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 DIAGNOSIS, DOCTORS, DENIAL. 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 DIAGNOSIS, DOCTORS, DENIAL. Read my full Extended Book Review, with < My Thoughts > by Sara Luker; plus, LINKs to eBooks, on this website, www.sarasautismsite.com.
The Journey to Normal: Our Family’s Life with Autism by I.D. Johnson (2014). Extended Review with < My Thoughts > by Sara Luker
Excerpts from the book – (2% indicates location in the Kindle version of the book, instead of page numbers).
Excerpts from the book by I.D. Johnson.
2% No one ever expects their first child to be born with differences. As a mother, it is certainly something I considered, something I worried about, but never something I actually expected to confront.
3% I work as a Reading Interventionist and a Response to Intervention Coordinator in elementary school. Every day, I work with students who struggle academically and/or socially. I have had experiences with children with all sorts of disabilities, to intellectual disabilities, to autism.
6% Discovering your child may be autistic often comes in the most subtle ways. It’s in the little things. When your two-year-old doesn’t look at you when you enter a room. When your three-year-old still isn’t speaking in intelligible, complete sentences. When everyone else’s children are playing together, and she is under a tree, digging for who knows what. When a frustrated teenage swimming instructor says, “Lady, I think there’s something wrong with your kid.” That’s when you start to realize.
T7% Then, Sophie started pre-school. The differences in Sophie were apparent immediately to the staff, particularly the director. …but some of the things they said Sophie “couldn’t” or “wouldn’t” do at school, she was doing at home.
8% The teachers were very concerned and my concern was growing by the minute. And yet, still, I waited. I was pregnant with Ariel, Sophie’s little sister. I was working a lot. These are the excuses I used.
10% In fact, of the four areas they tested in, Sophie qualified in two of them and almost a third. She was behind in her social skills, as far as interacting with other children and adults.
And then they threw the number at me that made me stop breathing.
…cognitively, she (Sophie) is eleven months behind. I had to ask for clarification. My child was very bright. She could sort objects by color. She could problem-solve like no other two-year-old I’d ever known…
10% The assessment they had administered was called the Performance Assessment for Language Students, (PALS). They admitted that the test was heavy on the oral language skills, and it is possible that she could be just fine cognitively, but the test indicated that she wasn’t.
They said that most of the scores were based on her (Sophie’s) ability to answer questions and sing songs, recite nursery rhymes, etc. I said, “But she can’t talk.” She was cognitively behind because she couldn’t sing “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star,” tell them her name or which picture was cookie.
< My Thoughts > "...(PALS)..."
“The assessment they had administered was called the Performance Assessment for Language Students, or PALS. They admitted that the test was heavy on the oral language skills, and it is possible that she could be just fine cognitively, but the test indicated that she wasn’t.”
As a teacher and student of what’s out there, I was surprised that the professionals administered the PALS test. I just seemed to me that there would have been more appropriate assessments for the first time out with a non-verbal child.
Note: For further information on ‘Assessments’, go to MENU for Know Autism, Know Your Child with < My Thoughts > by Sara Luker. Read online here, under UNIT 2 – Why Is It Autism? CHAPTER 1 Diagnosis & DSM-5, APPENDIX A Screening Assessments.
28% Sophie started off by “tasting” a few of her friends. However, it was determined pretty quickly by the school psychologist that this was a sensory issue, not Sophie intentionally harming others. There seemed to be a lot of evidence pointing toward a sensory integration disorder, which may have actually been a major issue all along. In fact, some of the experts on her team thought that it could be sensory integration disorder and not autism causing Sophie’s differences.
< My Thoughts > “...tasting a few of her friends.”
As a teacher, in one of my first autism classes, I sat at a table with an eight-year-old student. I reached in front of him to pick up something from the table. As I did, he reached for me, pulling my underarm into his mouth. That bite mark was there for a month.
As a grandmother, I explained to my granddaughter that her infant brother was putting everything in his mouth as a way to 'learn' about it. A few days later, my granddaughter yelled, "Grandma, come quick, brother is learning about my hair!"
Farmer, J. & Rupert, A. (2013) talk about a program that helps parents understand how autism is “a different kind of normal”. This program is all about ‘understanding’. “Understanding the nature of autism and the communication, social, sensory, play, and thinking issues pertinent to ASD.” “Understanding the difficult behaviors and how to develop a practical set of strategies.”
“Understanding how to decrease feelings of isolation and parental anxiety.” This program helps parents learn from those who already understand how autism may manifest in the child.” After completing the program, on parent shared, “I feel as if I now understand what it’s like in my son’s world. I now know more about what autism is.”
71% Sophie always struggles and rebels when she begins to develop new communication skills. I just keep reminding myself that we have come so far.
When her brain gets overloaded with this information, the silly sounds and laughter take over because she doesn’t know how to process it.
Without a diagnosis, without a cause or a proven therapy regiment, it is so difficult to know if we are moving in the right direction.
…if pushing her is really helping or if I shouldn’t be pushing her so hard. It’s all trial and error, learning as we go, hoping we make the right choices, and learning from our mistakes.
Note: For further information on ‘Helping’, go to MENU for, KNOW AUTISM, KNOW YOUR CHILD with < My Thoughts > by Sara Luker, UNIT 3 – What Is Most Concerning?
72% I took Sophie to Wal-Mart with me to do the grocery shopping today.
She is in rare form today and we had a really good time.
My favorite part was when she started “reading” the grocery list.
“Okay Mommy, we need some birds and a circus and some cereal and strawberries.”
She was being so cute…she was sitting there (in the cart) talking to a very sweet cashier.
“I bet if I told this woman that my child has autism, she would be shocked.”
There was nothing autistic about my girl today.
She was cute, she was making sense, she was being funny.
73% Perhaps we’re approaching normal.
77% We are going to continue to work to extinguish undesirable behavior, at least she isn’t biting, kicking, punching anyone. No one used the “A” word and no one told me she “couldn’t” or “she’ll never.”
The bottom line is, she’s continuing to make progress and her current placement is working. She now has an amazing classroom teacher and resource teacher and phenomenal speech teachers as well. Sophie loves her teachers and works for them because she has such a good relationship with them.
< My Thoughts > "Sophie loves her teachers..."
As a teacher, and as a parent, establishing a relationship with a child on the spectrum is very challenging. Traditionally, many children will work for food, but will not perform because they want to please their teacher. This is another example of how different our kids are. One size does not fit all!
77% Sophie’s speech has come so far this year because of the hard work of these amazing women, it boggles my mind to think about all of the things Sophie says now that she couldn’t say a year ago. It’s hard to believe kindergarten will be over soon but I’m looking forward to next year.
End of Excerpts from book by I. D. Johnson, with < My Thoughts > by Sara Luker.
Reference:
Farmer, J. & Rupert, A. (2013). Understanding Autism and Understanding My Child with Autism: An evaluation of a group parent education program in rural Australia. Australian Journal of Rural Health:21; 20-27.
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
Excerpts from the book – (2% indicates location in the Kindle version of the book, instead of page numbers).
Excerpts from the book by I.D. Johnson.
2% No one ever expects their first child to be born with differences. As a mother, it is certainly something I considered, something I worried about, but never something I actually expected to confront.
3% I work as a Reading Interventionist and a Response to Intervention Coordinator in elementary school. Every day, I work with students who struggle academically and/or socially. I have had experiences with children with all sorts of disabilities, to intellectual disabilities, to autism.
6% Discovering your child may be autistic often comes in the most subtle ways. It’s in the little things. When your two-year-old doesn’t look at you when you enter a room. When your three-year-old still isn’t speaking in intelligible, complete sentences. When everyone else’s children are playing together, and she is under a tree, digging for who knows what. When a frustrated teenage swimming instructor says, “Lady, I think there’s something wrong with your kid.” That’s when you start to realize.
T7% Then, Sophie started pre-school. The differences in Sophie were apparent immediately to the staff, particularly the director. …but some of the things they said Sophie “couldn’t” or “wouldn’t” do at school, she was doing at home.
8% The teachers were very concerned and my concern was growing by the minute. And yet, still, I waited. I was pregnant with Ariel, Sophie’s little sister. I was working a lot. These are the excuses I used.
10% In fact, of the four areas they tested in, Sophie qualified in two of them and almost a third. She was behind in her social skills, as far as interacting with other children and adults.
And then they threw the number at me that made me stop breathing.
…cognitively, she (Sophie) is eleven months behind. I had to ask for clarification. My child was very bright. She could sort objects by color. She could problem-solve like no other two-year-old I’d ever known…
10% The assessment they had administered was called the Performance Assessment for Language Students, (PALS). They admitted that the test was heavy on the oral language skills, and it is possible that she could be just fine cognitively, but the test indicated that she wasn’t.
They said that most of the scores were based on her (Sophie’s) ability to answer questions and sing songs, recite nursery rhymes, etc. I said, “But she can’t talk.” She was cognitively behind because she couldn’t sing “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star,” tell them her name or which picture was cookie.
< My Thoughts > "...(PALS)..."
“The assessment they had administered was called the Performance Assessment for Language Students, or PALS. They admitted that the test was heavy on the oral language skills, and it is possible that she could be just fine cognitively, but the test indicated that she wasn’t.”
As a teacher and student of what’s out there, I was surprised that the professionals administered the PALS test. I just seemed to me that there would have been more appropriate assessments for the first time out with a non-verbal child.
Note: For further information on ‘Assessments’, go to MENU for Know Autism, Know Your Child with < My Thoughts > by Sara Luker. Read online here, under UNIT 2 – Why Is It Autism? CHAPTER 1 Diagnosis & DSM-5, APPENDIX A Screening Assessments.
28% Sophie started off by “tasting” a few of her friends. However, it was determined pretty quickly by the school psychologist that this was a sensory issue, not Sophie intentionally harming others. There seemed to be a lot of evidence pointing toward a sensory integration disorder, which may have actually been a major issue all along. In fact, some of the experts on her team thought that it could be sensory integration disorder and not autism causing Sophie’s differences.
< My Thoughts > “...tasting a few of her friends.”
As a teacher, in one of my first autism classes, I sat at a table with an eight-year-old student. I reached in front of him to pick up something from the table. As I did, he reached for me, pulling my underarm into his mouth. That bite mark was there for a month.
As a grandmother, I explained to my granddaughter that her infant brother was putting everything in his mouth as a way to 'learn' about it. A few days later, my granddaughter yelled, "Grandma, come quick, brother is learning about my hair!"
Farmer, J. & Rupert, A. (2013) talk about a program that helps parents understand how autism is “a different kind of normal”. This program is all about ‘understanding’. “Understanding the nature of autism and the communication, social, sensory, play, and thinking issues pertinent to ASD.” “Understanding the difficult behaviors and how to develop a practical set of strategies.”
“Understanding how to decrease feelings of isolation and parental anxiety.” This program helps parents learn from those who already understand how autism may manifest in the child.” After completing the program, on parent shared, “I feel as if I now understand what it’s like in my son’s world. I now know more about what autism is.”
71% Sophie always struggles and rebels when she begins to develop new communication skills. I just keep reminding myself that we have come so far.
When her brain gets overloaded with this information, the silly sounds and laughter take over because she doesn’t know how to process it.
Without a diagnosis, without a cause or a proven therapy regiment, it is so difficult to know if we are moving in the right direction.
…if pushing her is really helping or if I shouldn’t be pushing her so hard. It’s all trial and error, learning as we go, hoping we make the right choices, and learning from our mistakes.
Note: For further information on ‘Helping’, go to MENU for, KNOW AUTISM, KNOW YOUR CHILD with < My Thoughts > by Sara Luker, UNIT 3 – What Is Most Concerning?
72% I took Sophie to Wal-Mart with me to do the grocery shopping today.
She is in rare form today and we had a really good time.
My favorite part was when she started “reading” the grocery list.
“Okay Mommy, we need some birds and a circus and some cereal and strawberries.”
She was being so cute…she was sitting there (in the cart) talking to a very sweet cashier.
“I bet if I told this woman that my child has autism, she would be shocked.”
There was nothing autistic about my girl today.
She was cute, she was making sense, she was being funny.
73% Perhaps we’re approaching normal.
77% We are going to continue to work to extinguish undesirable behavior, at least she isn’t biting, kicking, punching anyone. No one used the “A” word and no one told me she “couldn’t” or “she’ll never.”
The bottom line is, she’s continuing to make progress and her current placement is working. She now has an amazing classroom teacher and resource teacher and phenomenal speech teachers as well. Sophie loves her teachers and works for them because she has such a good relationship with them.
< My Thoughts > "Sophie loves her teachers..."
As a teacher, and as a parent, establishing a relationship with a child on the spectrum is very challenging. Traditionally, many children will work for food, but will not perform because they want to please their teacher. This is another example of how different our kids are. One size does not fit all!
77% Sophie’s speech has come so far this year because of the hard work of these amazing women, it boggles my mind to think about all of the things Sophie says now that she couldn’t say a year ago. It’s hard to believe kindergarten will be over soon but I’m looking forward to next year.
End of Excerpts from book by I. D. Johnson, with < My Thoughts > by Sara Luker.
Reference:
Farmer, J. & Rupert, A. (2013). Understanding Autism and Understanding My Child with Autism: An evaluation of a group parent education program in rural Australia. Australian Journal of Rural Health:21; 20-27.
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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