This book is an Amazon Best SellerHow does a boy the doctors say is “mentally retarded” graduate high school with honors and earn academic scholarships to attend college?How does a boy who doctors say may never speak become a powerful vocalist and gifted public speaker who brings audiences to tears?How does a boy who cannot tie his shoes until he is 13 years old emerge as a swimming champion who receives an athletic scholarship to swim in college?Only by the grace and power of God.Learn from this inspirational story how you, too, can:• Not just survive but actually thrive in the midst of life's ongoing challenges• Break the cycle of discouragement and depression and learn how to find peace and strength in your struggles• Stop agonizing over what could have been and embrace God's plan for you and those you love• Replace the fear of failure with the truth that you can live in victory in the midst of adversityPatrick offers powerful insights into the autistic mind, and he and Susan hold out hope to anyone facing severe challenges.—Beth, certified special needs teacher...tears were shed while reading this book. I loved it!....this book has given me lots of hope. -Kelly, mother of an autistic child

This book looks in detail at five positive character traits - resilience, optimism, humor, kindness, and self-efficacy - and offers tried and tested strategies for bolstering each strength in individuals with ASD. The authors provide rich and varied lesson plans which contain a multitude of activities and which can be easily implemented.

Happier lives. Less stress. Family harmony. That's what all parents of children with challenging behavior want. Learn how to get there with this groundbreaking guide to confident, skillful, and positive parenting. A book you'll want to share with every family you know, Optimistic Parenting helps moms, dads, and other caregivers develop more positive thoughts and perceptions--a key ingredient of successful parenting and effective behavior management. One of the most highly regarded experts on challenging behavior--and a parent himself--Dr. V. Mark Durand delivers both philosophical hope and practical help to parents of children with a wide range of challenges. With keen insight, gentle humor, and practical tools and strategies, Durand guides parents step by step through the process of pinpointing the "why" behind challenging behavior tuning in to their own thoughts, emotions, and self-talk understanding how their thoughts affect their interactions with their child interrupting negative thoughts and replacing them with positive, productive ones achieving a healthy balance between taking care of their own needs and their child's needs using effective emergency strategies when quick behavior intervention is needed implementing long-term strategies for lasting behavior improvements weaving functional communication training into everyday routines and interactions addressing the most common problem areas, such as sleep and transitions increasing mindfulness and parenting "in the moment" Engaging stories from the author's extensive experience illustrate how parents and other caregivers can develop more effective behavior management techniques. And practical tools and exercises, developed and tested during Durand's decades of work with thousands of parents, help families on their own journey to better parenting and happier lives. A lifeline for overwhelmed parents--and a great source of insight for the professionals who work with them--this highly motivating guidebook will help families reduce children's challenging behaviors and approach the future with optimism and confidence.

In life, we are all faced with moments which define us: make or break moments; Life altering moments. We all know the story of the person who went through hell, yet emerged either damaged for life, or gloriously victorious, like a Phoenix, overcoming, conquering, glowing: a beacon of light for others to follow. "Your life will either serve as a warning or an example" After becoming parents of an autistic child, there were moments when Sage and her husband felt like giving up. The fact that 1 in 68 children are diagnosed with autism is nothing more than just another random statistic, until you look up and are made to realize that YOUR child is that one, while the 67 others are not. Doubts, questions, blame, fear and sorrow all follow. It then becomes fight or flee and Sage and her husband were set to fight. Not to be discouraged, when the Reynold's 6 year old son was expelled from school for 9 months, instead of sitting back and crying victim, they fought the fight and got involved. They took charge of their son's education, and, in that fight, they wrote THE OPTIMISTIC AUTISTIC in order to help share the map of their travels, so that others might learn and not feel so alone in their special needs struggles.

Encouraging people on the autism spectrum to foster positive emotions and character traits can dramatically improve their lives in every way, and help to strengthen their ability to cope with everyday challenges and setbacks. Drawing on the key concepts of positive psychology, this book looks in detail at five positive character traits - resilience, optimism, humor, kindness, and self-efficacy - and offer tried and tested strategies for bolstering each strength in individuals with ASD. The authors provide rich and varied lesson plans which contain a multitude of activities designed to build on the five areas identified, and which can be easily implemented at home, at school, or in the community. This complete "toolkit" provides parents, educators and other professionals with everything they need to know to use positive psychology strategies to support people of all ages and abilities on the autism spectrum.