Customer Reviews

Making Sense of Autistic Spectrum Disorders: Create the Brightest Future for Your Child with the Best Treatment Options

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This book is a superb overview of the reality of autism and current empirically supported treatments. I have recommended it to my students and to families with relatives diagnosed on the autism spectrum. The author is a scholar and a wise clinician. You can't go wrong reading this book, and reading it well before you look into seemingly miraculous cures and promises of those who offer quick answers. This author knows what he is talking about, and writes with compassion and clarity.

I know Dr. Coplan as a superb clinician and a wonderful teacher. He explains what are often complex issues and problems in a very clear, straightforward style. This first-rate book is an excellent summary of knowledge about autism and an extremely useful guide for parents and professionals. I recommend it highly.
Herbert Schneiderman, MD

I've read a LOT about autism. I'm the parent of a 16 year old originally diagnosed with Aspergers (he has now "lost the diagnosis", a term I learned from this book) and a 6 year old with low functioning autism, so I've been doing this reading for a while. This book is by far the best general book about autism I have read. By general, I mean not a parent account or a book about one specific therapy. This book is an overview of the diagnostic process and the treatment for autism, written by a doctor with many years of experience in the field.

What I liked best about this book was how it was scientifically based. It explained clearly what autism is, how it develops, and what therapies have been shown to make a difference. It also talked a lot about the "natural history" of autism---how, whether treated or not, autism has a natural progression. Many kids improve on their own. Other kids don't. This was true before there was ANY treatment for autism, and it's true now. It also outlined what the best predictor is of how autistic kids will progress---I.Q. I have been this with my own children. My son and daughter both received the same kind of help---school-provided therapies mainly. My son had a normal IQ from the start, and as time passed, he got better. My daughter is moderately retarded (a term that I want to reclaim as acceptable) and I very much doubt she will progress anywhere near as far as he did. Far from discouraging me, this fact helps me plan the future and greatly relieves guilt I feel. To have it stated openly in this book is brave and helpful. He makes it plain there are exceptions, but not to plan on them.

I loved the way different therapies are explained here. I realized what I have been doing for years with my daughter has a name "Verbal Behavior" therapy. It involves a lot of prompting, leaving out a crucial word of a sentence for her to fill in, and basically helping her become more verbal in a practical way. I loved finding out that what I have been doing has a name.

This book also answered some questions I've had about the ratio of girls vs. boys with therapy---letting me know that the more severe the autism, the lower the boy/girl ratio. I had been confused about that, and really liked the clear explanation.

If you have a recently diagnosed child, I would highly recommend this book. I've read so many others that present theories as facts, that say they understand every autistic child is an individual, but in fact don't seem to believe that at all, or that are overly encouraging or overly frantic---that make you feel like you need to grab every second or you will miss some crucial moment and your child will be totally lost. This is a book that will help you without making you despair, that will be honest with you without panicking you. Thanks for writing it, Dr. Coplan!

"Making Sense of Autistic Spectrum Disorders" is an excellent primer for parents who want to know what the medical establishment thinks about autism. It has good discussions about standard therapies such as Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA), Relationship Development Intervention (RDI), Floortime, TEACCH, speech therapy, occupational therapy, social skills training/groups, feeding therapy, and prescription medication. Dr. Coplan does a thorough job explaining the conventional wisdom about autism and the treatments most often covered by schools, Early Intervention, health insurers, Regional Centers, and so on.

That's the good part of Dr. Coplan's book.

Parents who are interested in the "biomedical" approach to treating autism should be aware that Dr. Coplan considers it nothing more than snake oil and quackery. He believes the disease to be purely genetic, thinks regression is a "myth", and dismisses any environmental factor as "speculative" and lacking in scientific plausibility. He cautions parents to "follow the money" when it comes to complementary treatments but completely ignores that advice when it comes to the issues of vaccines and pharmaceuticals.

Now, I'm actually not anti-vaccination or anti-medication; I think both are important parts of modern medicine that have saved many lives. That said, I absolutely believe the medical establishment overuses the latter and pushes a dangerous schedule for the former. A policy of routine vaccination at birth with a mercury-containing Hepatitis B shot is unconscionable IMHO. Only those babies born to Hep B+ moms should receive the shot at birth; other children should be vaccinated at adolescence (if at all). Other vaccines should be given on a far more spread-out schedule, individually if at all possible. I had wanted to get the individual measles, mumps, and rubella shots for my 3rd child, who was subsequently diagnosed with autism, but was forced to make an "all-or-nothing" decision about the combined MMR vaccine because the CDC had pressured the manufacturer into suspending the individual shots. I don't know if receiving the combo shot played any role in the development or worsening of her autism (she has non-regressive autism so there's no "smoking gun") but I really wish she could've received the individual shots like her older brother did.

A more spread-out schedule would require additional doctor visits, but it would allow for the child's body to better de-tox questionable vaccine components and would reduce the risk that the immature immune system gets overwhelmed. The well-being of the child should outweigh the convenience and cost-savings of the current CDC schedule.

I found myself completely annoyed by Dr. Coplan's smug and arrogant defense of the status quo and dismissal of the growing evidence supporting the biomedical approach. Are there charlatans hawking snake oil out there among complementary & alternative treatments for ASD? Unfortunately, yes. Parents should absolutely "caveat emptor" and carefully do their homework before investing money in some purported "miracle cure" for their autistic child. That said, Dr. Coplan should let go of the dangerous myth that autism is purely genetic and that nothing can be done from a biomedical standpoint to help children with ASD. I realize that it's hard to make such a paradigm shift when for decades you've been touting the party line. But he should remember that stomach ulcers were once considered to be purely psychological until the discovery that the H. Pylori bacteria was the true culprit. When he ignores the mounting evidence in favor of the biomedical approach, Dr. Coplan is like the GI doctor telling the ulcer patient that the disease is "all in his head".

Overall, I give "Making Sense of Autistic Spectrum Disorders" a qualified recommendation.

This is a very recently published book (March 2010), so the info is just about as up-to-date as anybody could hope for in a commercially-available publication at this time; and it is a great guide for anybody whether they are just starting out learning about ASDs, or just want to catch up on some of the newer approaches that have been developed and become available in the last few years. The author's approach is very straightforward and pragmatic, without being too limited/conservative/traditional; and even though the language is accessible (not overly technical), the explanations and content are not lacking for depth. For those reasons, I ESPECIALLY recommend this book for parents who are new to autism -- who have just gotten a diagnosis for their child or are just beginning to undergo the process of getting one -- because it is very helpful in explaining the different types of therapy that are out there, and weighing the relative merits of each; which is of enormous help when faced with the overwhelming myriad of options that are available today and trying to decide what approach to try first. This is why I purchased this book -- my own son is in the process of receiving his diagnosis -- and it has been invaluable in helping me to educate myself and get oriented in this subject. This is an excellent book; and I recommend it wholeheartedly!

As the parent of a newly diagnosed toddler with autism, I've read many, many books and journal articles to learn about the disorder. Dr. Coplan's book is the best one I've read so far. The other book that comes closest is by Dr. Fred Volkmar.

I'm also a practicing physician who went to see multiple, multiple specialists (2 developmental pediatricians, 2 pediatric neurologists, 1 pediatric psychiatrist, 2 child psychologists, 1 educational psychologist, and much more) to seek help for my child. I'm still looking for the best treatment options for my child. We wasted thousands of dollars seeing the multiple specialists who offered few answers when Dr. Coplan's book would have helped point us in the right direction.

Dr. Coplan discusses the disorder, the diagnosis, treatment options in a thoughtful, clear, and helpful way. His book explains how to try and find the most suitable treatment for your individual case. None of the other books managed to explain this most important aspect of autism treatment.

His book really helps the parents get past the hysteria surrounding the epidemic and focus on finding treatment options most likely to help each unique child.

Thank you, Dr. Coplan, for writing this amazing book. Your patients are very lucky to have you.

As the mom of an ASD child, I wish this book was around 5 years ago. However, now it's here and I'm recommending it to everyone I know because it's that helpful.

I also highly recommend Dr. Coplan as a doctor. He was able to accurately diagnose and carve a path for my son at a time when we were getting wildly different opinions from all sorts of other professionals. He was able to sift through all the bad advice so that we could act on the good advice.

This same advice is in his book, which is why I gave the book 5 stars. As a testimony to his understanding of ASD, my son was functioning around the 18-24 month level when he was 3 1/2 years old. My son was mainstreamed in kindergarten with social skill supports and is continuing to do just as well, if not better, in first grade (he's now seven).

I donated a copy to our school library, and I plan to buy several additional copies so that I can give them to people who asked about the path I walked. I hope that other parents can experience the same successes (not to say there weren't bumps along the way) that I have. This book is my way of giving back to the ASD community that helped us so much.

My Grandaughter has PDD-NOS which is a form of autism and this book has so much "easy to understand" information in it that both her Mom and I have found incredibly helpful. Dealing with an autistic child on a daily basis can be trying but because of this book we have found ways to really help my Grandaughter because we understand the disease better. We have sought treatment that we would not have thought about without this book. I originally checked it out at the library but when I read it I knew it was a book that we had to OWN. So many resources are laid out for you and you get real hope for the autistic child's development and future. Wonderful book - worth ANY price! Thank you Amazon!!!!!

I read this book after I brought my child who had developmental delays to Dr. Coplan. Dr. Coplan gave us a copy of this book when we saw him. Beware! The book may not give you the tools to "Create the Brightest Future for your child with the Best Treatment Options." I later discovered that his tests were outdated, and were only guesses. After receiving a second opinion, I discovered that Dr. Coplan misdiagnosed my child as being on the spectrum. My child was a late talker and lost all of the red flags that Dr. Coplan thought were indicators of autism within a year. My child didn't have all the requirements to be on the spectrum, yet Dr. Coplan went ahead and misdiagnosed. Had we followed his "best treatment option" 25 hours per week of ABA (Do as I say therapy) for a three year old???, it may have had long lasting detriment to my child, especially when my child is able to make choices. If you do read this book, don't take it as gospel. Make sure that you get a second opinion and read other resources. Listen to your early intervention speech, OT and PT therapists. Dr. Coplan makes his diagnosis based on a 45 minute test that frustrates your child, without giving any weight to the professional therapists who see your child on a weekly basis. If your child is a late talker, read Marilyn Agin's "The Late Talker." Dr. Coplan has a reputation for putting every child on the spectrum just to get them to come back and charge the big bucks. If you want a sure autism spectrum diagnosis, PDD-NOS at the very least, go see him.