March 2025 ~ Extended Book Reviews

​Hello Everyone,
 
This month’s BLOG will begin with a chance 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. March's BLOGs give snippets of my Extended Book Reviews; find full reviews on 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 the full reviews, plus LINKs to eBooks, on www.sarasautismsite.com. 

Miracles are Made: A Real-Life Guide to Autism by Lynette Louise, eBook 2011; with < My Thoughts > by Sara Luker

Excerpts from the book – (2% indicates location in the Kindle version of the book, instead of page numbers).

​2%       I have raised eight very special kids – or perhaps it is more accurate to say – eight very special kids raised me.
 
I understand autism from the vantage points of living with it on a twenty-four-hour-a-day basis and from working with it eight hours a day for weeks on end. I’ve been, and am, aspects of you. I share some, or all, of your situation and have armed myself with twenty-five years of acquired knowledge that you may not have had the time to learn, I am blessed. My clients are improving and most of my kids have grown healthy as well as independent.
 
At first, I was just self-educating as I read and gulped and followed up on every autism clue. Eventually I embraced more formalized training and received certifications in the Son-Rise method (a form of play therapy aimed at improving autism) and in Option Process Mentor counseling. I trained in and apprenticed under some of the top clinicians in the field of neurofeedback (aka biofeedback for the brain), which as it turns out is the easiest and most excitingly impactful therapy I have ever used. I then branched out on my own using family dynamics counseling, play therapy, and neurofeedback to heal children and their families around the globe. 
 
< My Thoughts >    “… family dynamics counseling, play therapy, and neurofeedback…”

There is an old adage that 'necessity is the mother of invention'. This mother of eight special kids used what natural resources she had; plus, sought out those she didn't have, but needed. She trained herself in family dynamics counseling, play therapy, and neurofeedback. Today, known affectionately as the 'Brain Broad', Lynette Louise has helped multitudes world over.
 
Pulipaka, U. (2016) tells us that… “Neurofeedback piggy-backs on very old principles of learning, classical conditioning and operant conditioning.” “Neurofeedback attempts to teach out of control portions of the brain to act more in synch with the entire mind… when all parts are in a balanced rhythm.” They tell us… “The brain can be thought of as a symphony orchestra, one with many different instrumental sections such as string, wind, percussion, etc. If left to play with no conductor, the symphony orchestra would sound dissonant and unpleasant.” With neurofeedback, “…the brain can begin to process more efficiently, resulting in a healthier mental state.”

2%       Eventually I ended up with a Masters in Social & Behavioral Science. I study neuroanatomy to be better equipped when working with neurofeedback and align myself with the minds of as many highly respected professionals as I can attract.

3%     I will share my story of trying to raise children and grandchildren. Out of autism that the treasures come and the mysteries are unraveled. It is because… most of the children I am referring to are no longer diagnosable as autistic.
 
4%       I am relatively attracted to balance so this makes me happy. I come by my attraction to balance naturally. I know that to be true because my main and most-used therapy is neurofeedback. It is a means of reading brain wave activity and then giving the brain information about how to balance that activity. Balance, as it turns out, is the secret to mental and physical health and all life is endowed with the desire to achieve it. Sometimes we call that desire for balance “the pursuit of happiness.”
 
< My Thoughts >   "...desire for balance..."

Lynette Louise, mother, grandmother, trained in family dynamics counseling, play therapy, and neurofeedback, discovered that “…neurofeedback – gives the brain information about how to balance” overwhelming activity.

9%       Dar was labeled PDD (Pervasive Developmental Disorder). At four years of age, Dar’s IQ was placed a nine-month-old level leaving him in the extremely retarded range. I began to read about autism at the same time that I applied to adopt him.
     
< My Thoughts >    “…labeled PDD…”
 
Author Lynette Louise very graciously shared this with me… “I think it would be more accurate to mention that the definition being shared about PDD-NOS is 'present day'. Back when Dar was diagnosed it was completely different. So different, in fact, that it's more honest and more useful if... 'presently' or 'we now know' or something similar is added. That might be more honest and more useful." 

Note: More about Pervasive Developmental Disorder - Not Otherwise Specified (PDD-NOS) go to MENU for – Know Autism, Know Your Child with < My Thoughts > by Sara Luker. Read on this website under – UNIT 2 – Why Is It Autism? CHAPTER 1 – Diagnosis & DSM-5 Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders – Fifth Edition; published in 2013 by the American Psychiatric Association (APA), APPENDIX B – PDD-NOS (Pervasive Developmental Disorder).

11%     Slowly, I came to see him as a whole person, who just happened to have dirty blond hair, a flat butt, and autism.  I didn’t want to think of him as mindlessly self-abusive, then it happened.  I was there. Dar’s new sister (my third-born biological child) grabbed his crayons and offered to color a page for him. He grabbed them back and, as I walked by, he said, “I can do it” with perfect enunciation. Dar immediately reverted to looking at the ceiling while rocking his head side to side.  The therapists and teachers didn’t believe that story. But I did, because I was there.
 
< My Thoughts >  “…he said, “I can do it” with perfect enunciation.”

That's one of the mysteries of Autism. Our Sonny doesn't have the developed part of the brain for language; only for guttural sounds. While children like Dar may have the facility, but choose not to use it.
 
Padawer, R. (2014) says that scientists suspect that what is called autism may actually be an array of distinct conditions that have different genetic and environmental etiologies but happen to produce similar symptoms. If true, it could help explain why some children progress so much differently, while others don’t progress at all.
​
14%     Feedback itself is built into our very reality. Things like temperature, digestive comfort, and fabric texture are all forms of feedback.
 
Dar was a smelly, scary mess of a man. That is, until neurofeedback. After that, we could actually watch him learn to calm himself and communicate. The whole thing was happily surprising.  Why had I been able to teach some of my children to perceivably change but not all? And what made neurofeedback strong enough to help even an adult? Why was it not limited to the under five-year-old child?
  
Weinstein, C., Acee, T., et al (2011) want to know, “Does neurofeedback help them reduce anxiety which helps with self-regulation and enhance learning strategies? May also be able to decrease self-injurious behavior because that seems to be associated with irritability, which may be reduced with this therapy. Self-regulation is both the glue and the engine that helps students manage their strategic learning on both a global and real-time levels. On the real-time level, self-regulation helps to reduce anxiety, focus attention, and monitor learning success.”

< My Thoughts >     “…neurofeedback... helps with self-regulation..."

It seems that through successful neurofeedback therapy a person becomes more self-regulated, i.e. more balanced, more focused and therefore has less problems with learning and sensory issues.

14%     I was so curious to find the answers. I knew neurofeedback must have its limitations, but since it could be applied to all kinds of disorders I didn’t know what they were. I decided to find out. After all what better test of a therapy than my own diverse family with it’s very damaged Dar?
 
15%     If you feel more regulated, more balanced, more comfortable in your body, it’s easier to learn. Changes in your brain lead to changes in how you experience your body, your ability to attend, and your desire to become more than what you already are. 

25%     I remember driving home from my fourth session and Dar’s twelfth session of neurofeedback. It occurred to me that the war against the pain of autism was over – I’d found the key – to my children’s brains and mine. I was filled with awe.

References:

Padawer, R. (2014). The Kids Who Beat Autism. Retrieved online from – https://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/03/magazine/the-kids-who-beat-autism.html?_r=0

Pulipaka, U. (2016). Nevada Neuro Health Center.  Retrieved online from – http://nevadaneurohealthcenter.com/  (Note: This Medical Center closed in 2022.)

End of excerpt from the eBook by Lynette Louise. See my full Extended Book Review on website.
 
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