Wednesday, 06 June 2012

• Book Review: What I Wish I’d Known About Raising a Child with Autism

  

  What I Wish I’d Known About Raising a Child with Autism: A Mom and a Psychologist Offer Heartfelt Guidance for the First Five Years by Bobbi Sheahan and Kathy DeOrnellas, Ph.D.

  Bravo to authors Bobbi Sheahan and Kathy DeOrnellas, Ph.D. in achieving what they set out to do. Write a book to assure those who love and care for an individual on the autism spectrum that life goes on; it doesn’t have to be all depressing, hard work.

  If you are an educator, or know a family with an autistic child, this book is also for you because you will understand the challenges these families face. Their book, What I Wish I’d Known About Raising a Child with Autism: A Mom and a Psychologist Offer Heartfelt Guidance for the First Five Years, should bring hope and encouragement to all who know, love, and work with children who have autism (ASD) and bring understanding and compassion to others… hopefully those standing in line with you at the checkout counters.  

  Bobbi Sheahan, the young mom, writes that parents are not in a position to fix, to cure, and to change their autistic child. That the longer she lives with her daughter, Grace, the more ways she finds to work with her child’s challenges. The authors share these ways so you too can go on with enjoying life in a new and different way.  The authors’ main point is to convince parents that they can’t handle this alone. They need a personal support system and professional guidance. Bobbi writes about the importance to have the right tools in our arsenal: experience, training, and reading. Their book, What I Wish I’d Known About Raising a Child with Autism: A Mom and a Psychologist Offer Heartfelt Guidance for the First Five Years, is one of the reading tools you will need.

  What do the authors cover in their resourceful book? All aspects of raising a child and they do so in a very entertaining way by braiding humor with their advice and comments. These are but a few of the numerous topics they touch:

  • Small disruptions to her routine can rock her world as though she’s being evacuated for a hurricane.

  • My child isn’t being a high-maintenance eater just to annoy me. I have to be clever and persistent about this.

  • You know how your toddler climbs on the table and trashes stuff? Just don’t expect that to end, and you’ll be fine.
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  A second tool in your arsenal should be experience, before you gain your own rely on Bobbi and Dr. DeOrnellas’s combined expertise and experience. Autism entails both disability and giftedness. They show us how our happiness or misery in life comes from how we’ve set our expectations. Bobbi reminds us that in the thick of the treatments, schedules, and accommodations, it is easy to forget that you are building the foundation on which your child with autism can stand, will grow, and take her place in the world.

  Dr. DeOrnellas also cannot emphasize enough that parents, even if they are the experts on their child, must reach out and establish a support system. The professionals know more about autism than the parents and they have seen LOTS of kids with autism; therefore they can point out some things parents are too close to see. She tells the reader that other parents are hungry to share their experience and help share your load.

  Join Bobbi Sheahan and Lorna d’Entremont  Monday, Nov.21st at 9:00 a.m. EST for The Coffee Klatch Tweetchat Topic: The struggles of special needs families.

  
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