Asperger’s: ‘This is our normal’

Giulia Rhodes meets the Cook O'Tooles, a family of five who all have Asperger's syndrome

Jennifer Cook O'Toole and her husband, John, with their children Moira, Sean and Gavin: ‘My way of learning these unspoken social rules is to write them down.’ Photograph: Sarah Lee for the Guardian

Giulia Rhodes  |  The Guardian

Maura, nine, is an expert on ancient history. Her brother Sean, six, specialises in the classification of animals. Gavin, the youngest, has an encyclopaedic knowledge of Spiderman – a little less high-brow, but then he is only three.

All three like to hold forth on their chosen subjects – regardless of whether anyone else is listening or, for that matter, speaking. Family meal-times, admits their mother, Jennifer Cook O'Toole, can be quite a headache-inducing affair.

Fortunately, Jennifer and her husband, John, are not averse to delivering impassioned monologues themselves – about, respectively, the history of monarchy and astronomy – if the mood takes them.  READ MORE >>

How can I help with my child's language development?

I would just like to stress how IMPORTANT this article from the Autism Awareness Centre is. Early detection is key in dealing with Autism. If you're put on a waiting list; DON'T WAIT! TAKE ACTION ASAP.

Free image courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Perhaps you fit one of these parenting scenarios. You suspect your child has a language delay and are on a six-month waiting list for an assessment. In the meantime, you want to take affirmative action to help your child. Or maybe your child has been diagnosed with a language delay, is receiving therapy, but you want to provide additional parental support at home. There are several strategies a parent can use at home to assist in language development: following the child’s lead, balance turn taking, match what your child is doing, wait for communication, and listen to communication attempts...

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The complete article covers:

• Following the Child's Lead
• Balance Turn Taking
• Match What Your Child is Doing
• Wait for Communication
• Listen to Communication Attempts

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• Autism Screening: Simple Checklist
• Artificial Intelligence Provides Easy Autism Diagnosis in Minutes
• Detecting The Early Signs Of Autism In Infant Brains
• The Top Ten Signs of Autism You Need to Watch for in Your Infant

The Encyclopedia of Dietary Interventions by Karyn Seroussi and Lisa Lewis, PhD.

Kimberly Linderman  | The Autism File

Anyone looking to understand, implement or maintain dietary interventions will find this book incredibly helpful. Karyn Seroussi and Lisa Lewis have written an invaluable resource for your autistic child, loved one with immune system dysfunction or someone combating yeast and bacteria.

In 1995, Karyn Seroussi and Lisa Lewis created an international parent network for dietary and biomedical interventions for autism. Thirteen years later, the sum of their knowledge is here in one easy-to-reference guide. In our search to treat and recover our ASD children, we as parents learn that dietary intervention is one of the most successful and important treatments available. The difficulty has always been trying to learn, implement and maintain the diets we choose. All of the needed information is now available in this one comprehensive guide that is easy to read and understand.

This encyclopedia makes implementing dietary intervention seem like a breeze. If you feel that you do not have the time to do the research, the energy to learn the information or enough information to maintain this intervention, this resource is definitely the one for you!

Karyn Seroussi is the author of Unraveling the Mystery of Autism and PDD, which is the story of her son’s recovery through dietary and biomedical interventions.

Lisa Lewis, Ph.D is the author of Special Diets for Special Kids I & II. two of the most insightful and helpful books available on the GF/CF diets for children with disabilities.

All three of the books previously written by these two fine authors were instrumental in helping me with my son on his road to recovery. Their newest endeavor will be even more helpful and I can only imagine how valuable this comprehensive encyclopedia will be to someone who is just starting their journey.

Packed with tips, hints and strategies, The Encyclopedia of Dietary Interventions will make these diets easy to learn and understand with simple but thorough explanations. Karyn and Lisa’s newest book is a must-have resource for those new to the autism diagnosis and battle hardened veterans alike.

The Encyclopedia of Dietary Interventions
By Karyn Seroussi and Lisa Lewis, Ph.D
ISBN 978-0-615-20169-6
www.autismndi.com
Publisher: Sarpsborg Press; 1st Edition June 23, 2008

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