Creative Therapy for Children with Autism, ADD, and Asperger's: Using Artistic Creativity to Reach, Teach, and Touch Our Children - Softcover

Tubbs, Janet

 
9780757003004: Creative Therapy for Children with Autism, ADD, and Asperger's: Using Artistic Creativity to Reach, Teach, and Touch Our Children
Softcover
ISBN 10: 0757003001 ISBN 13: 9780757003004
Verlag: Square One, 2007

Inhaltsangabe

It is no easy task to find ateaching technique that can truly change the course of a child with specialneeds. Thirty years ago, when Janet Tubbs began working with children who hadlow self-esteem and behavioral problems, she developed a successful programusing art, music, and movement. Believing that unconventional children requiredunconventional therapies, she then took her program one step further—sheapplied it to children with autism,ADD/ADHD, and Asperger’s Syndrome. Her innovative methods and strategies notonly worked, but they actually defied the experts. In this new book, JanetTubbs has put together a powerful teaching tool to help parents, therapists,and teachers work with their children.

Creative Therapy for Children with Autism, ADD, and Asperger's ​​is divided into two parts.Part One provides an overview of Autism Spectrum Disorders and introduces andexplains Janet’s novel approach to teaching. Her goal is to balance the child’sbody, mind, and spirit through proven techniques. Part Two provides a widevariety of exercises, activities, and games that are both fun and effective.Each is designed to reduce hyperactivity, increase and prolong focus, decreaseanger, develop fine motor skills, or improve social and verbal skills. All arepart of a program created to help these children relate to their environmentwithout fear, anxiety, or discomfort.

A child may appear stubborn anddifficult, but that doesn’t mean that the child isn’t intelligent, curious, orcreative. With the right treatment, such a child can be reached, taught, andset on the road to improvement. The lessons provided in this book may be justwhat you and your child have been waiting for.

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Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor


Janet Tubbs began working with special needs children in 1977, and developed a unique approach to reaching children who had low self-esteem and behavioral problems. In 1984, Janet expanded her program to include children with autism, Asperger’s syndrome, and ADD/ADHD. In the same year, she

established the Children’s Resource Center, a nonprofit organization for children with special needs. Janet has helped thousands of children and trained hundreds of teachers and parents throughout North America.

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Do you sometimes have the feeling that your child is different from her siblings or other children her age? She may have odd mannerisms, like spinning a spoon on the floor for hours or having a tantrum if you decide to take a different route to the store. She might insist on having her crayons lined up in a row and won’t look you in the eye. In fact, she may have stopped talking and not want you to hug her anymore. If you can relate to any of these unusual behaviors, you are not alone.

We all want our children to be “perfect,” but sometimes they aren’t. It is second nature for friends to compare their children, hoping theirs is taller or smarter than the rest of the toddlers in child care or nursery school. When they aren’t, we are told that they will catch up and that some babies are slower than others. You cling to that, all the while knowing that something isn’t quite right with your child. You don’t want to believe that there could be anything wrong. Even when the pediatrician recommends testing, you resist; it might prove that your worst fears are realized.

Your daughter’s kindergarten teacher may call for yet another meeting about her annoying behavior. This time you are told that she has to be removed from the school for pinching, biting, kicking, and insolence. When the teacher says your daughter needs help, you are defensive, but after a great deal of thought and consideration, you finally agree that at times she is out of control. Your search begins for something quick and easy that will make her behave more like other girls her age.

Your doctor may recommend testing by a psychologist or a Developmental Pediatrician, and while you are apprehensive, you feel sure whatever it is can be easily fixed with a shot or a pill to make the symptoms disappear. You are still relatively calm about the outcome, but when the specialist tells you that your child has a neurological disorder, probably autism, you are suddenly thrust into a world you didn’t know existed. You will likely experience a range of emotions from disbelief to anger to overwhelming despair.

It is important to understand that you are not alone. Help is out there for you and your child, whether in a clinical setting or through support groups. You will find many parents who have been in your situation and who are eager to help you through this difficult time. Once you get past that initial shock, it is natural to want to learn everything about this disorder so you can help your child.

You will find that there are millions of boys and girls with autism and soon recognize the symptoms in your child and other children. You will also discover that in addition to autism, there are other related neurological disorders, known as Autism Spectrum Disorders, which are increasingly common and easily recognized, such as Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) and Asperger’s Syndrome. These two disorders share some of the characteristics of autism, but are clearly separate and distinct classifications.

THE AUTISM SPECTRUM

As you read the following chapters, you will learn about the Autism Spectrum, a medical term for several disorders that are similar but not identical. Think of the Spectrum as a straight line with a dot at each end and one in the middle. The one at the left end is ADD, the mildest form of neurological disorders in this category of “Spectrum.” At the far right is classic autism, the most involved or severe form of these disorders. In the middle of this hypothetical bar is a dot for Asperger’s Syndrome, which has some characteristics of ADD and some of autism.

Along the bar are other, less common disorders, but this book will focus only on autism, ADD, and Asperger’s, all of which are being increasingly recognized on a daily basis. As you read this book, you will become familiar with the characteristics of each and see where they may overlap. Most kids with ADD or ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) have allergies--as do kids with autism and Asperger’s Syndrome.

The brains of all of these children are different from “typical” children. They think differently, and when this uniqueness is understood, we can see that they may well be gifted and misunderstood. One specific gift that these three groups of children have in common is a sensitive, creative, artistic inner life that blooms when they are given the opportunity to see, feel, sense, and participate in various forms of art.

ADD children are often accused of daydreaming and are restless in school because they are bored. If they are overly active, running around the classroom, or in general disrupting the teacher, they are known as “hyperactive” and labeled as having ADHD or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. (Throughout this book, the closely related conditions of ADD and ADHD are frequently lumped together as “ADD” to avoid long and awkward phrasing of sentences. References to ADD are not meant to exclude ADHD unless specifically noted.)

The usual recommendation of a teacher is to medicate them with Ritalin or other drugs to make them conform to the behavior of the other students. This may offer short-term solutions but we don’t know the long-term effects of these psychotropic drugs. There are many natural or homeopathic remedies that have proven helpful, along with artistic, creative, and remedial therapies that do not minimize the child’s individuality. In Chapter 4 you will learn about ADD and ADHD and the signs you’ve noticed, but may have tended to overlook. “Boys will be boys” explains their constant activity and chatter up to a certain point--at which time it is impossible to ignore inappropriate behavior.

Right in the middle of our invisible bar is Asperger’s Syndrome, which has been increasing dramatically in prevalence as it is becoming more widely recognized. The immediately noticeable signs of an “Aspie,” as kids with Asperger’s like to call themselves, are obsessions with things like timetables and train and plane schedules, a fiery temper, and poor social skills. They are very creative but usually have a short attention span like kids with ADD. This can be irritating to parents, who think they’re just being stubborn or rebellious. The great thing about kids with Asperger's is that once they have your respect, they are eager to establish a relationship with you that is based on mutual trust and understanding. From then on the majority of their learning is gleaned from conversation and dialogue. You, the parent, will be the educator, therapist, and confidant.

Until a decade or so ago, kids with Asperger's Syndrome were thought to be unruly trouble makers who simply needed discipline. Parents were gossiped about and filled with guilt, thinking they were terrible mothers and fathers. They were regularly called in for conferences at school and told that their child—usually a boy—was a disruptive influence in the class because he yells out answers to questions instead of raising his hand to be recognized. On the more serious side, Aspies often threaten to harm themselves or others. Because they will listen and communicate with someone who is trusted--whether a parent or therapist--it is relatively easy to talk with them about their feelings and help them work through the stress with puppets, art, writing, and a lot of compassionate dialogue.

At the far right of the bar is classic autism, the most severely affected of all children on the Spectrum. There are different degrees of autism. The most common form of autism is slightly to the left on the bar. These children are very intelligent, observant, and sensitive to their surroundings, and are not given enough credit for their intelligence. They hear and...

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Verlag
Square One
Erscheinungsdatum
2007
Sprache
Englisch
ISBN 10 
0757003001
ISBN 13 
9780757003004
Einband
Taschenbuch
Anzahl der Seiten
336
Kontakt zum Hersteller
Nicht verfügbar
Verantwortliche Person
Simon and Schuster Netherlands BV
info@simonandschuster.nl

Herculesplein 96
Utrecht
3584 AA
Niederlande