Book Review: Autism Life Skills by Chantal Sicile-Kira

Autism Life Skills by Chantal Sicile-Kira is an interesting read, largely because it's a combination of a memoir, an anthology of essays, and a resource guide. Readers may be captivated by the story of Sicile-Kira's autistic son, Jeremy, or by the personal stories of any of the many autistic adults and parents cited at length. On the other hand, readers are unlikely to come away from this book with a set of concrete directions for action as they prepare their own children with autism for adulthood.

Autism Life Skills is a respectful and personal book. It tells the author's own story of parenting Jeremy, a profoundly autistic young man. The story is told not only by Sicile-Kira, but also by Jeremy himself, through the use of his writing board. Autism Life Skills also cites at least 20 individuals with autism and/or their caregivers, providing an insider perspective on many aspects of daily life.

Each chapter of the book covers a huge amount of subject matter. For example, a chapter on Sensory Processing covers the topic of sensory integration and sensory dysfunction, infant sensory processing, each of the individual senses as it relates to autism, transitions, eye contact, fear and anxiety as it relates to sensory processing, sensory processing and its relationship to learning, and a variety of what are termed "practical tips." In addition, the chapter includes first-person accounts from the author and several prominent adults with autism.

Not surprisingly, a reader can get a bit overwhelmed and confused -- and, even with the "practical tips" carefully marked, it can be tough to find takeaway messages that can be usefully implemented. In the safety chapter, for example, practical tips are quite general -- recommending that children and teens with autism receive instruction in social skills and sexuality, but not providing specifics of how such instruction might be implemented.

For parents interested in hearing what it's really like to grow up with autism, or in reading a compassionate and intelligent memoir of bringing up a child with autism, Autism Life Skills is a fine choice. For those looking for a clear, practical guide for action in teaching life skills, though, this book may not be an ideal selection.