Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork for Autism Spectrum Disorders – An Interview with Dr. Virginia Cowen

“A child who displays aversion to touch can be taught how to understand touch—essentially learning to differentiate between normal and painful sensations. I have found that a systematic approach to massage is very important for children with autism spectrum disorders. When they learn what to expect, they are better able to relax and receive massage.”

Lisa Spillane on How Qigong can help children who feel ‘pushed and pulled’ by their emotions

“…it dawned on me how ridiculous it was that even though I’d had this body for so many years and took an interest in health and nutrition, I was unable to confidently point to my spleen, pancreas or liver. I thought to myself that if I’d learned these exercises as a child, not only would I have known more about my body but I’d have been able to help myself in those dark times when I felt pushed and pulled by my emotions.”

“I realized that I could help others find their voice” – An Interview with America X. Gonzalez, co-author of Speech in Action

“Speech in Action works well with children on the autism spectrum is because it is fun…If the student is bored out of his or her mind they won’t pay enough attention to learn anything. On the other hand, if they are actively engaged in a lesson they will pay enough attention to allow the information to enter their brains. They might need some repetition to completely learn the concept but since the activities are fun the kids beg us to do them all the time.”

Understanding and Working with Parents of Children in Long-Term Foster Care – An Interview with Gillian Schofield and Emma Ward

“Parents felt that, with a few exceptions, social workers did not and could not understand what it was like for them as parents of children growing up in care. There was stigma to bear as well as the emotional loss. In contrast, social workers talked of being aware of the parents’ distress and loss, but often not having the time to see parents, because they were focussing on work with and for the child, or simply not knowing how to help parents.”

My Parent has an Autism Spectrum Disorder: Barbara Lester talks about her new book for children and teens

“I always knew that my father seemed different from other fathers, but back then I didn’t know there was a name that described this difference or that there might be other people who had similar issues in their families. Once I realized that my father had an ASD, it helped me better understand and get along with him. I have found that over the past ten years there has been an exponential increase in the amount of information available to parents to help them understand their ASD children, but almost no information for children or teens to help them understand their ASD parents. I wrote this book to begin to fill that gap.”