The Bottom Line
Pros
- Solid, comprehensive content
- Easy-to implement strategies
- Copyable checklists and activity pages
- Addresses a broad range of needs and abilities
Cons
- Complex structure makes it hard to find information quickly
- Bound format makes copying checklists, etc. very tough
- Information too broad ranging for any one readership
Description
- Handbook for parents and teachers of autistic children.
- Includes information, lesson plans, activities, tips and ideas.
- Is divided into "school" and "home" sections.
Guide Review - Book Review: Autism in the School-Aged Child
Autism in the School-Aged Child is a broad, deep resource that's filled to the brim with great ideas and implementable strategies for parents and teachers. Its content ranges from an overview of autism to hands-on lesson plans complete with checklists and reproducibles to hints and tips for going on vacation with your autistic child.While I was truly impressed by the quality of information in the book, I found it tough to dig through the dense format to get to materials that might be immediately useful at any given moment. What's more, I was torn between the idea of saving the book for myself -- or handing it over to my son's teacher. That's because the book's audience is neither parent nor teacher -- but both.
Author Carol Schmidt explains her reasoning as follows: "I wanted to build continuity between home and school. I wanted a book that a parent could bring to a teacher, or that a teacher could bring to a parent. The idea is that the best outcome is achieved when there is great teamwork in the educational process."
While these are terrific goals, I suspect that this book would be best used by a homeschooling parent -- or by a parent willing to photocopy out activities for a wonderfully supportive and flexible teacher!
