Additional Information
Book Details
Abstract
Written for busy foster carers and adoptive parents, this book provides a concise introduction to Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), and how to support a child with a diagnosis. It emphasises the common strengths children with ASD have, as well as offering strategies for any behavioural issues that are likely to arise, highlighting how these can be exacerbated by the care system and adoption process.
The first part of the book looks at the different aspects of autism and the challenges it can pose for children and parents, providing strategies for managing difficulties at home and at school, using social stories, and reducing sensory input in a child's environment. The second part looks at issues that arise for fostered or adopted children, including placement transitions, contact, and explaining the past. It concludes with helping parents to think about self-care.
Dr Helen Rodwell is a Consultant Clinical Psychologist, based in Derby, UK. She works with looked after and adopted children and provides supervision and consultation to other professionals, including adoption and fostering social workers. She currently works with a range of Local Authorities, Barnardo's and a voluntary Adoption Agency.
Dr Katie Hunt is a Consultant Clinical Psychologist and Paediatric Clinical Neuropsychologist currently working in private practice in Nottingham, UK. She specialises in work with children and young people with complex special needs and neurodevelopmental difficulties, which includes children with Autism.
Adoption UK regularly supports adoptive parents who are struggling to decide whether their children has autism or an attachment disorder and what difference those two diagnosis might mean. This book will be invaluable to them as it provides a really helpful and simple description of how autism can present in different children, and how this can be similar to attachment difficulties. This book will help parents to get to know their child and their autism. It provides lots of real life examples and explores issues specific to adoption - such as moving from fostering to adoption. It will be invaluable bedside reading for many adopters.
Ann Bell, Adoption UK
Table of Contents
| Section Title | Page | Action | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Foreword by Daniel Hughes | 13 | ||
| An Introduction to Autism for Adoptive and Foster Families: How to Understand and Help Your Child by Katie Hunt and Helen Rodwell | 3 | ||
| Acknowledgments | 15 | ||
| Preface | 17 | ||
| Notes on terminology | 18 | ||
| 1. What is Autism? | 19 | ||
| Introduction | 19 | ||
| What do we mean when we say ‘autism’? | 20 | ||
| So, what is autism? | 23 | ||
| Autism as a spectrum | 25 | ||
| What else might be going on? | 48 | ||
| Let’s introduce some made-up children | 51 | ||
| 2. How is Autism Assessed? | 56 | ||
| Introduction | 56 | ||
| How is autism assessed, and what is good and poor practice? | 61 | ||
| Assessment and formulation | 61 | ||
| Specific issues for fostered and adopted children | 73 | ||
| 3. Overriding Principles for Parenting a Child with Autism | 80 | ||
| Principle 1: Know your child (and his autism) | 81 | ||
| Principle 2: Get alongside your child | 83 | ||
| Principle 3: Understand the communication in your child’s behaviour | 88 | ||
| Principle 4: Look behind your child’s behaviour | 91 | ||
| Principle 5: Keep things calm | 96 | ||
| Principle 6: Be predictable | 97 | ||
| Principle 7: Think environment | 98 | ||
| Key strategies | 101 | ||
| Thinking about tricky situations | 113 | ||
| 4. Everyday Transitions at Home and School | 122 | ||
| Introduction | 122 | ||
| The ‘small’, everyday transitions | 124 | ||
| Transitions between schools | 132 | ||
| What else can we do to help with transitions, both big and ‘small’? | 136 | ||
| 5. Placement Transitions and Contact | 144 | ||
| Placement transitions | 144 | ||
| How to support your child with contact | 161 | ||
| How to support your child with involvement from social care professionals | 167 | ||
| 6. Attachment and Belonging | 172 | ||
| What is an attachment and why do we need to know about it? | 172 | ||
| What is different about attachment in children with autism? | 191 | ||
| 7. Life Story, Loss and Trauma | 207 | ||
| How to help your child understand her past and the reason for being fostered or adopted | 208 | ||
| Helping your child recover from past trauma and loss | 216 | ||
| 8. Looking After Yourself | 224 | ||
| 9. Seeking Help and Resources | 228 | ||
| Places to find help and support | 228 | ||
| Finding a professional | 232 | ||
| Getting to Know my Child | 235 | ||
| Subject Index | 241 | ||
| Author Index | 245 | ||
| List of figures | 10 | ||
| Figure 1.1: Aspects of autism | 26 | ||
| Figure 1.2: Teapots and thresholds | 45 | ||
| Figure 1.3: The autism and anxiety wheel | 46 | ||
| Figure 1.4: The window of tolerance | 47 | ||
| Figure 1.5: Jamil’s aspects of autism | 52 | ||
| Figure 1.6: Emily’s aspects of autism | 54 | ||
| Figure 2.1: Assessment and formulation | 62 | ||
| Figure 2.2: Aspects of autism | 63 | ||
| Figure 2.3: How an assessment process might look | 69 | ||
| Figure 2.4: Jamil’s assessment process | 77 | ||
| Figure 2.5: Emily’s assessment process | 78 | ||
| Figure 3.1: Jamil’s play | 86 | ||
| Figure 3.2: Understanding what behaviour is about | 92 | ||
| Figure 3.3: Jamil and Lizzie | 95 | ||
| Figure 3.4: Visual timetable for the morning routine | 103 | ||
| Figure 3.5: An example visual aid to help a child learn how to meet expectations | 106 | ||
| Figure 3.6: How intervention flows from assessment and formulation | 115 | ||
| Figure 3.7: Some of the things that could influence Jamil’s behaviour | 116 | ||
| Figure 4.1: Examples of visual timetables for school | 142 | ||
| Figure 5.1: A social script to explain a forever mummy | 152 | ||
| Figure 5.2: A visual timetable for the morning | 159 | ||
| Figure 5.3: An example of a visual timetable | 166 | ||
| Figure 6.1: How attachment works | 175 | ||
| Figure 6.2: Things that influence the development of early attachment | 176 | ||
| Figure 6.3: Mother and baby in reciprocity | 182 | ||
| Figure 6.4: Internal working model for a child with a secure attachment | 185 | ||
| Figure 6.5: Secure and insecure attachment styles | 186 | ||
| Figure 6.6: Attachment disorders | 190 | ||
| Figure 6.7: Aspects of autism | 192 | ||
| Figure 6.8: How autism may impact on attachment | 198 | ||
| Figure 7.1: Pyramid for recovering from trauma and loss | 219 | ||
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