The Autism Lens helps teachers to connect to students with autism and support them along their own unique trajectory. Bringing to life communication difficulties that impact socialization and learning, this book removes the guesswork by offering practical solutions and classroom-tested strategies. Woven throughout are stories that encourage teachers to see instruction from a student’s point of view. From this perspective, teachers can gain trust and nudge students into the space where learning happens.

The fully revised second edition of this easy-to-use resource introduces the sensory differences autistic children may face, and explores how these differences can affect their ability to make sense of the world. It is invaluable in helping those adults working with autistic children to identify the possible triggers for the child's behaviour and consider it through a sensory lens. Children have varying sensory needs so the book offers both a wealth of enjoyable activities for sensory exploration and play, whilst also providing suggestions for strategies and ideas that can be used at home or in school to create an autism-friendly environment. This book: Highlights the possible link between behaviours that challenge and sensory difficulties for autistic children. Provides practical and accessible resources, helping parents, carers and practitioners to gain a greater understanding of sensory differences. Includes an online assessment with accompanying aids to create a visual representation of the child's sensory needs. With both downloadable and photocopiable resources, this practical guide will be an essential tool for parents, carers and practitioners working with autistic children, enabling them to to create a visual profile of areas of difficulty which can form the basis of personalised strategies and fun sensory activities to support the child.

When Elizabeth Barnes discovered that her son was on the autism spectrum she realized she had a lot to learn. She also discovered a talent for finding fun ways to teach her son about his autism through his own interests. One of those interests, which she shared, was Star Trek.Barnes writes with empathy and experience about raising a child on the autism spectrum, and the challenges they can face in understanding their own and others' behavior. The various Star Trek episodes and characters provide perfect settings to better understand a wide range of behaviors and interactions, while entertaining both parent and child. Topics in the book include learning to read facial expressions and character intent, or understanding character responses which those on the autism spectrum may recognise in themselves. Broader themes in the book include exploring communication, bullying, anxiety, acceptance, and intense interests. Each is illustrated with examples from the TV series, and include suggested questions or items to consider.Star Trek fans will learn about how it feels to see the world from an autistic perspective, and find new facets and ways to view the shows they love, while autistics, friends, loved ones, and parents of children on the autism spectrum will find new ways to better understand autism and spend enjoyable time together. Make it so.

"Thanks to Luca Dellanna for his book about autism and ASD. It's probably one of the best works I have read in that matter (I have read a few) and it's surprising how realistically he depicts the condition." – Manel Vilar, a reader "Thank you for helping me understand! My son was recently diagnosed and I needed to be able to understand how he views the world. Why certain things would overwhelm him and cause so much anxiety and pain. This book made it so clear and easy to understand." – Geiger T., a reader. "Loved The World Through a Magnifying Glass – this analogy NAILS IT." – Emerson Spartz, NYT Bestseller Author THIS IS THE SECOND EDITION! By reading this book: You will understand why people on the Autism Spectrum behave the way they do and pay attention to the things they pay attention to. You will learn to communicate with them in a way that captures their attention. You will comprehend why some fields are so hard to learn for people on the Spectrum, and why they are sometimes talented at other ones. A book to understand the Autism Spectrum Disorder. This book is for parents, friends, or anyone related to someone with Autism. This is for neurologists and psychologists to help them understand the world of ASD. This book is for people on the Spectrum, to help them understand themselves. Some of the topics covered inside: - The Magnifying Glass: a metaphor to understand perception under the Spectrum - Why people on the Spectrum are impaired in contextual fields (such as personal communication) and advantaged in mastering detailed fields (such as computer science). - Peripheral Functionality Blindness: the reason people on the Spectrum do not develop appropriate body language and facial expressivity. - Prioritization by Specificity: the reason literal meaning is the only thing which matters, for people on the Spectrum. - The High-Pass filter: a novel hypothesis for the Autism Spectrum Disorder, coherent with previous theories and experimental results. (Reading time is about 1h30)

This book will allow anyone who lives or works with children with Autism to see the world as they do, and develop strategies for managing and understanding it effectively. It peers through the "Autism lens", allowing us to effect change in terms of the way we deal with autism as a society and in education. It delivers evidence-based support and strategies that enable us to develop young people's abilities to interact with the social world, removing much of the anxiety that often accompanies it.

All I want is someone to care, to know, to understand. And maybe, for a brief moment, I will be free... Finding Kansas is a memoir like no other, written by an unlikely author who at first never dreamed he would find even one reader. When he was diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome at age 20, Aaron Likens began to collect his thoughts and experiences on paper-the highs, the lows, the challenges, and the unexpected joys. What he found was hope -- not only for himself, but also for others with Asperger's. Now a sought-after speaker and blogger, he is passionate about sharing his insights into this often misunderstood condition. Aaron has another passion, too: the world of auto racing. A successful flag man at racing events across the country, Aaron calls racing his Kansas-a place where he feels safe, confident, and normal. For others on the autism spectrum, Kansas might be trains, history, or the weather. It is here where, like Aaron, they find freedom, and the possibility for growth and change Finding Kansas brings us into Aaron's world and, in the process, offers a richly observed, deeply thoughtful, and sometimes painful picture of what it's like to live on the autism spectrum.

A remarkable memoir by a mother and her autistic daughter who’d long been unable to communicate—until a miraculous breakthrough revealed a young woman with a rich and creative interior life, a poet, who’d been trapped inside for more than two decades. “I have been buried under years of dust and now I have so much to say.” These were the first words twenty-five-year-old Emily Grodin ever wrote. Born with nonverbal autism, Emily’s only means of communicating for a quarter of a century had been only one-word responses or physical gestures. That Emily was intelligent had never been in question—from an early age she’d shown clear signs that she understood what was going on though she could not express herself. Her parents, Valerie and Tom, sought every therapy possible in the hope that Emily would one day be able to reveal herself. When this miraculous breakthrough occurred, Emily was finally able to give insight into the life, frustrations, and joys of a person with autism. She could tell her parents what her younger years had been like and reveal all the emotions and intelligence residing within her; she became their guide into the autistic experience. Told by Valerie, with insights and stories and poetry from Emily, I Have Been Buried Under Years of Dust highlights key moments of Emily’s childhood that led to her communication awakening—and how her ability rapidly accelerated after she wrote that first sentence. As Valerie tells her family’s story, she shares the knowledge she’s gained from working as a legal advocate for families affected by autism and other neurological disorders. A story of unconditional love, faith in the face of difficulty, and the grace of perseverance and acceptance, I Have Been Buried Under Years of Dust is an evocative and affecting mother-daughter memoir of learning to see each other for who they are.