Hello Everyone,
This month’s BLOG will continue the opportunity to view my slideshow GALLERY of Books and focus on the offered Extended Book Reviews. The slideshow shows the book covers, divided into the following categories ~
AMAZING ADVENTURES
DIAGNOSIS, DOCTORS, DENIAL
SAVVY SOLUTIONS
SCHOOL ON THE SHORT BUS
Hopefully, these stories will help parents, clinicians, academics, and all people #Autism, in connecting with those who have gone before us on their Autism Journey. This April's 2025 BLOG will continue to give snippets of my Extended Book Reviews; find full Extended Book Reviews on the website MENU; along with a LINK to purchase the eBook. You will find each Autism story to be engaging, compelling, and as different as each family's Autism journey.
From the Category – SAVVY SOLUTIONS. Read my full Extended Book Review, with < My Thoughts > by Sara Luker; plus, LINKs to eBooks, on this website, www.sarasautismsite.com.
This month’s BLOG will continue the opportunity to view my slideshow GALLERY of Books and focus on the offered Extended Book Reviews. The slideshow shows the book covers, divided into the following categories ~
AMAZING ADVENTURES
DIAGNOSIS, DOCTORS, DENIAL
SAVVY SOLUTIONS
SCHOOL ON THE SHORT BUS
Hopefully, these stories will help parents, clinicians, academics, and all people #Autism, in connecting with those who have gone before us on their Autism Journey. This April's 2025 BLOG will continue to give snippets of my Extended Book Reviews; find full Extended Book Reviews on the website MENU; along with a LINK to purchase the eBook. You will find each Autism story to be engaging, compelling, and as different as each family's Autism journey.
From the Category – SAVVY SOLUTIONS. Read my full Extended Book Review, with < My Thoughts > by Sara Luker; plus, LINKs to eBooks, on this website, www.sarasautismsite.com.
Knowing Autism by Lorca Damon (2012). Extended Book Review with < My Thoughts > by Sara Luker
< My Thoughts > From cover to cover Lorca’s book is full of questions and answers to sensitive issues which you may not find in other places.
Excerpts from the book – (1% indicates location in the Kindle version of the book, instead of page numbers).
Excerpt from the Introduction by Lorca Damon –
1% The idea for this (second) book came about because every time I mention my autistic daughter to someone, the response is the same: “Oh, I know someone with autism.”
I wrote my first book about autism, Autism By Hand, because I couldn’t find any practical day-to-day information on raising my autistic daughter Carrie. I read everything I could get my hands on, but all of it was theoretical or scientific; even worse were a few books written by parents who swung widely to both ends of the emotional spectrum.
12% There cannot be an excuse to NOT plan for a future. I personally do not believe there is a pill or a protocol or a diet that will make Carrie wake up tomorrow being “normal,” but I also can’t write her off as a child who will never become anything and say she won’t have a full life ahead of her.
13% …I certainly don’t waste a lot of time trying to make her become normal. …I do spend a lot of time trying to prepare her to live in the real world when she is older...
I want her to grow up to have a job that she enjoys, not some menial task in a sheltered workshop that wastes her really sharp mind.
I want her to be as independent as she can be, because it means the transition to the group home she will probably live in will be a lot less painful for both of us. I want her to be able to form relationships…
But she can’t do any of those things if I don’t make her adapt to a world that is very different from the one she would like to retreat to inside her head.
Now that autism is here, and is here to stay, there is no point in wasting Carrie’s life by pretending that it is a good thing or that it is where she has to stay for the rest of her life.
Hall, E. (2016) said that her son Neal’s teacher was heard to say – “I don’t want a boy like that in my class.” She goes on to say that this lack of understanding is sad for so many reasons.
There is this myth that children with autism don't have empathy. I've found the exact opposite to be true. When Neal stared intensely at his hand, we stared at ours. When Neal pounded the floor, we brought out drums and pounded with him. When my son, Neal, stopped to look at the hubcap of a car parked along the street, I stopped to look too. Kneeling down, what I see is the most beautiful thing; the sun falling on a hubcap creates a kaleidoscope of brilliant, shining shards of light. It is magical. That day I grew in compassion and understanding.
22% …when faced with my daughter…
Do you know about Carrie’s diet and which foods are forbidden on the GFCF diet for autism?
Note: For further information on ‘Gluten-Free-Casein-Free (GFCF)’ go to MENU for Know Autism, Know Your Child with < My Thoughts > by Sara Luker. Read online here, under – UNIT 7 - 0 Who May Help? Chapter 3 OTHER THERAPIES; Section 3: Introduction, Medication & Dietary Approaches.
Do you know how she indicates she has to use the bathroom? Do you know if she can even use the bathroom by herself?
23% If you don’t feel comfortable around an autistic child, you have two choices: educate yourself so you can get comfortable, or avoid being left alone with that child.
53% … Carrie cannot process the word NO. Here’s why. NO means a permanent condition, something that will never take place. It took us YEARS to figure this out.
< My Thoughts > “… Carrie cannot process the word NO.”
Many children with autism have not achieved the developmental milestone of ‘object permanence.’ In other words, if something or someone is removed from the visual field…it is gone forever. The child does not look for it in another place or peek around the corner…because ‘it’ is gone, NEVER to return, in their present perception.
Think about achieving ‘object permanence’ as meaning that the child knows mom is just out of sight for a moment, in the other room. She will reappear with a fresh bottle of milk or a cookie. He/she knows this. But when a child with autism loses a toy or puzzle piece they may tantrum because they are NOT secure in the knowledge that the loss is a temporary situation. Neither do they remember that last time similar things turned out okay.
53% NO means the thing she requested is NEVER GOING TO HAPPEN. I wish I could have back all of the years of her early childhood that were spent wiping her tears and snot and prying her sobbing body off the floor, all because I didn’t know this about her. It’s also true for a lot of other autistic children.
This strategy works with everything we do involving Carrie. “I want my snack,” is answered with, “Yes, you can have your snack in thirty minutes.” (…or after whatever I want her to do).
How much more pleasant was that exchange than one involving me telling a child, “NO, it’s not time for snack,” and the resulting tantrum?
86% The people she knows are not where they belong. It’s disorienting and upsetting to see people in the wrong context, even if they are family members or very close friends.
98% We still have so much to learn about autism, but the great thing is we are learning those important things at an incredible rate. There has never been a better time to be an autistic person because of the more widespread knowledge and recognition, even from average people on the street, but especially from the people who matter most in the person’s life.
99% Even if you didn’t learn all you needed to from this book, you took a step in the right direction by even feeling like you should read it and now, when that mother has to let her child loose into the world, there will be people like you around him on a daily basis to help him be as successful as he can be.
< My Thoughts > “...as successful as he can be.”
Hopefully you will fill your child’s life with people who will know them and help them to feel successful, when you turn them loose into the world.
REFERENCE:
Hall, E. (2016). It Takes A Child. Retrieved online from –
https://the-art-of-autism.com/it-takes-a-child-elaine-hall/
End of excerpts from Lorca Damon’s book.
Thank you for reading and sharing my BLOGs. Comments are welcomed, to be viewed and answered privately. My goal is to assist families, clinicians, educators, and all people ‘autism’, to continue their journey on the Autism Highway. At the end of each website Extended Book Review, please find a source to have the whole book to read.
Regards,
Sara Luker
Paid Link Disclosure -
These Extended Book Reviews have an Amazon Link for actual book purchases. Please read this Paid Link Disclosure AKA Affiliate Links Disclosure:
Sometimes there are paid links, also known as affiliate links, used on this site. My website, www.sarasautismsite.com, is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. This is an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.
I may earn or receive a small paid commission from referrals for book purchases made through posts, pages, and links on this site. But I try to remain unbiased and I do not accept paid reviews. All opinions expressed here are my own.
There is no extra cost to you when purchases are made using the provided links. By using the links I provide you agree that you’ve read this paid link disclosure statement.
Thank you!
Sara Luker
< My Thoughts > From cover to cover Lorca’s book is full of questions and answers to sensitive issues which you may not find in other places.
Excerpts from the book – (1% indicates location in the Kindle version of the book, instead of page numbers).
Excerpt from the Introduction by Lorca Damon –
1% The idea for this (second) book came about because every time I mention my autistic daughter to someone, the response is the same: “Oh, I know someone with autism.”
I wrote my first book about autism, Autism By Hand, because I couldn’t find any practical day-to-day information on raising my autistic daughter Carrie. I read everything I could get my hands on, but all of it was theoretical or scientific; even worse were a few books written by parents who swung widely to both ends of the emotional spectrum.
12% There cannot be an excuse to NOT plan for a future. I personally do not believe there is a pill or a protocol or a diet that will make Carrie wake up tomorrow being “normal,” but I also can’t write her off as a child who will never become anything and say she won’t have a full life ahead of her.
13% …I certainly don’t waste a lot of time trying to make her become normal. …I do spend a lot of time trying to prepare her to live in the real world when she is older...
I want her to grow up to have a job that she enjoys, not some menial task in a sheltered workshop that wastes her really sharp mind.
I want her to be as independent as she can be, because it means the transition to the group home she will probably live in will be a lot less painful for both of us. I want her to be able to form relationships…
But she can’t do any of those things if I don’t make her adapt to a world that is very different from the one she would like to retreat to inside her head.
Now that autism is here, and is here to stay, there is no point in wasting Carrie’s life by pretending that it is a good thing or that it is where she has to stay for the rest of her life.
Hall, E. (2016) said that her son Neal’s teacher was heard to say – “I don’t want a boy like that in my class.” She goes on to say that this lack of understanding is sad for so many reasons.
There is this myth that children with autism don't have empathy. I've found the exact opposite to be true. When Neal stared intensely at his hand, we stared at ours. When Neal pounded the floor, we brought out drums and pounded with him. When my son, Neal, stopped to look at the hubcap of a car parked along the street, I stopped to look too. Kneeling down, what I see is the most beautiful thing; the sun falling on a hubcap creates a kaleidoscope of brilliant, shining shards of light. It is magical. That day I grew in compassion and understanding.
22% …when faced with my daughter…
Do you know about Carrie’s diet and which foods are forbidden on the GFCF diet for autism?
Note: For further information on ‘Gluten-Free-Casein-Free (GFCF)’ go to MENU for Know Autism, Know Your Child with < My Thoughts > by Sara Luker. Read online here, under – UNIT 7 - 0 Who May Help? Chapter 3 OTHER THERAPIES; Section 3: Introduction, Medication & Dietary Approaches.
Do you know how she indicates she has to use the bathroom? Do you know if she can even use the bathroom by herself?
23% If you don’t feel comfortable around an autistic child, you have two choices: educate yourself so you can get comfortable, or avoid being left alone with that child.
53% … Carrie cannot process the word NO. Here’s why. NO means a permanent condition, something that will never take place. It took us YEARS to figure this out.
< My Thoughts > “… Carrie cannot process the word NO.”
Many children with autism have not achieved the developmental milestone of ‘object permanence.’ In other words, if something or someone is removed from the visual field…it is gone forever. The child does not look for it in another place or peek around the corner…because ‘it’ is gone, NEVER to return, in their present perception.
Think about achieving ‘object permanence’ as meaning that the child knows mom is just out of sight for a moment, in the other room. She will reappear with a fresh bottle of milk or a cookie. He/she knows this. But when a child with autism loses a toy or puzzle piece they may tantrum because they are NOT secure in the knowledge that the loss is a temporary situation. Neither do they remember that last time similar things turned out okay.
53% NO means the thing she requested is NEVER GOING TO HAPPEN. I wish I could have back all of the years of her early childhood that were spent wiping her tears and snot and prying her sobbing body off the floor, all because I didn’t know this about her. It’s also true for a lot of other autistic children.
This strategy works with everything we do involving Carrie. “I want my snack,” is answered with, “Yes, you can have your snack in thirty minutes.” (…or after whatever I want her to do).
How much more pleasant was that exchange than one involving me telling a child, “NO, it’s not time for snack,” and the resulting tantrum?
86% The people she knows are not where they belong. It’s disorienting and upsetting to see people in the wrong context, even if they are family members or very close friends.
98% We still have so much to learn about autism, but the great thing is we are learning those important things at an incredible rate. There has never been a better time to be an autistic person because of the more widespread knowledge and recognition, even from average people on the street, but especially from the people who matter most in the person’s life.
99% Even if you didn’t learn all you needed to from this book, you took a step in the right direction by even feeling like you should read it and now, when that mother has to let her child loose into the world, there will be people like you around him on a daily basis to help him be as successful as he can be.
< My Thoughts > “...as successful as he can be.”
Hopefully you will fill your child’s life with people who will know them and help them to feel successful, when you turn them loose into the world.
REFERENCE:
Hall, E. (2016). It Takes A Child. Retrieved online from –
https://the-art-of-autism.com/it-takes-a-child-elaine-hall/
End of excerpts from Lorca Damon’s book.
Thank you for reading and sharing my BLOGs. Comments are welcomed, to be viewed and answered privately. My goal is to assist families, clinicians, educators, and all people ‘autism’, to continue their journey on the Autism Highway. At the end of each website Extended Book Review, please find a source to have the whole book to read.
Regards,
Sara Luker
Paid Link Disclosure -
These Extended Book Reviews have an Amazon Link for actual book purchases. Please read this Paid Link Disclosure AKA Affiliate Links Disclosure:
Sometimes there are paid links, also known as affiliate links, used on this site. My website, www.sarasautismsite.com, is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. This is an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.
I may earn or receive a small paid commission from referrals for book purchases made through posts, pages, and links on this site. But I try to remain unbiased and I do not accept paid reviews. All opinions expressed here are my own.
There is no extra cost to you when purchases are made using the provided links. By using the links I provide you agree that you’ve read this paid link disclosure statement.
Thank you!
Sara Luker
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