Friday, July 24, 2009

#15 Am I the Only One?

I am cleaning out/up my library and have a stack of books on autism THAT I'VE NEVER READ!!! Yikes, there are five books just waiting to be read, two of which I bought in the last two months and promptly forgot about. A year ago, I donated and threw away a bunch of pamplets and crap (much of which all said the same things, over and over). I just keep collecting.

The irony that I am writing a book on autism to be added to the PILE of autism books available right now is not lost on me at the moment.

What sort of answers am I looking for in all these books? Is one of them hiding a crystal ball that will show me Jack's future?

What's your feeling about autism books? Which ones do you like and why? Which ones do you read a chapter or two and stop? What do you want in a book?

5 comments:

maiahs_momma said...

I feel that a lot of the books out there are great, but at the same time I feel they are missing something:

1) they are not written in Canada (where I live), don't cover laws or help that can be found in Canada

2) Would even be nice if there was advice for those of us who can't seem to get dr's to believe us the parents there is something wrong. When all other specialists tell you your child is on the spectrum.

3) they don't tell you really how to get through each day, how to cope as a family

4) there isn't really anything out there for the siblings that is up to date and current.

I would have to say that the books you recommended on this blog are good...will let you know of others once I get them back from my hubbies Aunt who is reading them :p.

Hugs,
Catherine
www.mystampinggrounds.blogspot.com

Sharon (Stitches on Mars) said...

I must admit I've got a couple of "to read" books. I found I got to a point where I couldn't read any more. The spectrum is so wifde and varied it can be difficult to get the appropriate information. The most successful books for me have been others real life journeys. The first book I read was "Smiling at Shadows" which was great as it gave me a less confronting in to autism while I was still dealing with the diagnosis. It was also good from the point of view that they lived in my area of the world. Though I have also enjoyed "A Friend like Henry" and Temple Grandin's (autobiography), particularly because she has ASD.
Catherine is right though, there is little help on just getting through the day, and specialists are often reluctant to give advice or pass on information they "believe" you are not ready for.
Hugs,

tinamarie said...

When Tony was first diagnosed I bought several books also. I read them all eventually and then gave away almost all of them to other parents of newly diagnosed children.
I did learn ALOT from those books and they helped me a great deal in accepting Autism.

Anonymous said...

Susan,
my son is 17 now, so I haven't really read any books on autism lately. The last thing I read was a magazine called "The Autism File". There were some interesting articles for me regarding GI issues, special diets etc. My son is non verbal and has gone through some stressful times (GI related).
I wanted to tell you,too, how great it is that you are writing this blog. I accidentally stumbled upon it, I have seen a lot of your great stamping work on SCS. My screen name there is phc64.
Petra

Canadian Kristin said...

The one and only book about autism that I've read through is "Sam and David" by a Mom with 3 sons, 2 who are autistic and in different places on the spectrum. What I read in that book, and what I loved about that book, is that a)it's written by a Mom living it; b)her advice was that each kid on the spectrum IS different, so do what is best or realistic for your kid and your family. Guilt-free, supportive, it's do-able. That's what I'm looking for in a book. I like your blog because it is guilt-free, supportive, and you are living with autism and haven't self-imploded. That's awesome and very encouraging! [smile]