The Parents' Guide to Teaching Kids with Asperger Syndrome and Similar ASDs Real-Life Skills for Independence

Book excerpt: The definitive resource for teaching kids with Asperger syndrome the life skills that build independence, confidence, and self-esteem. Children with autism spectrum disorders learn differently. Our kids' choices are too often limited and their paths to success restricted, not by a lack of intellectual ability but by deficits in acquiring, applying, and generalizing basic life skills. Success in school, at home, on the playground, and beyond depends on mastering countless basic living skills that most other kids just "pick up" almost by osmosis. This book shows parents how to teach these so-called easy skills to complex learners. This is the first book for parents and caregivers of kids with Asperger syndrome and similar learning profiles that features strategies based on applied behavior analysis--the most widely accepted, evidence-based, and effective teaching method for learners with ASDs--including how to: -Identify critical skills appropriate for your child's age--how to teach them and why -Implement new techniques that can replace, mimic, prompt, override, or impose missing order on your child's learning style -Design a curriculum for your child that reduces reliance on prompts (including parents) and promotes new learning, new behaviors, and independence