The ChildPsychologist

• Your one-stop-shop of solutions, explanations, and strategies. Quickly find ideas that speak to the variety of developmental levels, learning styles, and abilities inherent in children with autism and Asperger's.
  
• Autism publications can be pricey, and many times readers only come away with a few key points per resource. Ellen and Veronica have saved you thousands of hours and dollars, blending knowledge from the most credible experts with their own invaluable wealth of humor, common sense, and experience.
  

Don’t buy just one of this book — buy one for everyone who interacts with your child! Give the gift of understanding.

A London researcher was the first to assert that the combination measles-mumps-rubella vaccine known as MMR caused autism in children. Following this "discovery," a handful of parents declared that a mercury-containing preservative in several vaccines was responsible for the disease. If mercury caused autism, they reasoned, eliminating it from a child's system should treat the disorder. Consequently, a number of untested alternative therapies arose, and, most tragically, in one such treatment, a doctor injected a five-year-old autistic boy with a chemical in an effort to cleanse him of mercury, which stopped his heart instead.

Children with autism have been placed on stringent diets, subjected to high-temperature saunas, bathed in magnetic clay, asked to swallow digestive enzymes and activated charcoal, and injected with various combinations of vitamins, minerals, and acids. Instead of helping, these therapies can hurt those who are most vulnerable, and particularly in the case of autism, they undermine childhood vaccination programs that have saved millions of lives. An overwhelming body of scientific evidence clearly shows that childhood vaccines are safe and does not cause autism. Yet widespread fear of vaccines on the part of parents persists.

In this book, Paul A. Offit, a national expert on vaccines, challenges the modern-day false prophets who have so egregiously misled the public and exposes the opportunism of the lawyers, journalists, celebrities, and politicians who support them. Offit recounts the history of autism research and the exploitation of this tragic condition by advocates and zealots. He considers the manipulation of science in the popular media and the courtroom, and he explores why society is susceptible to the bad science and risky therapies put forward by many antivaccination activists.

Broadened public awareness of autism and other associated spectrum disorders, combined with continuing research, means that more students than ever before are being identified with these disabilities. This book is an excellent resource for any teacher working with students who have ASD because it discusses how to identify and describe individuals with autism spectrum disorder, develop effective programs, create contexts for instruction, accommodate sensory issues, use applied behavior analytic instructional strategies and program for challenging behavior. Separate chapters are devoted to communication, socialization, academic skill acquisition and non-academic environments.  Information on the use of technology is infused throughout the book and makes this an invaluable reference for educators.

Autism Spectrum Disorders: From Theory to Practice provides the need for a comprehensive text on the subject of ASD, thoroughly discussing the cause, characteristics, and approaches by theoretical perspective used by educators. Drawing from her classroom experience, Laura Hall explains the communication and social and relationship issues faced by individuals with autism spectrum disorders and presents educators with best practices and programs for increasing academic achievement. In her newest book, the author guides educators in identifying, placing, and instructing students through real-life classroom and family cases. She includes strategies to determine the cause of ASD, a step-by-step guide for assessment, and evidence-based approaches to educate students through examination of the major theoretical perspectives–applied behavior analysis, developmental and social-relational, and the TEACCH approach. Furthermore, the text addresses: the use of evidence-based practices in the education of individuals with ASD mandated by the laws, IDEA 2004 and NCLB; approaches that take into account families from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds; applied behavior analysis; and working collaboratively with families and building communities of practice. This new and unique text will not only describe the most common practices implemented for learners with ASD, but will identify those that are evidence-based, and provide the best suggestions for future research in the field.