Book Review: “Raising Resilient Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders”

I’ll be frank – I don’t trust psychologists.  Maybe it was from my childhood session with a very inexperienced child psychologist.  Seriously, I was about 8 and I used wonder if that woman was even out of college yet.  Of course, sending you to a psychologist to straighten your posture was all the rage in 1973.  True, I’ve met some good ones, but mostly I’ve met mediocre ones and a few REALLY bad ones too.

So, when I got a copy of “Raising Resilient Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders: Strategies for Maximizing Their Strengths, Coping with Adversity, and Developing a Social Mindset“, written by Robert Brooks, Ph.D., and Sam Goldstein, Ph.D., both psychologists, I was a little leery.  I had known about the book “Raising Resilient Children” when I was in my mommy-book reading phase, but had not purchased it.

Turns out, I was all wrong.  Drs. Brooks and Goldstein provide solid tips and strategies, giving examples from real-life cases.  To say these guys get it is an understatement.  Rather than focusing on the “what’s wrong with this child” view of discipline, they focus on the child’s strengths, acceptance, and building up the parents, including teaching them to empathize with their kids who are on the spectrum.

In fact, “Raising Resilient Children with ASD” is less of a psychiatric treatise and more of a road map to helping your child thrive and succeed.  Topics include teaching kids self-esteem, building up their strengths, teaching them to make decisions, fostering both unconditional love and realistic expectations for your child, to name a few.  The concrete examples from real parents and kids, including the parent’s screw ups, will hit home, I promise.  Not only that, but the good doctors share specific techniques and communication tools to put your best parenting foot forward.

The one thing I also really liked about this book is that I felt less like … the bad parent so many of us autism moms feel like, and not just because I could relate to the parents in the book.  Some things I had already learned on my own journey, like acceptance and unconditional love, and that made me feel good about myself.

I highly recommend this book, so if you like, you can click on my Amazon links and check it out.  For me, I think BOTH my girls will benefit from what I’ve learned in this book.