(Part 2) Best special needs parenting books according to redditors

oh really

Hi! I don't think I posted in your old posts, but I'm an Autistic mom of three Autistic kids and have been an active Autistic advocate for over a decade. :) If you need anything at all, my PM's are open. To start, there's a phenomenal book from the Autistic Women's and Non-Binary Network on Amazon called "What every Autistic girl wishes her parents knew" www.amazon.com/What-Every-Autistic-Wishes-Parents/dp/0997504528/ and it's VERY worth the read. :)

Autistic Women's and Non-Binary Network is a great resource: https://awnnetwork.org
Autistic Self Advocacy Network does some good work: https://autisticadvocacy.org
Foundations for Divergent Minds is an organization that uses neurodiversity principles to help parents adapt the environment to suit your kiddo rather than expect your kiddo to adapt to the environment: https://www.divergentminds.org
Onto the blogs that you really should read:

Everyone is going to steer you to ABA. ABA is coercive abusive BS. Here's a comprehensive post about why with links and all the better authors than me to explain: https://madasbirdsblog.wordpress.com/2017/04/25/i-abused-children-and-so-do-you-a-response-to-an-aba-apologist/

That blog link will explain why it doesn't even really work anyways.

Also, if you've discovered that kidlet doesn't make great friends, know that it isn't kidlet. There are actually studies that show that a lot of allistics don't really like us (Autistics) within as little as seconds after meeting us. Depressing but true. https://www.nature.com/articles/srep40700?fbclid=IwAR0M2Z3qTmpLxorT5X-Ja4V1jQ-Z3-wRsgSyAncp9UfYmD-UHbHyitOc3tA

I suppose I may have infodumped enough on a post that's probably not for that. >.> Just want to help. I guess feel free to PM me if you want more? HA! :)

I was gonna get this book for my match in MI

Like queeraspie said, we're not mentally ill. Hopefully you take something from your experience in this subreddit.

Here's some books which may help you and your brother. If he won't/can't read them, you read them and use the information you gain to assist him figure things out. Some are geared toward Asperger's, but will be a good read regardless.

http://www.amazon.com/The-Unwritten-Rules-Social-Relationships/dp/193256506X/
http://www.amazon.com/Social-Success-Workbook-Teens-Skill-Building/dp/1572246537/
http://www.amazon.com/Full-Life-Autism-Relationships-Independence/dp/0230112463/
http://www.amazon.com/Alone-Together-Making-Asperger-Marriage/dp/1843105373/
http://www.amazon.com/The-Journal-Best-Practices-Marriage/dp/1439189714/
http://www.amazon.com/Asperger-Syndrome-Long-Term-Relationships-Stanford/dp/1843107341/
http://www.amazon.com/Aspergers-Love-Couple-Relationships-Affairs/dp/1843101157/

It really depends on how severely is your niece affected (is she verbal or not, and so on). I guess if you're planning pre-school you're already lucky and it isn't desperately bad.

I'd recommend to read these two books first and move on from there when you have this basic information:

1. Autistic Brain by Temple Grandin - a high functioning (and successful) autistic person explains the biology behind autism and her own experience with this condition.
   
   
2. Autism: A Practical Guide for Parents by Alan Yau - the first book is longer and theoretic, and this is a short collection of very concrete practical examples of how to interact with autistic children.
   
   Someone who is definitely not me might have unlocked DRM free versions of those books. So on an unrelated note, if the money is tight you can PM me so I can sympathise with you.
   
   

here are a few of my all-time favorites:

non-fiction: guiding the gifted child

fiction: albert camus' "the stranger"

audiobook: david lynch's "catching the big fish"

Im currently have a proffesor that is autistic and has done a lot of research on it.

First, some short pieces of my own writing...

http://neurocosmopolitanism.com/what-is-autism/

http://neurocosmopolitanism.com/throw-away-the-masters-tools-liberating-ourselves-from-the-pathology-paradigm/

http://neurocosmopolitanism.com/autism-and-the-pathology-paradigm/

http://neurocosmopolitanism.com/neurodiversity-some-basic-terms-definitions/

http://neurocosmopolitanism.com/neurotypical-psychotherapists-and-neurodivergent-clients/



Next, some videos...

My friend Steve Silberman, journalist and autism historian:
https://www.ted.com/talks/steve_silberman_the_forgotten_history_of_autism

A 2007 video that was one of the earliest public statements by a nonspeaking autistic activist:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JnylM1hI2jc

Spectrum, a 23-minute documentary featuring a few autistic folks including my nonspeaking poet friend Tito and me:
https://www.pbs.org/video/iptv-presents-spectrum-story-mind/

My advice for parents of autistic children:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N6GnPgro5BY



And here are some book recommendations...

The Real Experts, a short book of autistic writings for parents of autistic kids:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0986183563/

The ABCs of Autism Acceptance, another 101-level book for parents and others:
https://www.amazon.com/ABCs-Autism-Acceptance-Sparrow-Jones/dp/0997297174/

Plankton Dreams, a lovely brief childhood memoir by nonspeaking poet Tito Mukhopadhyay:
https://www.amazon.com/Plankton-Dreams-What-Learned-Special/dp/1785420070/

Diverse Bodies, Diverse Practices, a book on somatics and diversity that includes a chapter by me on autistic embodiment:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1623172888/

Authoring Autism, the definitive scholarly critique of the dominant discourses on autism:
https://www.amazon.com/Authoring-Autism-Rhetoric-Neurological-Queerness/dp/0822370115/

Here are some resources:

1. An article explaining 3 subtypes of NVLD: http://simonbaruchcurriculum.pbworks.com/f/Non-Verbal%20Learning%20Disabilities.pdf
   
2. A video about the work of Professor Jodene Fine, who discovered the first anatomical evidence in the brain to suggest NVLD as a distinct diagnosis: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GGjLPy2pHRg&t=3s
   
3. A video about the differences between NVLD and Asperger's, which are commonly confused: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_JWh3lrscqE&t=273s
   
4. This book by Peter Flom about his experience with NVLD, as well as practical advice for parents, teachers, adults, teens, etc.: https://www.amazon.com/Screwed-somehow-stupid-learning-disability/dp/069261169X

If education interests you, you can't go wrong with How Children Fail, How Children Learn, or any of John Holt's later works. Truly inspiring.

The Lives of Children by George Dennison is also amazing.

I gave my mom this book

Mom I Need to be a Girl
https://www.amazon.com/Mom-I-Need-be-Girl/dp/1419684388

It's a bit dated but it helped my mom a lot because since the book is written from a Mom perspective, seeing her MTF daughter grow-up