Abstract

Do you need help dealing with your child's tantrums, inappropriate behavior or communication issues? Then this is the book you've been waiting for.

Based on the principles of the Miller Method, this book is filled with effective tips for solving behavioral issues promptly in day-to-day situations. Miller's insights, compiled here and expanded upon by Theresa Smith, are based on an understanding of the cognitive and sensory needs of children with autism and how this can underlie certain disordered behaviors. This practical how-to guide will help you to identify causes of distress, foster friendships, increase focus, toilet train, stop tantrums and handle inappropriate conduct.

This will provide essential daily support to parents, families, carers and teachers of pre-adolescent children on the autism spectrum. The book is targeted toward the most affected ASD children.

Dr. Arnold Miller's name is known to many in the field of ASD through his writings about the need to harness the drives, obsessions, and compulsions of these youngsters transforming them into interactive exchanges that build communication and resilience. His interesting ideas and integration of theory and practice have appealed to many over the years. One problem has been a difficulty in translating his thoughtful and creative ideas into specific treatment approaches. Now this problem has been addressed with this new book by one of his long-time parent collaborators who describes 101 different intervention ideas and integrates them with the theoretical foundations that Dr. Miller and his followers thought were so important. What this book adds to Dr. Miller's appealing theory is many practical and easy to apply strategies that have proven successful in implementing his ideas and these practical activities will be of great interest to his long-time followers and newcomers to his ideas alike.
Gary B. Mesibov, Ph.D. Professor Emeritus, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
101 Tips for Parents of Children with Autism is an outstanding contribution to the field of autism spectrum disorders and fills the gap that currently exists in cognitive developmental therapeutic approaches to understanding and working with this population of children. The book will appeal to parents, teachers, clinicians, therapists and other professionals working with children on the autism spectrum. As a professor in a Faculty of Education, I will certainly introduce this text in my coursework for its generalizability to educational and clinical contexts. Congratulations to Dr. Theresa C. Smith for honoring Dr. Miller's legacy and capturing the essence of over 40 years of work.
Dr. Sonia Mastrangelo, Assistant Professor, Faculty of Education, Lakehead University, Orilia Campus, Ontario, Canada

Since her son was diagnosed with autism 15 years ago, Theresa Smith has immersed herself in autism literature and research, reading widely and attending conferences and conventions. She has worked closely with schools, private cognitive therapists, occupational therapists, equine therapists and speech therapists who have treated her son. Additionally, she worked with Dr Arnold Miller in his lifetime and was involved in editing his book on the Miller Method. She is Visiting Professor of Political Science at Albright College, Reading, PA, and lives in Pottstown, PA.

Dr Arnold Miller was a clinical psychologist and author of 'The Miller Method: Developing the Capacities of Children on the Autism Spectrum', also published by Jessica Kingsley Publishers. He was Executive Director of the Language and Cognitive Development Center of Newton, Massachusetts and Affiliate Professor of Psychology at Clark University, Massachusetts. Dr Miller and his wife Eileen Eller-Miller created the Miller Method for treating autism.

Inspired by the cognitive-developmental theory of psychologist Dr. Arnold Miller, Dr. Theresa C. Smith has written a much-needed guidebook for expanding the communication, social, and problem solving skills of children with autism spectrum disorders. With heart-warming anecdotes and humorous “intermezzo”, Dr. Smith offers keen insight into the disordered perceptions and sensory sensitivities which evoke challenging behaviors and impede adjustment. More importantly, the book offers a treasure chest of surprisingly simple, yet highly effective strategies to help children navigate around underlying obstacles and make better sense of a chaotic environment. I highly recommend this invaluable resource to parents and caregivers, or anyone else for that matter, who wants to establish a genuine relationship and make a meaningful difference in the life of a child on the autism spectrum.
Michael J. Kowalski , Principal and School Psychologist, Crossroads School, Westfield, New Jersey