“The activities in the book capitalize on AD/HD traits because I use the traits as the vehicles to complete the task. AD/HD students like to move, so activities include jumping answers, and singing facts, and activities that are interesting enough to promote focus. The child is empowered to make tents, read on the floor, discuss emotions, and pop bubble paper.”
“Our journey [into Family Attachment Narrative Therapy (FANT)] really started when an adoptive parent commented, “I wish I could rewind the tape on this kid and start his life all over again.” That statement led to a story about what it could have been like and should have been like for that child – re-doing the narrative of his life.”
“Professionals need to feel comfortable as facilitators of parents’ learning and engagement with their child at home, rather than seeing themselves as therapist experts who work one-on-one with children. While the latter is sometimes necessary, the former is where we can have the biggest long-term impact on helping parents realise their full potential and assisting them to maximise their daily interactions with their child so that they become more responsive to their child’s needs and communicative attempts. This builds positive parent-child relationships.”
“There is lots of information in the book, and I really hope that people take that on board, but to me, what is more important is that they gain an understanding of, and an insight into life with Asperger Syndrome. If you understand someone with Asperger Syndrome, then knowing that it is named after Hans Asperger is redundant. While that sort of information might be interesting, it is far more useful to know how the person with Asperger Syndrome thinks: what he or she might find hard and why, what things might set them off, and what things will calm them down, what things they will be really good at, and what things they might struggle at.”
“It is important for children to participate in ‘activities of daily living’ which are essential for good health. The more he is involved in the process and has some sense of control, the less he will see it as a chore and the more he will be willing to participate… When approaching these activities, parents need to ask themselves what they are attempting to accomplish. For example, if the goal is for the child to be clean, then does it really matter if bath time is 7PM or 3PM, as long as the time fits with the flow of the family?”
Brian R. King is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and an international consultant on the Autism Spectrum. He, his wife and their three sons are…
By Charlotte E. Thompson, MD, author of Grandparenting a Child with Special Needs. Over the years, many grandparents have contacted me about how to be…
“Many parents tell us that they have struggled to find a diagnosis that ‘makes sense’ of their child’s development and behaviour. Often they have read the descriptions of PDA and comment on how it is ‘like reading my child’s life story’. These parents don’t just want a label for their child – although they are often criticised for just that – but they want a way of understanding him or her. With understanding, they can then move forward knowing the best ways in which to manage their children, encourage them to be less anxious and reduce some of the outbursts that are having an impact on all of the family.”
“I would like to think that fostering will become less regulated, less “professional” and more like normal parenting. We need to select foster carers who can be “Good Enough” stable parents to children and young people who can sometimes be difficult and demanding. We need to trust them to get on with the task and offer support, back-up and additional services when and if they are needed”
“Social workers tended to focus on responses to referrals and may need help to look beyond that to an overall picture of the child’s development. Other professional groups (such as dentists or nursery nurses or teachers) are well-placed to pick up on signals that a child might be being neglected, but may need more help to recognise this, and to know how to respond. Further, mothers in particular can recognise when they are struggling. Practitioners should not be afraid to ask them how they feel their parenting is going.”