Voices from the Spectrum

[call me jaded]

Voices from the Spectrum: Parents, Grandparents, Siblings,

People with Autism, and Professionals Share Their Wisdom

 

Edited by Cindy N. Ariel and Robert A. Naseef

Published by jessica Kingsley Publishing, London

 

Voices from the Spectrum is a compelling collection of personal

accounts from people on the autism spectrum and those who care for

them, including professionals, friends and family members from

several countries. The essays in this collection tell of both the

positive and negative effects of autism on individuals and families,

and pose the question: is a diagnosis on the autism spectrum a

puzzle to be solved, or something to be embraced and accepted?

The broad scope of this book presents insights into the autism

spectrum from many different perspectives - from first-hand accounts

of the autistic child's school and childhood experiences to parents'

and grandparents' reactions to a diagnosis. A number of chapters

written by professionals explain their motivations for working with

autistic people and reveal what they have learned from their work

and how it has affected their lives. The contributors describe

experiences of autism from the mildest to the most severe case, and

share their methods of adapting to life on the spectrum.

Voices from the Spectrum will appeal to a wide readership of adults

and younger people on the autism spectrum, their families and

friends, as well as practitioners.

 

Contents:

 

Introduction

 

PART I: Raising a Child on the Autism Spectrum.

 

1. The Ride for Autism: A Community Gets in Gear to Help Solve the

Puzzle, Andrew Abere.

2. The Tree's on Fire: Voicing Experience, Marc Biondo.

3. Perspectives, Maribel Danta.

4. Facing the Pain of Autism-and Surviving, Nicholas Dixon.

5. Happy Days with my Daughter, Sheryle Dixon.

6. Through the Looking Glass, Phil Dougherty.

7. My Will, Margaret Janger Flynn.

8. Jenius, Nayma Glenn

9. School Days, Heidi J. Graff.

10. You Never Know, Nancy Ironside.

11. Talk to Me, My Darling, Rosemary Johann-Liang.

12. Our Lives at the Edge of the Spectrum, Elizabeth Lipp.

13. Pulling String, Irene Litherland.

14. Still the Same Boy, Mary Marmion.

15. Stump the Cook, Lauren Goldman Marshall.

16. Taking the Bag Off, Shelley Milhous.

17. Truth: The Parents' Spectrum, John Nelson.

18. Listening to Macord, Eric Peter.

19. Parallel Worlds, Antonia Rowland.

20. The Question, Shelley Stolaroff Segal.

21. Simply Perfect, Tanya Stanley.

22. On the Wings of Asperger's, Carol Anne Swett.

23. Learning to Embrace the `A' Word, Elaine Tarutis.

24. On Eating Biscuits: Life with Autism, Eileen Teyssou.

25. Katie's Question, Lauren Yaffe.

 

PART II: The Grandparents' Connection.

26. Barefooted Band-Aid Boy, Patricia E. Gardocki.

27. Lap Time, Dan Gottlieb.

28. An Unexpected Gift of Love, Oscar and Sally Olson.

29. A Grandmother's Story, Elizabeth Nedler.

30. Come with Me, Grandma, Frances S. Rosenfield.

PART III: The Sibling Experience.

31. An Unexpected Blessing, Kimberly M. Bittner.

32. Growing Up with Bradley, Stephanie Coyle.

33. Living Life, Katherine Flaschen.

34. Their Sound has Gone Out, Susan Ironside.

35. Why Am I So Resentful? Lydia Liang.

36. My Brother.Ahhhhhhhh! Zo� Naseef.

 

PART IV: Diagnosed on the Spectrum.

37. No! You Don't Understand, Beth Adler.

38. It Never Rains. Simon Brodie.

39. .It Pours, Sarah Brodie.

40. Melt(d)ing Down, Rauidhri Finn.

41. Relativity, Auriela van Hulsteyn (Finn's spouse).

42. Essay on Autism, Heidi Kunisch.

43. The way we think, Roger N. Meyer.

44. The Chains of Friendship: An Autistic Person's Perspective on

Interpersonal Relationships, Alex Mont.

45. Jordan's Gift, Todd Schmidt.

46. The Importance of Parents in the Success of People with Autism,

Stephen Shore.

47. Culture, Conditions and Personhood: A Response by Donna Williams

to the Cure Autism Debate, Donna Williams.

 

Part V: Working on the Spectrum.

48. A Sound from Kuwait, Samira Al-Saad.

49. Learning from Oliver, Margaret Anderson.

50. Closet Case: Finding the Way Out, Cindy N. Ariel.

51. The Wizard of Echolalia, Gerard Costa.

52. Two Autistic Children - A World of Difference, Pim Donkersloot

(translated by Jill Adler-Donkersloot).

53. Life as a Cooking Pot, Anne Marie Gallagher.

54. Moving to the Heart of the Matter, Gayle Gates.

55. Circle of Devotion, Trish Miron.

56. Playing with Hudson, Eric R. Mitchell.

57. The Path of Acceptance for Families, Robert Naseef.

58. The Challenges of Autism: An Introspection, Bertram Ruttenberg.

59. No Looking Back, Fiona Scott.

60. Spiderman at Mini-Camp, Lillilan N. Stiegler.

Appendix of recommended books and web sites.

[UltraMum]

That looks really good - I've got some money from my birthday - might treat myself.

[Brook]

It certainly does sound good, it covers alot of areas.

 

Thanks

 

Brook

[Zemanski]

I like it

 

must finish it sometime though

 

Zemanski

[Zemanski]

Having said I like it, I picked it up again and the next passage I read was from someone who thinks they have 2 different children - the boy with autism and the boy without - so I thought a warning was due

 

this is mostly american and quite a few parent stories are ABA/cure biased - but, given that, there are some interesting perspectives and some good information about how people deal with issues in different ways.

 

One thing that I did find very interesting was a pair of passages written by the father and mother of a child respectively - they were talking about the same child and yet had such very different feelings and approaches.

 

I like the sections by siblings and autistic people best - but you have to wade through parents and grandparents to get to them.

 

Zemanski

[Guest hallyscomet]

bumping

[summertime]

thanks, I'll defiantly be ordering this one

[Rachelp2]

I would reccomend this book to everyone!

 

The stories are short essay's but each one really get's the point across and are a brilliant read.

 

Would be good to also lend to Grandparents and other family members who are needing to be a bit more educated!

 

I got this book to add to my collection as a gift and what a great, appreciated gift this was...Thanks mum!!!