Next book

OUT OF AUTISM

A well-presented, valuable resource for parents and educators.

Awards & Accolades

Our Verdict

  • Our Verdict
  • GET IT

This guide presents a framework for how young people on the autism spectrum can develop a sense of self and become fully integrated into society.

Cathy Dodge Smith (Autism Spectrum Disorder and Traumatic Incident Reduction, 2015), the founding president of the Davis Dyslexia and Autism Facilitators’ Association of Canada, has an autistic son and grandson. Ronald D. Davis, who struggled with dyslexia and autism into adulthood, drew on his experiences to develop the Davis Autism Approach Program in 2008.  People with autism have problems with social relationships, communication skills, and repetitive behaviors, the author writes. They also perceive everyday phenomena as “Unusual Sensory Experiences,” as when a vacuum cleaner provokes a panic reaction. The Davis Autism Approach, led by a licensed facilitator, is conducted in one-week blocks and in three basic stages. First, patients must become oriented and stable—able to follow directions and learn through the senses. For the severely impaired, Davis prescribes a natural orientation inducing tool, which emits a regular “ting” sound to promote focus. A second step is identity development, fueled by the theories of Erik Erikson and Jean Piaget and focused on helping patients understand emotions, desires, and responsibilities. The program relies heavily on clever clay models that represent the self and others and their interactions to explain abstract concepts like cause and effect. The final step is social integration, which helps patients with listening, taking turns, and discerning what behavior is appropriate in different contexts. In this user-friendly guide, the author explains these steps and strategies in lucid prose, including plenty of case studies that show the approach in action. Her own son, Desmond Smith, who has autism and is now a Davis facilitator, recounts how he learned to adjust to life’s changes. The photographs  of the clay models that he and Kelly shot make it easier for readers to picture how Davis’ ideas might be put into practice, and a final section of further case studies from patients and their parents is ample testimony to the program’s success. The key, the author believes, is that this system doesn’t command specific behaviors; instead, it teaches the reasoning behind them.

A well-presented, valuable resource for parents and educators.

Pub Date: May 3, 2018

ISBN: 978-1-5255-1695-5

Page Count: 222

Publisher: FriesenPress

Review Posted Online: Aug. 24, 2018

Categories:
Next book

NUTCRACKER

This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)

Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996

ISBN: 0-15-100227-4

Page Count: 136

Publisher: Harcourt

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996

Categories:
Next book

TO THE ONE I LOVE THE BEST

EPISODES FROM THE LIFE OF LADY MENDL (ELSIE DE WOLFE)

An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.

Pub Date: Feb. 23, 1955

ISBN: 0670717797

Page Count: -

Publisher: Viking

Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2011

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1955

Categories:
Close Quickview