Mindful Parenting for Autistic Children: Understand ASD, Overcome the Challenges, and Successfully Parent Children with Autism Through Practical DBT Skills and Mindfulness Activities Paperback – 14 April 2023

I got this book for one of my school-round parents who recently diagnosed their son with autism. Their journey has been very challenging, from discovery to coming to terms and now beginning to figure out the future, the way forward, and how to live with and accommodate the needs of an autistic child. These were very challenging and trying times, but this book has provided them with some good practical tips and examples to help ease their burden on what lies ahead.

I read this whole book cover to cover in less than two sittings. Some of the book is based on "research" by the author and a lot of it is anecdotal. I really had high hopes for this book and wanted to love it as the first few pages really spoke to me as a parent but the typo in the first few pages- 3 typos in total and it's not a long book, was one of many things that really put me off. Another example: In the UK, Aspergers is no longer used for diagnosis although it is still recognised if a person was already diagnosed with Aspergers (you might want to look up the history of the name too) and I've never read about slow and rapid brain growth in children with autism- interesting but I need to read further to see if this is actually a scientifically proven thing.There was a paragraph on stimming on p.43 that says "the golden rule that is generally accepted [by who exactly- the author doesn't say?!] to determine if someone has stimming or just a repetitive behavioural habit is whether the behaviour is socially acceptable or not."By this point I wanted to put the book in the bin! This is just not true. Lot's of children stim and it may be very subtle and generally accepted by most people. I would not call it a golden rule!I believe there are much better books out there and a wealth of info online; most of the content of this book is probably things you already know and not really anything new. I'm giving it 1 stars as it may be useful for someone who is just starting a journey with an autistc child bu I believe some of the content is doubtful.

She has not listen to autistic voices in writing this and is parroting the medical model of autism. Eg the stereotype that autistic people “lack empathy” actually many autistic people have too much empathy and are so sensitive to moods and emotions it causes them issues.Listen to actual autistic people about what autism is.

Mindful Parenting for Autistic Children provides practical techniques and activities to help parents understand and respond to the behavioral patterns of autistic children, address challenges autistic kids face, maintain a deep connection, and make things better for autistic kids.It also teaches DBT skills and activities to teach social & interpersonal skills, accept and be more compassionate towards autistic kids, and practice self-care and avoid stress. Defo recommended!

As the parent of a neurodiverse child I picked up a copy of this book on kindle to see if it could help give some guidance especially on the teaching and learning of things so I can be a bit more useful to them. It has the usual stuff (which would useful to people that are just starting to learn about it) such as the spectrum and how the diagnosis impacts your child etc. For me the teaching social and communication skills were just what I wanted.Another part that I didn’t expect is where the author talks about acceptance of the diagnosis and how to stay strong on difficult days. This would have been extremely helpful to my family a couple of years ago and I think that it’s going to help a lot of people who take the time to read it.