Abstract

Many young people on the autism spectrum struggle with anxiety, but did you know there are lots of simple things you can do to tackle it?

This illustrated book will help you to identify what makes you anxious, and contains heaps of activities to calm your body and mind, stop unhealthy anxiety building up and head off anxious feelings in the future. Did you know that giving your anxiety a silly name (like Dr Dread!) will give you power over it? That pretending you are a jellyfish can make your body feel better? That writing your worries down and jumping on them as hard as you can will help to squash them?

Ideal for children and young people aged 8 to 14, the ideas in this book will help you feel less stressed at home, at school and with friends, and give you healthy habits and coping techniques to last a lifetime.

An enormously valuable and accessible resource for people on the autism spectrum who are experiencing anxiety. Hartman eloquently strikes the right balance with her tips to tackle anxiety from a physical, behavioural and cognitive perspective, while providing essential psychoeducation around anxiety and emotions in general. This is an empowering 'must read' for anyone with ASD.
Roisin Doyle, Cognitive Behavioural Psychotherapist, Stillorgan Medical Centre
Davida Hartman's book Beating Anxiety is a beautifully written, simple and concise insight into anxiety and autism. Page by page, she demystifies anxiety and provides strategies and techniques to give young people the confidence and tools to overcome worries and stresses that prevent them from enjoying life. Its accessibility to children and positivity is a perfect antidote to the monster that anxiety can be to us all.
Paula Rudkins, Children’s Service Manager, Enable Ireland
Davida Hartman superbly captures practical tools and strategies to beat stress and anxiety and in turn generate calm and relaxation. Davida's skills as a clinician shine through on every page and the illustrations offer the parent, child and therapists relevant evidence based interventions.
Dr. Eddie Murphy, clinical psychologist & author
Anxiety is a big problem for many autistic people, and finding techniques to reduce their anxiety is paramount to coping with everyday life... the book has lots of different techniques to try and there is no "one size fits all" approach. Overall, this book is easy to read with simple language, short sentences and well-spaced paragraphs. Concise chapters make it easy to refer back to techniques which the reader will find helpful.
Youthinmind
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