Recently Published Books on Autism
A Guide to Some of the Latest Autism Books Published
Feb 26, 2009
Fifteen years ago there were hardly any books on the subject of autism. Today, the list of books seems endless. Unfortunately, the documented rise of 1 in 150 new cases of autism per year is responsible for this increase in literature.
Following is a list that summarizes some of the recently published books on autism. This list is specifically for those who prefer to read personal accounts of what it is like to live with autism and how parents of children with autism struggle to help their children.
Books Written from a Parent's Perspective
Louder than Words: A Mother's Journey in Healing Autism [ Plume, 2008] by Jenny McCarthy. This is the first book that Jenny McCarthy wrote recounting everything they went through while searching for ways to help their son, Evan, after he was diagnosed with autism. She favors behavior therapy, diet and supplementation as treatments and believes vaccines are the cause of her son's autism. This book has received a lot of press, both good and bad.
Mother Warriors: A Nation of Parents Healing Autism Against All Odds [ Plume, 2009] by Jenny McCarthy. The second book she wrote which is just coming out in paperback this March. Similar to her first book but this one also includes the stories of other mothers (and one father) and their journeys in the autism world.
A Friend like Henry: The Remarkable True Story of an Autistic Boy and the Dog That Unlocked His World [ Sourcebooks, 2008] by Nuala Gardner. This is a very uplifting account of how a dog helped a boy with autism begin to open up and learn to communicate with others. It shows how animal therapy, often overlooked, can help treat different conditions.
Books Written by People with Autism
How Can I Talk If My Lips Don't Move: Inside My Autistic Mind [ Arcade, 2008] by Tito Rajarshi Mukhopadhyay. Tito Rajarshi might not be able to speak but he is a great writer and poet. Through his writings he explains how autism has affected him, how he learns and how he has struggled to overcome many obstacles. It is truly an amazing opportunity to be able to see the world through his eyes.
He also wrote an earlier book titled The Mind Tree [ Arcade, 2000] which recounts how his mother dealt with his autism while in India and how she meets Portia Iversen, cofounder of Cure Autism Now, who ultimately brings them to California to live. The second part of his book is a collection of his poems, one of which is " The Mind Tree".
Demystifying The Autistic Experience: A Humanistic Introduction for Parents, Caregivers and Educators [ Kingsley, 2009] by William Stillman. Mr. Stillman is very candid in the way he tries to help non-autistic people understand what autism is like and the reasons behind many behaviors that are misunderstood. Nicely written and humanistic as the title points out. He has also written a few other books that deal more with the spiritual aspect of autism like The Soul of Autism: Looking Beyond Labels to Unveil Spiritual Secrets of the Heart Savants [ New Page, 2008].
This is not a complete list of all the books recently published on autism. There are others that are just as good and worth reading. What all these books have in common is the desire to share with others the trials and struggles that are part of the every day lives of both parents and people with autism.
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