​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.​

The Aspie Parent, the First Two Years A Collection of Posts from the Aspie Parent Blog by Liz Cademy (2013). Extended Book Review with < My Thoughts > by Sara Luker.

​Excerpts from the book – (5% indicates location in the Kindle version of the book, instead of page numbers).
​
Excerpts from Liz Cademy’s book with < My Thoughts > by Sara Luker
 
5%       This eBook is a collection of blog posts from the first three years of my blog: The Aspie Parent.
 
< My Thoughts >       “…collection of blog posts…”
 
Besides an informative collection of blog posts, Liz has developed a wonderful 'Alphabet Soup.' She defines topics, in the hopes of clarifying the meanings you may hear here and there in the ‘autism’ conversation.

5%     You will see some references to my children, Ocelot and Climber. These are not their real names, but pseudonyms.
 
Ocelot is a girl, and was in high school when I wrote these blog posts. She’s both highly gifted and has “something” on the spectrum, though not Asperger’s.
 
6%       Climber was in elementary school, and is also highly gifted, but NT (neurotypical)…
 
7%       I am a parent, and I have Asperger’s. One of my kids (who has the pseudonym Ocelot online) has been diagnosed with PDD-NOS, Asperger’s’ cousin.
 
…I realize I have a lot of tips for other parents of kids who are either on the mild end of the autism spectrum or have similar learning differences.
 
As a parent with Asperger’s, I also have stories of times when my AS made being a good mom difficult.

16%     Labels, Part 1. I am not a fan of labels, for many reasons.
 
Holding too close to a precise label can hurt our kids. Too many school districts will only provide services for students with conditions listed in the DSM - 5 (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition).

DSM -5 includes specifying in the diagnostic criteria, such as –
​

• Autism Spectrum Disorder
• Social (Pragmatic) Communication Disorder
• Severity Levels for Autism Spectrum Disorder

‘Severity specifiers’ are given for social communication impairments (Criterion A) and restricted repetitive patterns of behavior (Criterion B). Severity for both Criterion A and B are listed at three different levels:
 
• Level 1 – requiring support
• Level 2 – requiring substantial support
• Level 3 – requiring very substantial support

< My Thoughts >     "...diagnostic criteria..."

The confusion may come in when, for instance, someone is 'labeled' as 'high-functioning' meaning that they require very little support. Or, 'low-functioning' meaning that they require very substantial support. When in actuality, the individual's degrees of 'strengths' & 'weaknesses' in areas of symptoms concerned can vary greatly. Perhaps that person is needing very little support in 'cognitive' areas, but much more support in the area of 'social skills'.

Note: For further information on ‘DSM-5 levels of support’, 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.

17%     Labels, Part 2. Another thing that bothers me about labels – some people identify too strongly with the label. What can you do if your school is like this, and your child is affected? I hate to say it, but you and your diagnosing profession should lie. If you (all) know your child will need Spectrum accommodations, have the pro write a “diagnosis” of Asperger’s or HFA (High-Functioning Autism). This will get your kid the help s/he needs.
 
And school records are destroyed upon graduation, and are not released outside the school, so the misdiagnosis won’t haunt your child in later life.
 
We want our kids to be multi-talented, productive, interesting human beings, who, incidentally, have some additional challenges related to a learning disability.
 
< My Thoughts >      “...labels.”
 
Labels can be scary, but usually your child’s ASD label can be removed from records when they reach a certain age. Check the laws for your state on this, if you are concerned about early labeling.
 
The problem is that without labeling the insurance companies, educational programs, benefits for children of U.S. military veterans, and many other state and/or federal services will not be available to your child without serious 'label' documentation and certification. This puts the burden of proof on you, without it you will be expected to pay, out of pocket, possibly thousands of dollars for services. 

64%     <From the blog>  Here’s a question Cathy asked: “I’m curious about RTM (Remember the Milk), as my 10th grader really struggles with organization and remembering to turn in his work.
 
65%     He currently uses Google Calendar RTM. The RTM webpage says RTM works with Google Calendar. Can you explain the Benefits of using RTM…
 
I’ll try to explain this quickly…  If you look at the things you need to do, you can divide them into tasks and events.
 
Events are linked to a specific time/date, such as Math Class or Daniel’s Party. Tasks may have deadlines, but you can do them at any time before (maybe after) the deadline, such as Chapter 8 History Homework, due Friday.
 
Google Calendar is great for events, Remember the Milk (RTM) is designed for tasks. I like keeping the two separate, so I use both programs.
 
< My Thoughts >     “I use both programs.”
 
The 'App', Remember the Milk (RTM) is a visual part of the calendar seen as a sidebar portion on the screen. Liz’s book gives names or books to read on how to use both.

82%     Can Autism be Cured? Every so often, I read about some herbal preparation, nutritional supplement, or alternative therapy that is supposed to cure autism.
 
< My Thoughts >         “...alternative therapy...”

Every so often, I  too read about some herbal preparation, nutritional supplement, or alternative therapy that is supposed to 'cure' autism. The goal is finding the right ‘intervention’, regardless of what it’s called – treatments aka services, aka programs, aka therapies, aka interventions.

Start where you are. In other words, where you live, the age and stage of your child, your resources, and your support system. Don’t forget to ask – How long before we can expect to see results? What ‘target behaviors’ are we focusing on? How much money should we budget for your program?

Always try FREE programs first. Explore and keep notes on what you find and how you feel this service will ‘fit’ with your child and your family. Again, prioritizing your wants and needs, and your child’s wants and needs are a necessary ‘first’. Try asking for a ‘trial period’.

Note: For further information on ‘alternative therapy’ 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 1 – INSTRUCTIONAL PROGRAMS & TREATMENTS, CHAPTER 2 – THERAPIES, CHAPTER 3 – OTHER THERAPIES, UNIT 7 – 4 Complementary & Alternative Medicine (CAMs), Section 4: CAMs.

End of excerpts from this book by Liz Cademy.
​
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
​

​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.​

Ido in Autismland: Climbing Out of Autism by Ido Kedar (2012). Extended Book Review with < My Thoughts > by Sara Luker
 
Excerpts from the book – (1% indicates location in the Kindle version of the book, instead of page numbers).
 
Excerpts from book by Ido Kedar, with < My Thoughts > by Sara Luker.
7%       Ido (pronounced – ee-doh), a 15 year old boy, explains:
 
Imagine being unable to communicate because you have a body that doesn’t listen to your thoughts.
 
You want to speak and you know what you want to say, but either you can’t get words out, or what comes out are nonsensical sounds…
 
Or the same embedded phrases you have said thousands of times. 
 
Imagine living in a body that paces or flaps hands or twirls ribbons when your mind wants it to be still or, freezes when your mind pleads with it to react.
 
You lie in a bed, cold, wishing you could get your body to pull on a blanket.
 
< My Thoughts >       “…pull up on a blanket.”

There is a severe disconnection between his explicit intentional thoughts and his automatic ones, which prevents his true cognitive talents and personality to be expressed by his behavior. So, Ido can’t make himself pull up the blanket even though he sees it and knows what he wants to do. He needs to be able to ‘self-generate’ the command, but he is helpless to do so because his brain wiring won’t allow him to initiate that connection. (Ido talks about this further… see 51%)

Mostofsky, S. (2009) says that “Children with autism are impaired in their ability to acquire models of action because of their bias towards proprioceptive-guided motor learning.” In other words, their motor learning is mostly directed by what their body senses, as opposed to what it sees that it should be doing.
 
7%       At other times your body charges forward impulsively, snatching things, or dashing you into the street.
 
Imagine being stuck in an educational program, year after year, that is designed for preschooler who learns slowly.
 
You are bored, frustrated, angry, misunderstood and more than a little hopeless. You turn to repetitive behaviors, or ‘stims’, which create a sensory drug-like experience that takes you away from the pain but makes the situation so much worse by pulling you farther from reality.
 
You are lonely, though surrounded by people, and you know that this will be you entire life if you do not gain a means to communicate more than your basic needs. But no one is teaching you how.
 
Thrum, A., Lord, C., et al. (2007) say that a child is considered non-verbal when they have passed the eighteen month mark and have no language. Most children at this age would have “5 or more words used spontaneously on a daily basis.” The authors also give predictors of receptive language as a child responding to simple commands.

< My Thoughts >     "...simple commands."
 
In the classroom, before spending time teaching/learning new skills, one must determine if the child will be successful at learning this skill. Within a predictable measure, you may be able to determine if the child has ‘receptive language’. An example of this would be if the child responds to simple commands such as, “Sit down”, “Stand up”, “Come here”. One must be careful here not to assume that if the child does not respond to “Please stop,” that it’s because they don’t know what you are saying. The autistic child is NOT likely to ‘stop’ stimming, or having other behaviors. Most of all, a child must understand, have enough 'receptive' language to know what you are asking them to do.

Note: For further information on ‘Communication’ go to MENU for Know Autism, Know Your Child with < My Thoughts > by Sara Luker. Read online here, under – UNIT 3 What Is Most Concerning? CHAPTER 2 Speech & Language Communication (Including 'Nonverbal' & assisted/alternative communication).  

Excerpts from Ido's mother –
 
7%       As Ido’s mother, I welcome you to Ido’s world. My now fifteen-year-old son, who has autism, emerged from this imprisoning silence after learning to communicate his thoughts by typing or by pointing to letters on a board.
 
8%       Until he was seven, Ido had no means to show anyone that he was intellectually intact. His teachers and myriad experts assumed, based on his difficulty following directions, lack of speech and odd behaviors, that his intellect and knowledge matched his actions.
 
They insisted that the only way he could learn was by being slowly and progressively instructed in the basic information that human beings need to function.
 
8%       While specialists held meetings in Ido’s presence to talk about why he didn’t progress on a drill, or how to improve his score on another, on the inside he was screaming, “I understand! I already know what a tree is. Please help me learn to communicate!”  
 
< My Thoughts >       "...learn to communicate!”  

Ido's pleas were heard. His mother continued to work with him, finding ways to allow him to communicate. She found ways, she found tutors, and she found Soma Mukhopadhyay with her Rapid Prompting Method.

8%       On the outside, the scream came out through his hands, vigorously flapping at the wrists. This was quickly redirected with the command, “Hands quiet.” He was trapped.
 
9%       It is challenging for those who focus on the clearly visible impairments to imagine that some of these hand-flapping, string-waving children might understand normal speech and think internally.
 
Fortunately, the communicative potential in non-verbal autistic people is getting harder and harder to refute. There are ever more non-verbal autistic people learning to communicate by pointing to letters and by typing, and some like Ido, are going public.

21%     Ido’s tutor first learned how to support his handwriting through facilitation, and later she learned how to use the letter board with him. 
 
We began to search for someone who could help him learn to write without support. Miraculously, Soma Mukhopadhyay, who discovered a method she called Rapid Prompting Method (RPM) to teach her own severely autistic son, Tito, to type and express his thoughts, was living nearby at that time.

Note: For further information on ‘Rapid Prompting Method’ go to MENU for – Know Autism, Know Your Child with < My Thoughts > by Sara Luker. Find on MENU, under –  Who May Help? UNIT 7– 7  CAMs Section 7,  8.  facilitated communication (aka ‘Rapid Prompting Method’).

Excerpts from Ido's essays –

30%     < Ido’s Essay Excerpt >  “Internal and external distractions –  I can’t stop my senses. No one can. But mine overwhelm me. I hear my dog bark like a gunshot. My ears ring and I lose focus on my task.”
 
< My Thoughts >     “I can’t stop my senses.”
 
What this behavior looks like at home, in the community, and at school is the child will cover his or her ears and my also stim excitedly. Sometimes the stimming is a delayed reaction, but it is still tied to being startled or overwhelmed by a noise or sound.
 
35%     < Ido’s Essay Excerpt > “It’s hard to speak because 'apraxia' is like a bad phone connection.  I know my thoughts are getting lost on the way to my mouth. I might think about a baseball game and say something like, “cookie” or “tickle.” I get irritated by my inability to get my thoughts out. It’s the most horrible aspect of my autism. It is the loneliest thing you can imagine.”
 
< My Thoughts >      “…'apraxia' is like a bad phone connection.” 

Ido knows what he wants to do or say. But there is a disconnect between his brain's command, and his body's movement. Persons without autism, but with other types of neurological conditions may have similar 'bad' connections.

​Rausch, S. L. (2023) says that 'apraxia 'is a neurological condition that makes it difficult or impossible to make certain movements. It's caused by damage to your brain that keeps it from forming and giving instructions to your body. It can affect you in several different ways, depending on what type you have.

Milder forms of 'apraxia' are known as 'dyspraxia'. This condition starts in childhood and causes problems with movement and coordination. It can affect both your fine and gross motor skills, as well as your balance and motor planning. This may make it hard to do things like riding a bike, writing, or tying your shoe. Dyspraxia isn’t as severe as apraxia because you only lose part of your motor ability. With apraxia, you totally lose your ability to make certain movements.

​Staff Writer, The ASHA Leader (2015) says that diagnostic screening determines which children have apraxia, as opposed to those who are just non-verbal, have slowly developing speech, or as a result of a head injury, brain tumor, or stroke. And, that Autism and apraxia frequently coincide. 

“Present from birth, apraxia is a speech disorder in which a person has trouble saying what he or she wants to say correctly and consistently. This is NOT due to a paralysis of the speech muscles (face, tongue, and lips). A person with severe apraxia may need the help of alternative or additional communication methods. 

< My Thoughts >     "...may need the help of alternative..."

There are so many kinds of augmentative communication available…from low-tech infant sign language to high-tech Smart Phone and computer apps. 

Ido Kedar is a self-published adult author and autism advocate. He has been known to claim that a disputed communication method (RPM); plus, playing the piano saved him.

References:

Mostofsky, S. (2009). Motor Skill Learning in Autism: Assessment & Treatment of Altered Patterns of Learning. Retrieved online from – https://www.kennedykrieger.org/research-training/currentresearch/

Mukhopadhyay, S. (2013). Developing Communication for Autism Using Rapid Prompting Method: Guide for Effective Language; Outskirts Press, 1st Ed.

Rausch, S. L. (2023). Apraxia: Symptoms, Causes, Tests, Treatments. Web MD, Brain & Nervous System. Retrieved online from – https://www.webmd.com/brain/apraxia-symptoms-causes-tests-treatments/

Staff Writer, The ASHA Leader (2015). Apraxia a Common Occurrence in Autism. The ASHA Leader; Vol. 20 (9). Retrieved online from – https://leader.pubs.asha.org › leader.
Thrum, A., Lord, C., et al. (2007). Predictors of Language Acquisition in Preschool Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder; Journal of Autism & Developmental Disorders; V.37:9.
 
End of excerpts from this book by Ido Kedar & his mother Tracy Kedar.
​
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