modified section on drugs and drinking, and an added piece on gay teenagers. This new edition gives bewildered parents a road map to the rocky and ever-changing terrain of contemporary adolescence.
Boys Adrift: The Five Factors Driving the Growing Epidemic of Unmotivated Boys and Underachieving Young Men
Leonard Sax - 2005
From kindergarten to college, American boys are, on average, less resilient and less ambitious than they were a mere twenty years ago. The gender gap in college attendance and graduation rates has widened dramatically. While Emily is working hard at school and getting A’s, her brother Justin is goofing off. He’s more concerned about getting to the next level in his video game than about finishing his homework.Now, Dr. Leonard Sax delves into the scientific literature and draws on more than twenty years of clinical experience to explain why boys and young men are failing in school and disengaged at home. He shows how social, cultural, and biological factors have created an environment that is literally toxic to boys. He also presents practical solutions, sharing strategies which educators have found effective in re-engaging these boys at school, as well as handy tips for parents about everything from homework, to video games, to medication.
Free to Learn: Why Unleashing the Instinct to Play Will Make Our Children Happier, More Self-Reliant, and Better Students for Life
Peter O. Gray - 2013
We call this imprisonment schooling, yet wonder why kids become bored and misbehave. Even outside of school children today seldom play and explore without adult supervision, and are afforded few opportunities to control their own lives. The result: anxious, unfocused children who see schooling—and life—as a series of hoops to struggle through.In Free to Learn, developmental psychologist Peter Gray argues that our children, if free to pursue their own interests through play, will not only learn all they need to know, but will do so with energy and passion. Children come into this world burning to learn, equipped with the curiosity, playfulness, and sociability to direct their own education. Yet we have squelched such instincts in a school model originally developed to indoctrinate, not to promote intellectual growth.To foster children who will thrive in today’s constantly changing world, we must entrust them to steer their own learning and development. Drawing on evidence from anthropology, psychology, and history, Gray demonstrates that free play is the primary means by which children learn to control their lives, solve problems, get along with peers, and become emotionally resilient. This capacity to learn through play evolved long ago, in hunter-gatherer bands where children acquired the skills of the culture through their own initiatives. And these instincts still operate remarkably well today, as studies at alternative, democratically administered schools show. When children are in charge of their own education, they learn better—and at lower cost than the traditional model of coercive schooling.A brave, counterintuitive proposal for freeing our children from the shackles of the curiosity-killing institution we call school, Free to Learn suggests that it’s time to stop asking what’s wrong with our children, and start asking what’s wrong with the system. It shows how we can act—both as parents and as members of society—to improve children’s lives and promote their happiness and learning.
Driven to Distraction: Recognizing and Coping with Attention Deficit Disorder from Childhood Through Adulthood
Edward M. Hallowell - 1992
Discusses the causes, symptoms, and treatment of attention-deficit Disorder (ADD).
Raising Freethinkers: A Practical Guide For Parenting Beyond Belief
Dale McGowan - 2009
The Importance of Being Little: What Preschoolers Really Need from Grownups
Erika Christakis - 2016
But our fears are misplaced, according to Yale early childhood expert Erika Christakis. Children are powerful and inventive; and the tools to reimagine their learning environment are right in front of our eyes. Children are hardwired to learn in any setting, but they don’t get the support they need when “learning” is defined by strict lessons and dodgy metrics that devalue children’s intelligence while placing unfit requirements on their developing brains. We have confused schooling with learning, and we have altered the very habitat young children occupy. The race for successful outcomes has blinded us to how young children actually process the world, acquire skills, and grow, says Christakis, who powerfully defends the preschool years as a life stage of inherent value and not merely as preparation for a demanding or uncertain future. In her pathbreaking book, Christakis explores what it’s like to be a young child in America today, in a world designed by and for adults. With school-testing mandates run amok, playfulness squeezed, and young children increasingly pathologized for old-fashioned behaviors like daydreaming and clumsiness, it’s easy to miss what’s important about the crucial years of three to six, and the kind of guidance preschoolers really need. Christakis provides a forensic and far-reaching analysis of today’s whole system of early learning, exploring pedagogy, history, science, policy, and politics. She also offers a wealth of proven strategies about what to do to reimagine the learning environment to suit the child’s real, but often invisible, needs. The ideas range from accommodating children’s sense of time, to decluttering classrooms, to learning how to better observe and listen as children express themselves in pictures and words. With her strong foundation in the study of child development and early education and her own in-the-trenches classroom experience, Christakis peels back the mystery of early childhood, revealing a place that’s rich with possibility. Her message is energizing and reassuring: Parents have more power (and more knowledge) than they think they do, and young children are inherently creative and will flourish, if we can learn new ways to support them and restore their vital learning habitat.
The Child Whisperer: The Ultimate Handbook for Raising Happy, Successful, Cooperative Children
Carol Tuttle - 2012
You wonder what on Earth to do, so you get advice, read books, watch videos, ask the internet. And still, something's missing.You need a plan that addresses your child's needs, not everyone else's. Why couldn't children come with a handbook?Turns out, children are born with a handbook—they are the handbook.In The Child Whisperer, bestselling author Carol Tuttle explains that children tell their parents every day exactly how they need to be parented. They tell their teachers exactly how they need to be taught. Children are trying to tell adults who they are so they can be recognized and treated in a way that honors them uniquely. The Child Whisperer reveals that the key to raising happy, healthy, cooperative children lies in understanding and responding to a child's inner nature. Children's true natures are written in the shape of their faces and expressed daily in their appearance, body language, tone of voice, and choice of words. Your child's unique laugh, cry, joys, worries, and even tantrums speak volumes about they type of parenting they need. And you'll learn exactly how to offer it by reading The Child Whisperer. This simple but unique approach actually makes parenting more intuitive, fun, cooperative, and most importantly—customized to your individual child.The Child Whisperer will give you the tools to: - Have a happier, more cooperative child, using less discipline - Foster more confidence and natural success in your child - Repair trouble parent/teen relationships - Reconnect with your adult childrenThe Child Whisperer teaches how to read unsaid clues that children naturally give every day, and shows how parenting, teaching, coaching, and mentoring children can be an even more intuitive, cooperative experience than ever.Join the conversation and learn how to become a child whisperer too: http://thechildwhisperer.com/
Peaceful Parent, Happy Kids: How to Stop Yelling and Start Connecting
Laura Markham - 2012
Laura Markham’s approach is as simple as it is effective. Her message: Fostering emotional connection with your child creates real and lasting change. When you have that vital connection, you don’t need to threaten, nag, plead, bribe—or even punish.This remarkable guide will help parents better understand their own emotions—and get them in check—so they can parent with healthy limits, empathy, and clear communication to raise a self-disciplined child. Step-by-step examples give solutions and kid-tested phrasing for parents of toddlers right through the elementary years.If you’re tired of power struggles, tantrums, and searching for the right “consequence,” look no further. You’re about to discover the practical tools you need to transform your parenting in a positive, proven way.
What Do You Say?: How to Talk with Kids to Build Stress Tolerance, Motivation, and a Happy Home
Ned Johnson - 2021
And the conversations that you wish you could have--ones fueled by your desire to see your kid not just safe and healthy, but passionately engaged--suddenly feel nearly impossible to execute. The good news is that effective communication can be cultivated, learned, and taught. And as you get better at this, so will your kids.Johnson and Stixrud have 60 years combined experience talking to kids one-on-one, and the most common question they get when out speaking to parents and educators is: What do you say? While many adults understand the importance and power of the philosophies behind the books that dominate the parenting bestseller list, parents are often left wondering how to put those concepts into action. In What Do You Say?, Johnson and Stixrud show how to engage in respectful and effective dialogue, beginning with defining and demonstrating the basic principles of listening and speaking. Then they show new ways to handle specific, thorny topics of the sort that usually end in parent/kid standoffs: delivering constructive feedback to kids; discussing boundaries around technology; explaining sleep and their brains; the anxiety of current events; and family problem-solving. hat Do You Say? is a manual and map that will immediately transform parents' ability to navigate complex terrain and train their minds and hearts to communicate ever more successfully.
Reset Your Child's Brain: A Four-Week Plan to End Meltdowns, Raise Grades, and Boost Social Skills by Reversing the Effects of Electronic Screen-Time
Victoria Dunckley - 2015
Revved up and irritable, many of these children are diagnosed with ADHD, bipolar illness, autism, or other disorders but don’t respond well to treatment. They are then medicated, often with poor results and unwanted side effects. Based on emerging scientific research and extensive clinical experience, integrative child psychiatrist Dr. Victoria Dunckley has pioneered a four-week program to treat the frequent underlying cause, Electronic Screen Syndrome (ESS). Dr. Dunckley has found that everyday use of interactive screen devices — such as computers, video games, smartphones, and tablets — can easily overstimulate a child’s nervous system, triggering a variety of stubborn symptoms. In contrast, she’s discovered that a strict, extended electronic fast single-handedly improves mood, focus, sleep, and behavior, regardless of the child’s diagnosis. It also reduces the need for medication and renders other treatments more effective. Offered now in this book, this simple intervention can produce a life-changing shift in brain function and help your child get back on track — all without cost or medication. While no one in today’s connected world can completely shun electronic stimuli, Dr. Dunckley provides hope for parents who feel that their child has been misdiagnosed or inappropriately medicated, by presenting an alternative explanation for their child’s difficulties and a concrete plan for treating them.
Mom's House, Dad's House: Making Two Homes for Your Child
Isolina Ricci - 1982
presents this definitive and newly updated guide to divorce and making shared custody work for parents and children.The ground-breaking classic, Mom’s House, Dad’s House, has become the standard for two generations of divorcing parents, and includes examples, self-tests, checklists, tools, and guidelines to help separated moms and dads with the legal, emotional, and financial issues they will encounter as they work to create happy and stable homes. This comprehensive guide looks anew at the needs of all family members with creative options and common-sense advice, including: * The map to a “decent divorce” and two happy homes * Helping children of divorce with age-specific advice * Negotiating Parental Agreements and custody arrangements * Breaking away from “negative intimacy” with a difficult ex-husband or ex-wife * Sidestepping destructive myths about divorce (and marriage) * Handling long-distance parenting and parenting alone With Mom’s House, Dad’s House, parents will learn how to help their children heal and find a sense of continuity, security, and stability throughout the divorce process and in any custody situation.
101 Things You Should Do Before Your Kids Leave Home
David Bordon - 2007
From staging a food fight to serving in a soup kitchen, from planning a "tour de neighborhood" bike race to telling family stories, some suggestions are fun, some challenging,and others practical -- but all will inspire parents with ideas for family time before their kids leave the nest.
Parenting Without Power Struggles: Raising Joyful, Resilient Kids While Staying Cool, Calm and Connected
Susan Stiffelman - 2009
But let's face it: family life can get downright crazy, and it's at those moments that we most need to keep our cool. Family therapist Susan Stiffelman has shown thousands of parents how to be the cool, confident "Captain of the ship" in their children's lives. Based on her successful practice and packed with real-life stories, Susan shares proven strategies and crystal clear insights to motivate kids to cooperate and connect. Parenting without Power Struggles is an extraordinary guidebook for transforming your day-to-day parenting life. You'll discover how to: • Transform frustration and aggression into adaptation and cooperation • Keep your cool when your kids push your buttons, talk back or refuse to "play nice" • Nourish deep attachment with young and older kids • Help your ADD'ish child survive and thrive, even if you’re ADD'ish yourself • Inoculate your kids from negative thinking and peer pressure that lead to anger, anxiety, depression, or behavior issues • Help children manage the emotional challenges of divorce
The Organized Student: Teaching Children the Skills for Success in School and Beyond
Donna Goldberg - 2005
Sound familiar? When the disorganized child meets the departmentalized structure of middle school, everything can fall apart. Even the academically successful child will start to falter if she misses deadlines, loses textbooks, or can’t get to class on time. This practical book is full of hands-on strategies for helping parents identify and teach organizational skills. Educational consultant Donna Goldberg has developed these methods by working with hundreds of students and in this book she provides: -Assessments to gather information about your child’s learning style, study habits, and school requirements -Guidelines for taming that overstuffed binder and keeping it under control -PACK—a four-step plan for purging and reassembling a backpack or locker -Instructions for organizing an at-home work space for the child who studies at a desk or the child who studies all over the house -Ways to help your child graduate from telling time to managing time -Special tips for kids with learning disabilities and kids who have two homes...and more The Organized Student is a must for any parent who has heard the words, “I can’t find my homework!”