I am looking for a nonfiction book about autism spectrum disorder.
My son was recently diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. I am looking for a few nonfiction books on the subject. Any recommendations are helpful. Thanks!
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Temple Grandin has several books worth checking into.
FReaks, Geeks, and Asperger Syndrome: A User Guide to Adoloscence by Luke Jackson, is one my son found helpful
Look Me in the Eye by John Elder Robison, The Reason I Jump by Naoki Higashida are both good.
I second The Reason I Jump!
Third for The Reason I Jump, I leant this to friend who’s child has autism and they both reported it to be very helpful for their relationship
There’s a Facebook group: autism with a side of fries by Eileen “mama fry” Shaklee. She has almost 82,000 followers. It’s a very helpful group.
Ido Kedar
Ido in Autismland: Climbing Out of Autism’s Silent Prison; and Naoki Higashida The Reason I Jump: The Inner Voice of a Thirteen-Year-Old Boy with Autism
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time https://www.amazon.com/dp/1400032717/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_jYvGBbCNR321Z
Brilliant book, but fiction…
Ditto! It’s fiction, but I clicked to post anyway. Helped me to better understand some kiddos I worked with.
Check out Temple Grandin, her books are insightful
Read Temple Grandin.
Born this way is a great show I know it’s not a book but it’s really inspirational
Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night.
Curious incident of the dog in the night time is fictional.
I agree with Temple Grandin and The Reason I Jump is very informative. It gives you lots of insight. I have 2 boys on the spectrum like most kids with autism, they also have sensory issues so I also recommend Sensational Kids.
How old is he and where on the spectrum does he fall? I think you’ll need different reading depending. Good luck Mama! If you have questions please reach out. I’ve been at this a long time
Curious incident of the dog in the night time is fictitious but I do want to say, it was very nicely done.
Hes 3 1/2 and has moderate autism.
@Kacee is he verbal?
I have one that is really smart and chatty and one that is quiet. He can talk but really only tells us his needs.
@Pam he was also diagnosed with language disorder but he is verbal.
He didnt speak until he was 3 but now he loves to talk.
@Kacee gotcha ya! I would also recommend 1 2 3 Magic. It completely saved us when it came to discipline. We went from chaos to serenity in 24 hours.
Let me know if I can help you on your journey. Mine are now 13 and 15.
Thank you so much! I was feeling alittle overwhelmed but I’m hoping that some of these books will bring me some peace.
@Kacee I hope so too! I have found the joy in it! My kids think so differently and I find it fascinating. My son’s social studies teacher told me that my son understands the material on a completely different level than his peers and that he asks such deep thought provoking questions that he’s teaching the other students how to think. There’s a children’s book called Different Like Me and it teaches about famous people who were on the spectrum. I really think they are the people that have moved society forward because their minds work differently. Watch the movie about Temple Grandin Thinking in Pictures and pick up one of her books. I’d start with The Way I See It.
You’ve got this!!!
I don’t know how helpful it is, but I got a book that a teacher at school was discarding about autism (I thought my son might be ever so slightly on the spectrum and recently found out I was right, though it is marginal for him). I started it, but decided that we were doing fine and immersing myself in the book was going to make me panic. If you want it, PM me
Read the section on autism in the book Far From the Tree, by Andrew Solomon. The whole book is fascinating.
I just bought that book and I LOVE it!
excellent
Fiction chapter book, but it has a nice perspective. Rain Reign , by Ann Martin.
Thank you so much everyone! I’ve written down all of you recommendations and will be working my way through them!
The Speed of Dark, by Elizabeth Moon. She generally writes great military fantasy, (and space military) ALWAYS strong smart women protagonists. Anyway, many years back she wrote the Speed of Dark. Her son is autistic. The book centers around a young man with autism, who is offered and is considering an advanced treatment. It’s some time in the future. And, If I recall correctly, she tried to write it keeping in mind all that she knew at the time, (book was published in 2002) as well as observing her son.
@Amy maybe you can help with this?
Books by Naoki Higashida – ‘The Reason I Jump’, ‘Fall Down Seven Times Get Up Eight’.
Look up John Elder Robison, author. Several books about his life with Asperger’s. Look Me In The Eye is a very good one.
Good luck, and definitely seek out perspectives from many different Autistic people. All the stories and experiences are valuable. I loved Temple Grandin’s book Thinking in Pictures. But I’ve read a lot of Autistic people saying basically that she presents herself as a spokesperson for Autistic folks in ways that are unwarranted & harmful. It’s harmful when neurotypical people read Grandin, then look no further, and think that’s fine because Grandin implies that it is.
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time. Its a beautiful wee book and I gave it to my nephew who is aspergers to read. Yes its fiction but the writing allows the reader to view things from the perspective of the child
Life Animated
Why I Jump
In a Different Key and Neurotribes. I’m a parent of 2 children on the spectrum and I work in the field. DM me if you’d like
Tony Attwood has many books on the subject. His most well known is The Complete Guide to Asperger’s Syndrome. Uta Firth is another excellent research psychologist with many excellent articles and books.
These authors, scientists, will give you insight into how your son thinks and reasons. This will be very helpful in preparing him for life in the larger world.
Uta Firth is known for her work in the concept of mentalizing and theory of mind.
Excellent resource!
The Spark by Kristine Barnett
As mentioned earlier, there are many wonderful books written about or by exceptional people with spectrum disorders. The big complaint about those books is that most people are not exceptional and have to struggle everyday. Learning how to live in the world, as an average person, is very important. Having realistic expectation will be a benefit to you and your son.
So, yes, read those books about the exceptional people, but learn the science behind the behavior. And figure out a plan to make your son’s life as rich and rewarding as possible.
There are lots of facebook groups for parents of children on the autism spectrum. I’m in a couple and they are very helpful and can give recommendations and help you find resoures for your child.
My husband works in the field and for parenting he recommends The Verbal Behavior Approach (Mary Barbera) as well as No More Meltdowns (Jed Baker). He also recommends the website https://asatonline.org/
Neurotribes is an excellent book that helps you understand the misinformation out there and where it comes from. Not necessarily helpful in terms of day to day interactions, but really helpful in understanding how your son thinks differently. It gives great perspective on how different does not have to mean disabled, I cannot recommend the book enough.
I was going to recommend this one! ? Great book!
Raising Blaze
Seeing ezra by @Kerry and the bonus is she’s a great person. This book is about her son who was diagnosed with autism
Differently Wired: Raising an Exceptional Child in a Conventional World by Deborah Reber
The Reason I Jump: https://www.amazon.com/Reason-Jump-Inner-Thirteen-Year-Old-Autism/dp/081298515X
I Wish I Were Engulfed in Flames by Jeni Decker. I relate to this book so much. Its a very honest and real side of being the mother of a child on the spectrum. Reading her book impacted me a lot.