The Australian Autism Handbook is the go-to guide for parents whose children have been diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder. It is a practical and comprehensive guide to every aspect of raising an ASD child, including early signs and symptoms, getting a diagnosis, the importance of early intervention, and expert advice on finding your way through the medical maze.
This new edition book has been completely revised and updated with new chapters on dads and siblings, the teenage years, and expanded information on autism and Asperger’s syndrome and the DSM5 diagnostic criteria. The second part of the book is an invaluable resource guide which lists federal and state supports along with a comprehensive list of websites and books.
In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Benison O’Reilly and Seana Smith about their own experience in raising children with ASD from birth to adulthood, how our understanding and diagnosis of ASD has changed, why girls may have been under-diagnosed, and invaluable hints and tips on working with the NDIS.
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With Tahlia, it was mostly her language that we noticed. She was babbling from about four months, but it never improved, it was always babble. She wasn’t saying ‘mum’ or ‘dad’ or counting or doing any of those very fundamental steps towards building her language. And then there were other little things, like she would be very interested in lining things up. Things like cats and pets, or bottles or pens. They were all very organised, all the time. We thought these were quite a few strong indicators, even from when she was a year old.
And her father and I were onto it very early. We were very much in support of never letting our children fall between the cracks. If anything, we would prefer to be considered a bit OTT than to just ignore issues and let them become bigger.
Courtney Walpole
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