Required Reading (or at least it should be)

Here are some books that might be helpful for anyone dealing with autism.  The first three are written by Temple Grandin, a scientist with a Ph.D. who happens to be autistic.  The fourth is written by her mother, talking about the challenge of raising an autistic child in the 50s, before autism was as exposed as it is now.  The last two are general information books that may be helpful to anyone raising a child with autism or Asperger's.

The Way I See It: A Personal Look at Autism and Asperger’s by Temple Grandin     $ 9.29

In this innovative book, Dr. Temple Grandin gets down to the REAL issues of autism, the ones parents, teachers, and individuals on the spectrum face every day. Temple offers helpful do’s and don’ts, practical strategies, and try-it-now tips, all based on her “insider” perspective and a great deal of research. These are just some of the specific topics Temple delves into:

    How and Why People with Autism Think Differently

    Economical Early Intervention Programs that Work

    How Sensory Sensitivities Affect Learning

    Behaviors Caused by a Disability vs. Just Bad Behaviors

    Teaching People with Autism to Live in an Unpredictable World

    Alternative Medicine vs. Conventional Medicine

    Employment Ideas for Adults with Autism

Thinking in Pictures: My Life with Autism by Temple Grandin    $ 8.86

Temple Grandin, Ph.D., is a gifted animal scientist who has designed one-third of all the livestock-handling facilities in the United States. She also lectures widely on autism--because Temple Grandin is autistic, a woman who thinks, feels, and experiences the world in ways that are incomprehensible to the rest of us.

In this unprecedented book, Grandin delivers a report from the country of autism. Writing from the dual perspectives of a scientist and an autistic person, she tells us how that country is experienced by its inhabitants and how she managed to breach its boundaries to function in the outside world. What emerges in Thinking in Pictures is the document of an extraordinary human being, one who, in gracefully and lucidly bridging the gulf between her condition and our own, sheds light on the riddle of our common identity.

Emergence, Labeled Autistic: A True Story by Temple Grandin     $ 8.88

A true story that is both uniquely moving and exceptionally inspiring, Emergence is the first-hand account of a courageous autistic woman who beat the odds and cured herself. As a child, Temple Grandin was forced to leave her "normal" school and enroll in a school for autistic children. This searingly honest account captures the isolation and fears suffered by autistics and their families and the quiet strength of one woman who insisted on a miracle.

A Thorn in my Pocket: Temple Grandin’s Mother Tells the Family Story by Eustacia Cutler    $19.96

A Thorn in My Pocket is Eustacia Cutler's story of raising her daughter, Temple Grandin, in the conservative Leave-it-to-Beaver world of the fifties, a time when children with autism were routinely diagnosed as "infant schizophrenics" and banished to institutions. She tells of her fight to keep Temple in the mainstream of family, community, and school life, how Temple responded and went on to succeed, as Ms. Cutler puts it, "beyond my wildest dreams." Ms. Cutler also explores the nature of the autism disorder as doctors understand it today, and how its predominant characteristics reflect our own traits in an exaggerated form.

How to Teach Life Skills to Kids with Autism or Asperger’s by Jennifer McIlwee Meyers    $17.92

No matter how high-functioning children with autism or Asperger's may be, they are going to have trouble as adults if they lack skills such as personal hygiene or multi-tasking. Enter Jennifer McIlwee Myers, Aspie at Large. Co-author of the groundbreaking book Asperger's and Girls, Jennifer's personal experience with Asperger's Syndrome and having a brother with autism makes her perspective doubly insightful. From basic skills such as domestic chores, dressing for success, and being polite, to abstract concepts like time management and task-switching, Jennifer's straightforward and humorous delivery will keep parents, teachers, and therapists turning the page for the next creative solution.

1001 Great Ideas for Teaching and Raising Children with Autism or Asperger’s/Edition 2     $14.45

Winner of a Teachers’ Choice Award, the first edition of this book has already become a bestseller throughout the autism community. Now, in this expanded edition, authors Ellen Notbohm (best-selling author of the revolutionary book Ten Things Every Child with Autism Wishes You Knew) and Veronica Zysk (award-winning author, and editor of Autism Asperger's Digest magazine) have added over 400 new ideas, which are complimented by a new layout specially designed to enhance the readers’ experience. With this book, parents and professionals can bypass countless hours spent seeking answers to the mystifying day-to-day challenges of autism.