Customer Reviews

What You Can Do Right Now to Help Your Child with Autism

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Levy lays out 10 straight forward techniques to help those with Autism Spectrum Disorders (e.g., Autism, Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD), PDD-NOS, Asperger's Syndrome, ...), as well as addresses parents' feelings/experiences with a special child and includes instructions on charting where a child is (in terms of eye contact, language, what a child is eating [GF/CF] and more). It forewarns the reader of the pitfalls of assuming that a child gives plenty of eye contact (chart it to be sure) or if a child is very verbal (are they really interacting in our world?)...we have all been on the phone with someone while answering emails and said just enough to convince the other person that we are really engaging with them ("really", "that's interesting", "go on"...), yet we are not really interacting with them.

This book is an enjoyable read...unlike some other books on autism, it is not burdened by heavy technical jargon that leaves the reader feeling inferior, rather Levy's book uses language to empower the reader. The book also has a website that has on-line video seminars. While this book ideally recommends a home-school setting, I still advise teachers to read it too. Because, lets face it, not everyone's circumstances allow them to keep their child home. So, if your going to be dealing with ASD kids, you will be far better off to have some real tools that will help you teach those in your care. We are getting our daughter back as a result of this approach. She is progressing by leaps and bounds in the areas of eye contact, verbal communication, sleep pattern, demeanor, and is now fully potty trained. This book is a MUST HAVE!!!!!!!

This is a very good guide for parents and teachers who wish to waste no time in treating their autistic child or student. The author "sells" his ideas very quickly and effectively with a powerful introduction. He's been there, seen the worst, done it and has numerous successes stories under his belt.

The 10 steps he recommends (listed and briefly explained in the synopsis) require very little preparation to execute. A few of the tips are obvious. Some are enlightening and some are downright controversial. Do they all work for all autistic children? Only reliable research data will reveal the whole and objective truth, but many of the exercises recommended by the author probably won't hurt. Some may even be very effective.

The wonderful thing about some of the author's insights is that a lot of his advice is good not just for autistic children but also for normal children who don't behave well. My only complaint is that there are probably more tricks than these that the author is not sharing with us yet.

These truly are the most important things you can do to begin to reach your child! If you don't already know these things from running your own Son-Rise program and whether or not you have chosen Son-Rise as your method for reaching your autistic child, this is a great resource for you and EVERYONE who will be in constant contact with your autistic child! It is simple, easy to read and understand and you can apply all of these strategies into your life immediately and see the results for yourself!
This is a fantastic Son-Rise handbook!! Please write volume 2 Jonathan!!!

This book is fantastic!! I wish I had found it a long time ago! This book gives you tips on what you can do now with your child! And it's all very easy to understand and easy things you can do! Such as:

1. Don't react
2. Make eye contact a priority
3. Join with the stims
4. Respond differently to the crying
5. Give your child as much control as possible
6. Focus on your attitude
7. Work one on one in a non distracting room
8. Be dynamic with your child.
9 Get more Lanquage
10. Make sure food isn't part of the problem.

It explains each one in easy detail. I finally feel like I can do something to help!

What a great book! Jonathan's writing style is conversational and so easy to read. I felt as though he was talking to me. His specfic and practical suggestions for parents are applicable immediately. I also appreciated how much he enjoys autistic children and their parents. His sense of humor and directness were apparent throughout each chapter. His approach is also applicable to raising children, in general. Thanks Jonathan for sharing yourself and your wisdom with others.

After reading this book I am ordering twenty: for all the people who work with my daughter, all our family and everyone I know who has an autistic child! It explains so much better than I ever could just how to reach her!

It is a one night read, very commonsense and straightforward. Others may find it "out there". I can vouch that it's tried and tested and beyond "not doing harm" I think it may just be pretty darned helpful!! You get the feeling that there's more Jonathon Levy is not saying. Clearly it's YEARS of experience condensed drastically. I think the idea is, try it and wait and see (do this with an open mind! As if anything will work if you're waiting for it to crash and burn!)then if you like what you see get back online and look up the books that started the Son-Rise program (Son-Rise, A Miracle To Believe In etc by Barry Neil Kaufman).

What I will suggest is this: READ IT! It's not expensive and it may turn you upside down on how you deal with your autistic loved one. Upside down isn't a bad thing: IF YOU ALWAYS DO WHAT YOU'VE ALWAYS DONE YOU'LL ALWAYS GET WHAT YOU'VE ALWAYS GOT. But if there's more... like an enriched relationship, a deepened appreciation... are you willing to give it a shot, try something new, and move out of your comfort zone to get it?

I am a mother of a 6 year old son diagnosed with autism. As a parent, we are sometimes left feeling hopeless and powerless when our children are first diagnosed. Let me tell you, you no longer have to feel that way! Jonathan Levy's book was so uplifting, helpful, and incredibly fun to read! I have been doing The Son-Rise Program (referred to in his book) for 2 1/2 years. My son has grown LEAPS and BOUNDS! Jonathan's 10 helpful strategies will absolutely transform your attitude and your child! It's a MUST READ for all parents with a child on the spectrum of autism. You will feel empowered and excited about helping your son or daughter improve and become so much more connected. N. Schumacher, Ph.D

I would recommend this book to parents who have just found out their child is autistic because it offers some helpful advice on dealing with an autistic child on a practical level. It also provides some helpful hints on what the parents need to work on asap with their child such as eye contact, behavioral problems, stemming, and offering different foods to your child so they won't be stuck on the same food preferences which may or may not be healthy. I would add to this book a chapter on helping your child to talk. Bumble Bee language tapes offered on-line were very helpful to our family with making sure our autistic son could speak and communicate his wants and needs which helped eliminate his frustration and early behavioral problems. The parents have to keep talking with their child and practice the very important eye contact to help their child succeed in life.

This book has helped me so much to better relate to my 3 year old twins who have autism. They are so far non-verbal and by just trying a few of the techniques in this book, I have gotten more eye contact and more interaction. What the author says makes so much sense and he tells it in a way that I can relate to. It's easy to read, when so many of the autism books out there make me feel like I should have a PhD to grasp them. I highly recommend this book to parents and caretakers of someone with autism.

This book was not only informative but very encouraging. The author's approaches were different than most I had heard of, yet I found all of it making sense. If you are somewhat at your wit's end in wanting to do something for your child but not knowing how, I highly recommend this book.