Targeting Autism: What We Know, Don't Know, and Can do to Help Young Children with Autism and Related Disorders

by Shirley Cohen

Targeting Autism reaches out to everyone who lives with, cares about, or is trying to understand and help a young child who has or may have autism. With special attention to recent advances in early identification and educational treatment, Shirley Cohen, a teacher of teachers, provides expert guidance for families, educators, students, therapeutic personnel, and all those interested in autistic spectrum disorders that may affect as many as one out of every 200 to 250 children. Cohen, who has no personal or professional stake in any of the various forms of treatment, leads us through an analysis of the approaches currently available, especially the educational interventions designed for young children. Readers will welcome this informed and humane combination of up-to-date research findings, personal observations, and narratives from parents and adults with autism. Targeting Autism also highlights advances in research that promise an answer to the puzzles of autism and the elimination of its devastating effects on the development of children.

In a new preface and updated appendix of resources Cohen includes information about new developments and new ways of thinking that have recently modified the map of the world of autism or may do so in the near future.

Genres: Autistic Spectrum Disorder, Nonfiction

238 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1997

Reviews

[Marina Nilsson · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Targeting Autism" is a valuable historical resource for those interested in the evolution of understanding ASD. It's a good beginner's guide that offer a coherent and concise introduction on the many facets of autism spectrum disorder but that mainly focuses on children. For learning about adulthood, you need to be more specific and look elsewhere but as a solid introduction, this is a good place to start.

I would say the main target audience are teachers and parents but it still offers very valuable knowledge for any reader. I am a childfree woman with strong autistic traits and I found many things applicable to my own life and the book helped me to understand my best friend better too. While some updates are necessary to reflect current knowledge and terminology, such as we no longer using the term asperger's syndrome but high-functioning autism instead, the book's focus on practical guidance, fostering empathy and highlighting the importance of early intervention continues to resonate with readers.

"Targeting Autism" should be read and understood within the historical context of when it was written, 1997. Cohen provided a lot of insightful research that she conducted during the 90ies but some of the things written are outdated, such as the chapter where she talks about a potential "cure" for ASD, or at least people's hope for some kind of antidote that we today know is not curable. Autism is a way of being, a different way of percieving the world that is just as valid as anyone else's perception of the world.

We have a lot more research and studies on the way autism impact girls and women too so just take it for what it is and appreciate it's beginner-friendly language. The narrative raises personal experiences from the perspective of parenthood, teachers and adults who provide their own challenges navigating life with ASD as children and it also offers different solutions of how we can come to understand people with ASD better. One example being recognizing the signs early so the child won't struggle as much in the future, so just start here as a foundation to stand on and then progress with other, more updated works on ASD to gain a more beneficial learning experience.

[Caitlin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Della doesn't have Autism but I have been looking for some discipline techniques for children with issues similar to hers. I found the ABA chapter helpful with a lot of practical suggestions for us to try. I also found the chapter on the issues that families face (like stress, emotional exhaustion, and fear) to be pretty spot on). A friend of mine checked this book out for me from the Rice University library and I was a little worried about the technical aspects of this book. Although the book had that aspect, I still found it easy to read.

[Melissa Wilson · Rating 3 out of 5]

The important parts of the book that I kept were:

Speech and Language, Families (stress and money).

The "We have a Dream Chapter" when they spoke about ABA by Dr. Lovaas. Also modifications in treatment programs. Reinforcers, Extinction. TEACCH Model (pg 117) and a couple pages on Equal Education. (PG 124)

The Leap Program in PA.

Other names you will hear are: Stanley Greenspan, Barry Prizant, Geraldine Dawson,

[Heidi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finally! A book that helps explain the "what" as far as is possible. I've been getting too many books that just want to tell you how they think they can fix everything. I just need to better understand what I'm dealing with before I can modify my battle plan.

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book seemed to be the one book that made the most amount of sense to me. I read it when my son was very young and newly diagnosed with severe autism.

[Lorena · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good resource for learning about autism therapies.