OVERCOMING AUTISM: Finding the Answers, Strategies, and Hope That Can Transform a Child’s Life
By Lynn Kern Koegel, Ph.D. & Claire LaZebnik. New York: Penguin Books, 2004, 310 pp.
Reviewed by Natalie Rallis, B.S., BCaBA, Loyola College, Baltimore, MD
Overcoming Autism is written by Dr. Koegel and Claire LaZebnik. Dr. Koegel is a leading clinician, researcher, and cofounder of the Autism Research Center at the University of California at Santa Barbara and is considered an authority on the treatment of autism. LaZebnik is a writer and a mother of four children, one of whom has autism. Each chapter of Overcoming Autism consists of:
- two questions from parents
- writing by Dr. Koegel on the chapter’s topic from an academic and clinical perspective
- LaZebnik’s input on the topic from a parent’s perspective.
As the book progresses, the reader follows the journey of LaZebnik, her son, and their family, which includes the tough, disheartening, and often overwhelming elements of having a child with autism as well as the humorous and quirky aspects that motivated and empowered her. It is valuable to have a clinician’s and a parent’s perspectives side-by-side.
The book is divided into chapters based on different aspects of autism:
- receiving an autism diagnosis and the emotional stages and challenges that result, along with recommendations and useful resources
- stimulating language development
- managing tantrums
- managing repetitive behaviors
- building social skills
- understanding and managing fixations
- finding and improving an appropriate school placement
- family functioning
Also included in the book are a sample behavior tally sheet, a “toilet training data sheet” (p. 294), and an autism resource list. The intervention suggestions are based on Pivotal Response Treatment (PRT), which is a research supported intervention for individuals with autism spectrum disorders.
“This book is a description of interventions that will help your child overcome the most severe symptoms of autism. But it’s also the story of one family’s life with autism, from diagnosis to better days, aided by those same interventions. We want every parent of a child with autism—or any clinician who works with one—to know that she isn’t alone in her frustration, fears, hopes, anxieties, and occasional despair” (p. xvii). Psychotherapists can help their clients experience empathy by working through this book.
For example, the first chapter (“Diagnosis: Surviving the worst news you’ll ever get”) will help parents understand what the diagnosis means, how to talk to their child’s clinicians, how to determine the best treatment options, and how to interact with their child. This chapter also breaks down some common reactions parents have when their child is diagnosed with autism, such as denial, guilt, blame, anger, isolation, depression, and stress and how to cope with them (pp. 12-23). The parent’s psychotherapist can help the parent to identify and explore these feelings in themselves. This can lead to better quality of life for the parent, the child, and the family as a whole.
Other chapters, such as Chapter Two: Ending the Long Silence, focuses more on the child’s skills. In this case, the chapter focuses on how to encourage language in a nonverbal child. This skill acquisition will obviously help the child but it will also help the parent feel connected to his/her child and improve family functioning and more. The book goes through very manageable steps to initiate and improve language in children with autism that parents of varying education levels and incomes can execute.
A parent in psychotherapy can be empowered by learning these tangible solution-focused steps that they can carry-out. The psychotherapist can help clarify any confusion and can help his/her client with how s/he feels while reading and working through the steps (e.g., time management, stress, financial restrictions, empowerment versus burden, etc.).
Much like the authors, both caregivers and professionals who work with children with autism can benefit from reading this book. Koegel and LaZebnik explain the sometimes daunting deficits of autism in an easily understandable way. They also describe very executable techniques to overcome these deficits that both caregivers and professionals can implement.
Therefore, this book can be used in individual psychotherapy with a parent of a child with autism if the main concern is how to care for the child, cope with implications of this diagnosis, and maintain happiness in the other aspects of life impacted by having a child with autism (e.g., marriage, other children, a social life).
This book can also be useful in couples counseling with a couple with the aforementioned presenting problem. Additionally, this book would serve as a great resource to work through during group psychotherapy or a support group for parents/caregivers of children with autism.
It is probably more applicable earlier in the process of educating oneself on autism, because it covers the basics and may be repetitive for a person well-versed in autism and its treatment. However, LaZebnik’s insights into family and personal functioning may be helpful for people in various stages of caring for a child with autism. If the client’s psychotherapist is not very familiar with autism, the book can be a helpful resource for him/her in working with his/her client as well and illuminate the challenges that the client is facing.
Overall, Overcoming Autism is easy and quick to read for busy parents. Koegel and LaZebnik managed to include a lot of important and practical information in 310 small pages. It gives parents hope as well as practical positive actions that they can take to help themselves, their children, and their families.
Overcoming Autism gives the parents a place to start and emphasizes the importance of immediate and effective action. It also gives an inside view into other element effected by autism (e.g., marriage, siblings, friends, family outings and overall family functioning) and how to improve and support these factors.