Customer Reviews

Between Their World and Ours: Breakthroughs with Autistc Children

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I am adult. I have Asperger's syndrome, which is a form of autism. I am the mother of an adult child with a form of autism. In my opinion this may be the BEST book about autism written to date, and that includes books written by other autistics. I want to thank Dr. Zelan so much for this book.
She dismantles the highly touted,"Sally-Ann" test, which is supposed to show a lack of "theory of mind". Finally someone has fresh thinking in this area!

There is no "cure" for autism.

Dr. Zelan very plainly makes that case and shows how to help autistic children of all levels of ability and communicativeness to reach their potential, with a heavy emphasis on love and respect and patience.
Love and respect, themes lacking in many therapies aimed at attempting to force autistic children into "normal" molds.
If you only want one book about autism right now, start with this one, _Between Their World and Ours_.
I also like Dr. Sally Ozonoff's book, "A parent's guide to..." and "A Positive Approach to Autism" by Stella Waterhouse.
I hope that Dr. Zelan will have another book of this quality soon, and I hope that her voice becomes very important in the autism treatment community.
I also recommend that anyone interested in autism seek out the voices of adult autistics on various internet sites. Some of the best information isn't actually in books it's on the web.

I recommend this book to all readers, not just parents, therapists, teachers, interested in autism. Here are a few observations:

--The experiences of her treatment of autistic children ranging from highest to lowest functioning are riveting and beautifully written.
--Her book covers important issues regarding the treatment and diagnosis of autism that have not been addressed in other books and programs on autism e.g., relations of therapists and parents, successful and unsuccessful school experiences.
--This book, above all others I have read or heard discussed, gives us a dramatic window into the feelings and amazing SOCIAL and EMOTIONAL awareness of autistic children who, Zelan notes, are often incorrectly judged incapable of such insight by many so called "experts". She also shows how understanding the views shared with her by many autistic children can make a difference in their having positive social experiences.
--She engages not just the powerful feelings and awareness of autists, she describes the larger world of feelings and interactions of and with parents, teachers, family and friends of autistic children.
--She describes and critiques theories of the mind imposed on autistic and other developmentally disabled children; this critique heightens awareness for everyone to the subtle but
damaging ways some "experts" can hinder hope and progress for people who don't fit "normal" behavior patterns.
--Her book offers insights into more than the real life experiences of autism for children, parents, teachers,therapists and the general population; it also is the best book I have ever read to give a vivid, concrete description of the psychotherapeutic relationship and what a difference it can make in all our lives, and especially for autistic children.
--Her chapter directed to parents reads like a letter and is full of empathetic and practical advice that can be of value to all parents and especially parents of autistic children. Hher book if full of realistic and tempered hope with concrete information on how to get good help. She doesn't talk about cures, but breakthroughs in communicating and understanding for autists, therapist, parents, teachers and friends of autists.

After reading this book, I felt enriched and wanted to share it with others. I have given it to friends who are mothers, herapists, learning specialists.

Note on the jacket that famous autistic authors have read the book and attest to its accurate and vivid description of the autistic experience. There are many others, both autists and professionals in the field, who have expressed their enthusiasm for this book.

I recommend this book with unqualified confidence and enthusiasm. This book makes us all wish we could have the benefit of such an articulate master therapist.

Between their World and Ours, by Karen Zelan, reads almost like a novel. One becomes quickly engaged with the children whose stories Zelan uses to "show" rather than "tell" the reader about enjoying, helping and teaching young people on the autistic spectrum.

Given the statistics, (one in 150 children under ten may have autistic spectrum disorders) many people know someone with this syndrome. Schools are enrolling them in classrooms, teachers are finding ways to adapt their curricula so these children can be successful learners. Between Their World and Ours gives encouragement, hope, and helpful ideas. Teachers and parents will find acknowledgement of their own good problem solving. In addition, Zelan's book will be helpful to neighbors, aunts, uncles, and friends of these children. Experts will benefit as well from the practicality, and care Zelan uses in her work.

Like the many types of minds that we encounter, the autistic mind has much to offer. It requires little except quiet attention and patience to gain the trust and interest of many of these interesting kids. As with any child, it is important to LIKE them. Liking them, liking any child comes with knowing them. Unlike many authors, Zelan recognizes and rejoices in the feelings these children display. Zelan shows the reader how to attend carefully to the child so that s/he can discover the feelings of the autist s/he knows. And, more importantly, so the child can join our feeling world safely.

Our knowledge of aspergers and autistic children is enhanced by the kind of book Zelan has written. It presents a range of children with very different personalities, responses, and gifts, showing common ways of reaching them as well as the variations useful in connecting with their differing needs. There are suggestions throughout the book, but also a chapter devoted entirely to specific strategies. Zelan gives benchmarks without creating a defined road map because every child is his own person.

No "cure" has been discovered for this syndrome. Maybe this is a good thing. In the books mothers' have written about their own autists, it is obvious that they love and enjoy their chidren. Do we want to "cure" them or just learn enough to enjoy them and give them the requisite skills to navigate the world? I have no definite answers, but for now, I am happy to read of Zelan's success, of the children's success, and hope that parents, teachers, neighbors, friends, and experts will enjoy all the children they encounter.

In this inspiring book, Zelan educates us about autism with remarkable empathy, experience, and sensitivity. Zelan encourages those working and living with autists to view their relationships with autists as reciprocal: as a young autist perceives her advocate adapting to the autist's world and methods of communication, so too will the autist perceive the benefits of adapting to our world. She also recognizes how difficult this task is, both emotionally and practically, and offers her readers specific advice on how to assist autists at home and at school. Zelan's writing is entirely accessible to parents, teachers, students, or anyone who would simply like to educate themselves about autism. An excellent book!

As a psychotherapist, I found reading the case studies extremely enlightening. First, because they clearly demonstrate how some autists think. Even more importantly, the cases provide many concrete examples of how a therapist can respond to these children, and also includes the children's precise responses, which show how and when these kinds of responses can be fruitful for them.

These case studies are very valuable lessons for child psychotherapists, both beginning and advanced. As a person who has taught and supervised clinicians, these case studies offer very useful demonstrations of a master child therapist at work. This is the best case study material since "The story of Dibbs" in the 70s. What makes it tremendously informative is the way she was able to note, recall, and reproduce the exact sequences of her interactions with clarity.

I agree with Dr. John Frattaroli's statement that this work demonstrates the optimal therapeutic attitude toward all clients, as well as to those who have autistism or Asperger's.

It seemed to me that the advice to parents was very precise, thoughtful and useful. It could also be useful to professionals as a model for what parents most need to know. The final chapter, the Vision for the future, places this book in the realm of inspiring humanist psychologists such as Robert Coles. These humanist-psychologists are fully knowledgeable of the field, while at the same time they offer a larger humanistic and humanitarian perspective. Zelan's vision of an attitude toward autistic people is an example of the ideal humanistic use of psychological knowledge.

To be fair, let me say first that I went into this book as someone who does not particularly believe in a psychodynamic approach to autism treatment, so I began with an inherent bias. That said, there were many things in the book that I agreed with more than I thought I would, and many other things that I disagreed with but were well written enough to make me really stop and think about why I disagreed.

Temple Grandin once said "I have observed that good teachers (of autistic children) do the same things regardless of the theoretical basis". I see that in this book. Even though it sometimes wanders into psychoanalysis land (Did that autistic child just emphasize the "pain" in painting? Are pronouns reversals caused by an existential battle within the self and not simply delayed echolalia, as is more commonly accepted?), the basic tenets of most theraputic programs are there: honor the child's interests in order to draw them out, give frequent one-on-one attention, acknowledge sensory needs, provide an environment where they can see the effects of their communication. I wholeheartedly agree with this.

A few points did rankle. First and foremost, the underlying idea in the book that autistic children can be most helped simply by being placed in an environment that accepts and understands them so as to allow for personal growth and a sort of 'coming out of their shells'. In my experience, this is often not enough. Many autistic children need speech therapy to develop better speech, occupational therapy to develop fine motor skills, educational programs tailored to them to learn academics, etc. Most of them DO have wonderful, reciprocal, loving relationships with their parents that aid in their emotional growth and yet do not, by themselves, magically advance their other skills.

Also, the author attempts to discredit the well-known Sally Anne theory of mind test by saying, more or less, that maybe the autistic children involved didn't want to answer the questions correctly or didn't see the need to answer them in a conventional way. I'm open to the fact that this test may or may not be valid, but I need a lot more evidence than the idea that the kids involved didn't feel like answering correctly. That same argument could be used in literally any situation for any kind of test that's ever been given.

Overall, I would recommend as an interesting viewpoint to those interested in the broad field of autism treatment. If you are a parent or professional looking for a few treatment resources of this sort, however, I would recommend The Child With Special Needs by Stanley Greenspan instead. It emcompasses the same respectful attitude of the child and message of using their natural interests to draw them out and to interact joyfully. Greenspan focuses more on the development of language and cognitive skills, however, and gives an organized step-by-step approach based on developmental sequences.

The word "autism" is most closely associated in the minds of many people with Dustin Hoffman's portrayal of Raymond in the film, Rain Man. While the movie, and the portrayal, did much to raise the level of public awareness of this disorder, what was lost on most of the audience was the observation of the small-town physician approximately halfway through the film that Raymond was, in his words, "high-functioning." As with most conditions, autism exists across a wide range of severity and impacts the individual in different ways.

The reader encountering Karen Zelan's BETWEEN THEIR WORLD AND OURS is best served by being at least marginally acquainted with what autism is. Zelan assumes the reader is familiar with the subject matter. This is not a criticism; Zelan does not pretend that her work is a textbook for Autism 101. If it appears to be aimed at any audience, it would be the parents of young children who are themselves dealing with the condition afflicting their child, and assisting that child in dealing with it.

The book begins with an overview, followed by a summary of the cases of a number of children whom Zelan has encountered and/or treated over the years who have been classified as autistic. She then discusses various topics of interest in assisting the autistic child --- socialization, problem solving, self-awareness and friendship, among others --- and devotes some time to an account of a school that provides special focus on assisting young autists. The final chapters in BETWEEN THEIR WORLD AND OURS provide Zelan's suggestions on what to do with, and for, childhood autists and what hope lies on the horizon for the understanding and treatment of the condition.

Zelan is both an assister and an advocate for autists and, as is often the case with such individuals, may go a bit overboard. Her statement near the end of her work that "(A)utism, as lived out, is not so much a disease as it is a social condition" is certainly one with which reasonable and educated minds could differ. There are also those who may take issue with some of the accommodating classroom methods that she finds so wonderful; there are legitimate questions as to whether these are more harmful than helpful. The world makes demands; a program that prods, however gently, the autist to adapt to the world would appear to be more beneficial to the autist than having the autist's world adapt to him or her. That, ultimately, is not going to happen. Indeed, Zelan appears to tacitly acknowledge this in her "What To Do" chapter, a short but informative guide to the parents of autists as to how to assist their child in the home environment. However, the major benefit of BETWEEN THEIR WORLD AND OURS is the repeated message to parents that autism is a neurological condition, not the result of a trauma or parenting deficiency.

Zelan has studied and worked with young autists for over 40 years, and the individuals whose cases are discussed in BETWEEN THEIR WORLD AND OURS have, apparently, all attained their majority. A companion volume to this one, discussing what ultimately happened to these children, particularly the ones encountered in the classroom setting, would be even more interesting, and most welcome.

--- Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub

I was thrilled to see Karen Zelan's book and to read about her impressive stories of learning to reach into the rare worlds of autistic people. As an autistic person myself, I know how difficult it is for people who do not see the world as we do to find points of connection. It takes patience, love, and, most importantly, a willingness to let go of one's preconceptions -- a skill difficult to find in people on either side of the Autism Spectrum. Her triumphs have inspired even me to find new ways of relating to autistic and non-autistic people as a result of her citing practical suggestions, mesmerizing anecdotes, and poignant, universally human moments.

Though Karen has been around long enough to have worked with Bruno Bettelheim and to have seen the worst of the "therapeutic" approaches to autism, she has found a way to emerge from a system she knew wasn't working. It is testament to the her ability to see all things anew that she abandoned dubious strategies for "curing" autistics and began to really listen to us. I congratulate her for bringing her profession out of the Dark Ages.

I found Zelan's book a captivating read. Even if one isn't interested in autism this one is hard to put down, because it speaks so thoroughly to the human condition. Read it.

Great! Karen Zelan writes a sensitive book about working with autistic children. Here's my rage and despair about this book. Zelan worked for years with Bruno Bettelheim. She co-authored books with him. And she witnessed his terrible abuse against mentally ill children at the Orthogenic School where she once worked. Many of the autistic children she knew lived at this school. Why did Zelan not report any of this abuse?
Because of her silence and the silence of many others, young children, teens and young adults were constantly beaten and shamed in Bettelheim's "House of Horrors" for over 30 years. And children were beaten with fists and belts, smacked repeatedly in the face and told horrible things. It was all common knowledge if you worked there. So Karen Zelan cannot say she knew nothing of such things.
Read books like Richard Pollak's, "The Creation of Dr. B." or Stephen Eliot's, "Not the Thing I Was" or Jacqui Sanders' chapter on discipline in "A Greenhouse of the Mind", if you just can't believe it.
Why should Zelan be allowed to benefit from writing this book about love and acceptance of autistic childen when she 1)did nothing to stop the abuse against autistic as well as mentally ill and traumatized children while she witnessed it and 2) has done nothing to make amends for her silence by now speaking out about the abuse and the legacy of silence.
How can she even live with such hypocrisy in her soul.
Because of her silence and the silence of others, I was beaten and shamed for being confused and terrified. And I resent the hypocrisy of her being the sensitive autism guru when she seems to have had no problem watching disturbed children get beaten.

I plan on reading this book soon, however I was intrigued by the stories of abuse that go on by the teachers and staff at some of these alternative schools. My son was made to leave his home school in 7th grade for his "safety" and his "inappropriate behavior". Now he comes home daily in a bad mood saying that he is getting verbal abuse, and being put in a padded room for no reason. When I complained to the principal he said that my son was making it up and I shouldn't believe him. I don't know, my son comes home daily in a bad mood and doesn't want to talk about what goes on in that place. I wish I knew of some way to get to the bottom of the mistreatment he insists he has to endure, but the school does not allow parents to visit. They also do not have a PTA and discourage parents speaking with each other. The kid's last names are not used by staff in order to protect the privacy "of the students", I think its done to keep the parents in the dark about how the kids are verbally abused, etc. I tell my son, just do as you're told so you can go back to the public school and he says that his teacher says he can never leave the alternative school. He was mainstreamed from preschool to middle of 7th grade, I don't know what to make of this situation. This principal says he is emotionally disturbed because he doesn't want to come to school. I never had trouble getting him to go to the mainstream schools.