Developmental-disabilities Books

Although I haven't purchased this book, I have read a copy of it that I borrowed from a library.

To be honest, I am disappointed that it doesn't say anything about autistic people that is very postive. Although it supports the idea of autistic people being given every chance to progress as much as they can, it warns their caregivers about how difficult they are to help, and does not say very much about how much they can progress even if they are given every chance to progress as much as they can. I prefer books that talk about how capable autistic people are of progressing if they are given every chance to progress as much as they can, and that give examples of ones who have dramatically progressed already as a result of being given every chance!

Collaborative Research in Developmental Therapy : A Modern

This is not really a book, but rather more like a pamphlet. Very short , basic and only deals with infants.

Rondal reports on a person with Down syndrome who is communicating at a level above that to be expected from people with Down syndrome. Does he raise his estimate of her intelligence (or of the maximum intelligence of people with Down syndrome? No, he does not. Instead, he declares that communiation at that level requires less intelligence than has formerly been thought. An example of academic rigitity at its worst.

My daughter has high functioning autism. Her therapist recommended this program. She emphasized that it was about "theory of mind", but had not yet previewed the program. It isn't. It is all about reading emotions. The emotions displayed are so numerous that nuance becomes necessary. But we did not always agree that the face matched the expressed emotion. And, given the intricate nuances that ultimately became necessary as the levels progressed, it would perhaps be better to be dealing with American actors for American kids, given both the slight language and cultural differences.

My daughter's passion is computers, so I thought she would take to this program. We fooled around with it for about half an hour. Then she announced that she already knew all the material (she did) and that the program was boring (it was). An hour later, she said, "Mommy, can you do something to get that horrible program out of my head?"

This program is what my computer programmer ex-husband calls "shovelware". It is intensely dull. This subject matter could have been made so interesting! I mean, come on... Emotions are everywhere! Instead, we are subjected to five-second clips of really bad actors (plus the Harry Potter kid) acting out, for example, anger. No context. And with all the overacting, it isn't true to life.

This program would only be useful for a child who truly has no understanding of emotions whatsoever. Even then, I think you would have a hard time getting him or her to work through the program, based on the sheer mind-numbing boredom.

My daughter gets emotion. What she doesn't always get (here comes theory of mind) is why YOU don't "get" something, when SHE does. The program didn't help with that at all.

Oh, and did I mention that it was BORING?