Reddit reviews Encyclopedia of Reptiles and Amphibians, Second Edition (Natural World)

We found 1 Reddit comments about Encyclopedia of Reptiles and Amphibians, Second Edition (Natural World). Here are the top ones, ranked by their Reddit score.

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1 Reddit comment about Encyclopedia of Reptiles and Amphibians, Second Edition (Natural World):

u/RainbowPhoenixGirl · 5 pointsr/herpetology

Maybe get him a zoo pass if you live close enough! I had an aquarium pass as a kid and it changed my life, I loved it and it really got me interested in life and the study of life. I'm now a human biologist!
There are lots of great books, but one I have had for many years now is the Encyclopaedia of Reptiles and Amphibians. I loved it when I was younger, it gave me a real passion for studying herps.
Youtube channels like Snake Discovery are awesome for encouraging an inquiring approach to reptile husbandry and care, without the issues that learning from other less-reputable sources might have.
I recommend finding him a guide to herping in California, and maybe be willing to take him on things like herping expeditions and hikes. This would also help him develop a love of the outdoors and of hiking, which is a FANTASTIC thing for a child to love doing! The more he associates being outside with the things he loves and wants to do, the better.

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He actually sounds like he might be on the autism spectrum, so I would highly recommend you research how to encourage learning in kids on the spectrum. One of the things that kids on the spectrum are really good at is "fixating" on a specific topic - in his case, reptiles - and learning absolutely everything about it and becoming experts in that field. However, this can sometimes lead to ASD kids neglecting other areas of their education and self-education, so I recommend that while you CERTAINLY shouldn't be discouraging his love of reptiles, since it's both cruel and doesn't work, you might also want to encourage him to take an interest in order areas of study too. Perhaps get him a book on amphibians, and help him learn about ALL of herpetology rather than just reptilians, and from this you can maybe branch out into learning about zoology in general.
Kids on the spectrum DO tend to get very bored in school, because they want so badly to fixate on their special interests that they can end up accidentally neglecting school work. It can also impair social development, and can result in kids being very intelligent, and knowledgeable in their favourite areas, but not scoring well on tests because the things their teachers are telling them are simply completely disinteresting to them. The best way to help with that is to find resources on parenting children with autistic spectrum disorders, ASDs, and following that advice in order to best help him out.
If you can, do take him to a neurologist or child psychologist to work out whether or not he's DEFINITELY on the spectrum or not, because if you have a formal diagnosis you can tell his school, who will be required to give him extra resources to help him learn. However, if he is diagnosed as such, whether or not you tell him his diagnosis is up to you, and literature is split on whether or not this actually helps kids or hinders them. Personally my experience is that telling kids helps them more than it hinders them. I obviously am not trying to diagnose your nephew based on a reddit post, you should certainly talk to a doctor or psychologist about that and trust their advice. However I think that most of your concerns and observations of his behaviour and your brother's seem in line with the concerns that are typically expressed by parents and carers of kids and adults with ASDs, which are also often heritable.