Review #38
I was originally going to review this one right after The Loving Push (Review #36;
The Loving Push) since the two seem to go hand-in-hand, but this one ended up taking longer to complete because it was more technical in nature, and admittedly, not as relevant for me, especially the early portions about school and setting up / advocating for supports. That being said, I am glad to have finished reading it, as the later portions in particular are more applicable to a wider audience.
I was intrigued by this books’ author – she is a professor of child psychiatry who has written a number of other books (including one on CBT with children), and was/is a single mother of an autistic child, and so she’s writing from a rather different perspective than many other authors, who are usually writing as a psychologist, or as an autistic person.
Whereas The Loving Push provides a higher level overview of parenting and support concepts, this book, primarily looking at the teenaged years into the 20s, provides a lot of ideas and suggestions on things to consider and to plan for, and is illustrated with some examples. Each chapter also concludes with a summary, which is helpful in distilling the key ideas since the style of the writing is, in my opinion, a bit technical and not particularly conversational / memorable.
One aspect that I really appreciated was a number of tables and charts that can be helpful for explaining things to someone who is autistic (e.g. different type of authority figures and what is appropriate in terms of interacting with each), as well as lists that can help an autistic person and their network identify what works for them (e.g. different types of living options, from the now rare institutionalization at one end, to independent living, with friends or family checking in occasionally at the other end – and noting that there’s a lot more demand for the various assisted living arrangements, so if that is what is desired, to get on waitlists as soon as possible and identify interim measures).
Something that I found unusual was that she mentions the change from seeing a pediatrician to seeing a general practitioner (GP) as something that can be challenging for a youth – but I’m wondering if that might be Ontario-specific, or specific to those with a childhood diagnosis / identified as having special support needs because to my recollection/understanding, even as a five or six year old I was seeing my family doctor / GP. But the idea of having someone who can kind of serve as a case manager and put different pieces together is nice.
The future planning part at the end, including drawing up a will (particularly important where someone has more support needs), and that one would likely wish to review and revise it over time as circumstances change is one that was nice to see, as it tackles the often avoided question of how to prepare for the inevitable, and there, the author also reminds us to keep in mind longer term goals – so to consider not just what happens if we (someone who supports an autistic person) were to pass away today, but to consider the different life stages and needs of the autistic person in setting up a trust and/or identifying persons to provide support going forward.
Score: 6.0/6.0 (recommended general reading for anyone, and recommended in particular for parents, siblings, and other supporters of teens and young adults on the spectrum)
