Customer Reviews

Exposure Anxiety - The Invisible Cage: An Exploration of Self-Protection Responses in the Autism Spectrum and Beyond

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Few other books in my autism library are as marked up with exclamations points and my daughter's name as this one. Finally, finally, I not only have tremendous understanding of many of my daughter's behaviours, but tools to help her as well. It baffles me that exposure anxiety is hardly, if at all, mentioned in the general autism literature; clearly, it is one of the major challenges that are at the core of my daughter's autism. Though not all people with autism suffer from EA, this book is a must read for all professionals in the autism field, and any parents who suspect that this issue applies to their child.

I found this to be a very helpful book in understanding my own "exposure anxiety" behaviours and getting words for them. Every few pages I would either cry or laugh with relief - realizing it wasn't just me, that these problems "exist". I found it a very good thing to also copy certain pages/highlight, to give to people who don't "get" me and what exposure anxiety is - after reading it, they understood a little bit more!

I am a mother of my 23 yr. old unique autistic daughter. Last year l read Donna's book on exposure anxiety and nearly had an anxiety attack of my own. For the first time is 22 years, finally,a person has found my daughter.
Please, l beg any parent who has a child with autism-exposure anxiety to read this book. Donna's journey and knowledge will truly change your childs life as well as yours and finally give your family that little piece of heaven.
Thanx Donna
Shirley and Shannon

Exposure Anxiety is not Pathological Demand Avoidance Syndrome. It's not Avoidant Personality Disorder. Its not Social Phobia or Generalised Anxiety Disorder. It's not Cycloid Psychoses. Yet it could easily be misassumed to be any of these things. It commonly occurs in a percentage of those with Autism yet many people with Autism, particularly at the more high functioning end of the Spectrum, don't have it.

But what it is is a condition that involves a collective of mood, anxiety and compulsive disorders in one, resulting in involuntary avoidance, diversion and retaliation responses. More than this though, she demonstrates how Exposure Anxiety can also manifest in eating disorders, toiletting problems, severe learning, social and communication challenges and self injurious behaviours, imprisoning the personhood of those who suffer from it.

The component of Exposure Anxiety relating to addiction to one's own chemistry is of great significance to treatment as is the possible implications of Dopamine malfunctions in setting off the addictions themselves.

Donna gives a range of environmental strategies, in particular an 'Indirectly Confrontational Approach' that is strikingly different to current ABA approaches.

Most of the approaches she suggests for Exposure Anxiety are environmental, from the many facets of 'an indirectly confrontational approach' to a plethora of self-calming strategies she outlines and also the importance of art, music and drama therapies and facilitated communication.

Never overtly pro-medication nor militantly anti-medication, Donna makes a strong point of always dealing with what can be first managed without medication in order to reduce the risks of leaning on over medication.

Here she points out ways the chemistry issues underpinning this severe impulse control disorder might be managed including particular dietary interventions such as the low Salicyalte diet, nutritional supplements that reduce anxiety, Bach Flower remedies to help manage acute stress of the condition itself and, if finally necessary, low doses of appropriate monitored medications. She does not easily support the use of medication but realistically recognises that it might hold some promise for those people severely effected by this disabling impulse control disorder which in itself, left untreated risks supressing gut and immune function and progressively compromising health and safety.

Without help on the environmental and chemical front lines of this condition, those most severely effected by it can be trapped and voice-less in a position of being unable to do things 'as themselves', 'by themselves' or 'for themselves'.

This is not a book by an expert. There are no experts on this previously never written about condition. The nature of the condition itself means that those with it are almost always unable to control their behaviour and communication and so are almost always functionally non-verbal or with dysfunctional verbal language. There are no experts in Exposure Anxiety but as an Autistic person with the condition Donna Williams tries to give us 'experts' a window into it.

To ignore what she has to say on this perhaps important misunderstood ingredient effecting some of the most severely autistic and low functioning people on the Autistic Spectrum is to do a great diservice to the most voice-less of that community in looking the other way. Its well worth daring to look.

Exposure Anxiety - the Invisible Cage was one of the most beneficial books I read in terms of helping me to understand what my daughter might be experiencing. At the time, she was 7 years old and unable to communicate She endured in-your-face, intensive, ABA therapy day in and day out because "That's What You Need to Do" said all the "experts". But she was clearly unhappy and overwhelmed. And because everyone in her life was so busy DOING TO her, she never felt she was given the freedom to show us who she was in her own way.
Donna Williams' book explained what I felt in my bones to be true: that my daughter needed to be taken OUT of the spotlight, to be given a calmer environment, to be included in activities without direct pressure or expectation - that an indirect and joyful approach, respectful of her needs and sensitivities, would allow her to blossom. Almost immediately after implementing what I learned from Donna's book, my daughter responded by coming out of her defensive shell, interacting more, learning more effectively, developing skills more readily, and we, her family, began to know her more intimately.
I am grateful beyond words for Donna's insight and her incredible ability to explain exposure anxiety so thoroughly. I would highly recommend it to anyone who suspects a loved one is uncomfortable with intensive or even moderate social interaction.

I found the book written in an insightful and illuminating way, as only one who has experienced the problem themselves can do. I have learnt much that I will be able to incorporate into my practice as a disability worker

An interesting book about the anxiety experienced by an autistic woman over the latest developments in cognitive neuroscience. This book is an attempt to expose certain habits of mind in autism before the neurosciences do, per se. Actually, there is nothing "new" about autism that the sciences and psychology do not already know and one of the main areas of scientific research is recognition and NOT exposure! However the public in general might be curious about ASD's. I can see that some autism advocacy groups are making a PR grab for public consensus for political reasons by publishing books describing certain experiences with their disorder. The author of this book tries to create a face for autism disorders through a condition called "exposure anxiety" and then tries to save face for some autistics who supposedly communicate indirectly by designating this behavior as a "style" used in facilitated communication and then discusses it's positive aspects for autism disorders.

The author discusses how she reconstructed her autism with indirect communication techniques, (which I understand as one of many variables of facilitated communication),drawing from popular culture fragments such as slogans, images, personea, jingles, etc. and then came to the belief that she has an "inside" intelligence which she was born with. Actually in this media saturated society, any child autistic or non-autistic child born into a primarily audio or visual environment will automaticly pick up gestures, poses, postures and phrases in general! This behavior isn't regarded as intelligence so much as it is a product of mentality of the person. It is very interesting to read about then, in this book, how autism is also a disorder that constructs itself "socially" and physically. I don't think autism spectrum disorders are, as a result of self-inflicted traumas and anti-social behavior, disorders to feed into and the resulting mentality is something every care manager for autism should try to help them to avoid. I would discourage the use of indirect communication techniques in this book which is another expression for facilitated communication. Other items of facilitated or "explorative" or "experimental" communication fall under these headings such as hallucinogenic and nootropic drugs, writing machines, spy devices and gadgets, etc, etc, which promise people with communication disorders quick fixes, "information" about the environment around them and dreams of advanced matriculation. There is no easy way around the processes of learning! Sorry!

I'm more inclined to study, learn from and assist people such as the Aboriginals of Australia who had a very strong self-protection response with regard to various aspects of enslavement, attacks to their communication systems,(which were very direct I might add), and disenfranchisement. They showed the volition to re-educate themselves and maintain aspects of their culture that wasn't demolished by the colonials.

One last thing about FC and indirect communication. Many people here in the U.S. are predisposed to using F.C. such as minorities and immigrants with learning and mental disabilites as well as Pdd's in the magority population for matriculation purposes. What they may not realize is that people who use these methods for quick advancement in American society often become embittered, frustrated, humiliated and resentful of society when interpersonal relationships breakdown or they "hit the glass ceiling" to say the least. It is simply understood that one does not discredit oneself with the use of these popular or creative "tools" of a rather backwards kind of learning about self.

The desparation in American society to be normal and to have the objects and smarts that other people have is enormous but not worth gambling with one's personal reputation no matter how grim the outlook may become or how other people are "getting over" in society.