Book of the Month:
| Reviewer | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Middle School -The Stuff Nobody Tells You About: A Teenage Girl with High-Functioning Autism Shares Her Experiences Haley Moss |
August, 2010Middle School -The Stuff Nobody Tells You About: A Teenage Girl with High-Functioning Autism Shares Her ExperiencesHaley Moss Haley Moss describes her school experiences as an adolescent girl living with high functioning autism. She provides tips and strategies in her “survival guide” to assist other adolescents in facing the many challenges of middle school. She provides helpful tips for getting ready for school after summer break, and preparing for the changes from an elementary school to a middle school setting. She reviews information specific to adolescents, such as new slang words and provides ground rules for using the internet and social networking. She explores the Hidden Curriculum with a particular focus on girls in or approaching middle school. Topics include girls and bullying, female bodily changes, make-up and style trends. This book is an easy read chock-full of valuable tips for teenage girls with high functioning autism. Click to buy Middle School - The Stuff Nobody Tells You About: A Teenage Girl with ASD Shares Her Experiences |
March 2010 | Jacquie’s Pick |
 The Socially Included Child: A Parent’s Guide to Successful Playdates, Recreation, and Family Events for Children with Autism Laurie LeComer |
July, 2010The Socially Included Child: A Parent’s Guide to Successful Playdates, Recreation, and Family Events for Children with AutismLaurie LeComer Are you a parent who has struggled in finding ways to include your child in meaningful social interactions? This book provides parents with strategies to foster inclusion and provide better social experiences in natural settings for children with autism. Practical examples of how to make social experiences successful by previewing, planning, accommodating and carrying out social activities, such as playdates, birthday parties, family/holiday gatherings, and recreation/community outings are discussed in this book. The methods outlined in this book can provide a systematic approach to enhancing social interactions for your child. Click to buy The Socially Included Child: A Parent's Guide to Successful Playdates, Recreation, and Family Events for Children with Autism |
2009 | Jacquie’s Pick |
 Social Skills Training For Children and Adolescents with Asperger Syndrome and Social-Communication Problems Jed E. Baker, Ph.D. |
June, 2010Social Skills Training For Children and Adolescents with Asperger Syndrome and Social-Communication ProblemsJed E. Baker, Ph.D. Social Skills Training For Children and Adolescents with Asperger Syndrome and Social-Communication Problems is an invaluable resource for parents and educators. It includes assessment and intervention strategies to support individuals with social, emotional, and communication deficits. The author, Jed Baker, has ample experience supporting students with social interaction deficits as director of social skills training for special education in New Jersey. Baker provides strategies that are feasible and easy to implement within the home and school setting. The first section of the book provides an overview of Asperger’s Syndrome, assessment tools for social skills training and behaviour management, and strategies to promote generalization. The second section focuses on social skill lessons that are broken down into six categories: Conversational Skills, Cooperative Play Skills, Friendship Management, Self-Regulation, Empathy, and Conflict Management. Specific skills are targeted under each category, such as getting to know someone new, joining others in play, sharing a friend, problem solving, and accepting criticism. Each skill includes specific instructions on how to teach the skill and a worksheet for the child or adolescent. This book is a must-have for anyone working with individuals who require additional social support. Click here to buy Social Skills Training For Children and Adolescents with Asperger Syndrome and Social-Communication Problems from the POPARD Amazon Bookstore. |
2003 | Brenda's Pick |
 Simple Strategies That Work: Helpful Hints for All Educators of Students With Asperger Syndrome, High-Functioning Autism, and Related Disorders Brenda Smith Myles Diane Adreon Dena Gitlitz |
May, 2010Simple Strategies That Work: Helpful Hints for All Educators of Students With Asperger Syndrome, High-Functioning Autism, and Related Disorders Brenda Smith Myles Diane Adreon Dena Gitlitz Simple Strategies That Work: Helpful Hints for Students with Asperger Syndrome, High-Functioning Autism, and Related Disorders is an informative, forty page guide of practical suggestions for supporting high-functioning students on the spectrum. Written in clear, concise language, with case studies for examples, this book is an easy to understand manual for those new to the field, as well as a reference for those who need a refresher of best practices. Simple Strategies That Work outlines ten domains of difficulty areas, including managing the environment, creating a balanced agenda, and operating on Asperger time, and gives strategies to support each domain. Each strategy includes explanations illustrating the impact on students, and are easy to prepare and implement. Overall, this is an excellent resource for anyone who supports students on the Autism Spectrum. Click here to buy Simple Strategies that Work: Helpful Hints for All Educators of Students with Asperger Syndrome, High-Functioning Autism, and Related Disorders from the POPARD Amazon Bookstore. |
2006 | Corrina's Pick |
 Asperger Syndrome and Bullying: Strategies and Solutions Nick Dubin |
April, 2010Asperger Syndrome and Bullying: Strategies and SolutionsNick DubinThis book is an informative and practical resource for parents, administrators, and educators. The author, Nick Dubin, is an individual with Asperger’s Syndrome and provides many examples and vignettes to illustrate his point.
Nick Dubin describes his personal experiences with bullying, and introduces the reader to the characteristics of a person with Asperger’s syndrome in the context of the social environment. Nick Dubin examines bullying from the point of view of the individual, classroom and school. This book includes a practical summary after each chapter, frequently asked questions, and internet resources.
It is divided into the following sections:
 to buy Asperger Syndrome and Bullying: Strategies and Solutions from the POPARD Amazon Bookstore. |
2007 | Erin's Pick |
 Do, Watch, Listen, Say: Social and Communication Intervention for Children with Autism Kathleen Ann Quill |
March, 2010Do, Watch, Listen, Say: Social and Communication Intervention for Children with AutismKathleen Ann Quill Do-Watch-Listen-Say: Social and Communication Intervention for Children with Autism would be especially useful to educational teams as they plan effective programs for children with autism spectrum disorder. It provides approximately two dozen assessment tools and hundreds of evidence-based strategies to support the social and communication needs of children with autism spectrum disorder. It is divided into five areas:
I especially recommend this book because of the user-friendly, quick-and-easy checklists that assess various aspects of social and communication behavior, such as nonverbal social interaction, imitation, organization, play, and community social skills, to name a few. Results of these assessments may be used to select strategies and programs that follow in subsequent chapters. Click here to buy Do-Watch-Listen-Say: Social and Communication Intervention for Children With Autism |
2000 | Brenda's Pick |
 Pathways to Competence for Young Children: A Parenting Program Sarah Landy Elizabeth Thompson |
February, 2010Pathways to Competence for Young Children: A Parenting Program Sarah Landy Elizabeth Thompson Pathways to Competence for Young Children is a parenting program based on the Helping Encourage Affect Regulation (HEAR) program developed in 1995. This program was designed to be presented in about 20 weeks. It was originally developed for parents of children who present with behaviour problems such as chronic noncompliance and aggression, but can be used with a variety of target audiences. The program supports parents to develop 10 basic competencies in their children. These competencies include body control and positive body image; secure attachment; play and imagination; language and communication; emotional regulation; and social competence. The book contains information regarding:
A CD-ROM is included which contains handouts and resource material (including consent forms, sample advertisements, parent satisfaction survey). Click here |
2006 | Brenda's Pick |
 Smart But Scattered: The Revolutionary "Executive Skills" Approach to Helping Kids Reach Their Potential Peg Dawson, EdD. Richard Guare, PhD. |
January, 2010Smart But Scattered: The Revolutionary "Executive Skills" Approach to Helping Kids Reach Their Potential Peg Dawson, EdD. Richard Guare, PhD. This is a practical and informative resource for any parent or teacher who wants to learn more about executive skills. This book contains a wealth of information on what executive skills are, how they typically develop, and how the environment can contribute to their development. This resource will also help parents and teachers come up with strategies to address a specific problem task or executive skill. Each executive skill is individually described and brief rating scales are included to determine where a child is at in terms of skill development. Overall, a very user friendly resource. Click here |
2008 | Brenda's Pick |
 Right Address ... Wrong Planet: Children with Asperger Syndrome Becoming Adults Gena P. Barnhill |
December, 2009Right Address ... Wrong Planet: Children with Asperger Syndrome Becoming AdultsGena P. Barnhill This book addresses the issues a family experiences as their son, who is now a young adult, enters the adult world. The book looks at:
At the end of each chapter the author explains the "Lesson Learned" during the difficult process of dealing with the many challenges related to a diagnosis of Asperger's Syndrome. |
2002 | Brenda's Pick |
 Counselling People on the Autism Spectrum: A Practical Manual Katherine Paxton and Irene A. Estay, London, 2007 |
November, 2009Counselling People on the Autism Spectrum: A Practical Manual Katherine Paxton and Irene A. Estay, London, 2007 Katherine Paxton, a consultant and counselor, and Irene Estay, a practicing psychologist, have worked extensively with individuals with ASD as well as their families and the community agencies which support these individuals. The authors begin with an overview of autism. They then describe autistic thinking and logic as they describe visual thinking, literal thinking, self concept, Theory of Mind and Executive functioning. Paxton and Estay recognize that a diagnosis of ASD does not preclude having mental health issues. The authors point out that “differences in emotional expression or flat affect” can very well mask the comorbid forms of psychotherapy. They also show that anxiety in young children, if not addressed properly, can manifest as unhealthy coping strategies later in life. This book is a valuable resource for professionals, parents, teachers and individuals with ASD. It clearly emphasizes the critical importance of implementing visual supports. The book also provides a number of general strategies and modifications for Cognitive Behavioural Therapy. Case studies illustrate that counselors, parents, teachers and individuals with ASD equipped with the appropriate tools can affect positive outcomes for self-concept, relationships and employability. |
2007 | Catherine's Pick |
 No More Meltdowns: Positive Strategies for managing and preventing out-of-control behavior Jed Baker, Ph.D. (2008) |
October, 2009No More Meltdowns: Positive Strategies for managing and preventing out-of-control behaviorJed Baker, Ph.D. (2008) This is a readable, wise and practical look at managing behaviour in a postive pro-active way. Baker provides a four step framework for understanding, preventing and if necessary, dealing with meltdowns. |
Pat's Pick | |
 Late, Lost and Unprepared: A Parents’ Guide to Helping Children with Executive Function Joyce Cooper-Kahn, Ph.D & Laurie Dietzel, Ph.D |
September, 2009Late, Lost and Unprepared: A Parents’ Guide to Helping Children with Executive FunctionJoyce Cooper-Kahn, Ph.D & Laurie Dietzel, Ph.D
This book contains a wealth of information for both |
Jacquie’s Pick |
from the POPARD Amazon bookstore.
from the POPARD Amazon Bookstore.
from the POPARD Amazon Bookstore.
to buy Pathways to Competence from the POPARD Amazon Bookstore.
to buy Smart but Scattered: The Revolutionary "Executive Skills" Approach to Helping Kids Reach Their Potential from the POPARD Amazon Bookstore.
