Excerpt
Autism is a word we are hearing more and more every day in the media, but to those who are neither parents nor educators of children with autism, the condition is still a big mystery. As an autism expert who travels around the country to provide training, I get asked a lot of questions by parents and teachers at the seminars I give.
Autism is a word we are hearing more and more every day in the media, but to those who are neither parents nor educators of children with autism, the condition is still a big mystery. As an autism expert who travels around the country to provide training, I get asked a lot of questions by parents and teachers at the seminars I give. But many more questions are asked by people I meet in planes, at the grocery store, in the waiting room at the doctor’s, and by those who have a neighbor, family member, or friend whose life is touched by autism, and who want to know more. Several common questions they have asked me include:
“Do vaccines cause autism?”
“Why does my neighbor’s kid always carry a red plastic snake?”
“Why don’t they look me in the eye?”
“I’m a grandparent; what can I do to help?”
“I think my child has an autism spectrum disorder. What can I do?”
Many parents of autistic children have told me they wished there was a quick read to give to people they know—the child’s grandparents, neighbors, and general education teachers—so that they could have a better understanding of what they and their child are going through. I wrote this book for them and for others, perhaps those who hear about autism in the media, who want answers just to better understand their fellow community members impacted by autism.
This book was also written for parents who suspect their child has autism. These pages provide a quick overview to allay their fears or point them in the right direction to get a diagnosis, and, if their child is diagnosed with autism, help get them started on the first steps of their journey.