Barbara Boroson?s : How to Reach and Teach Students with ASDs is an engaging, thoughtful and valuable resource for instructors, parents and administrators that enable them to reach, understand and help students with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) so that they may succeed in school.
Barbara Boroson holds an undergraduate degree in creative writing from Cornell and a masters degree in social work from Columbia University. She has worked in autism spectrum education for 20 years in clinical, administrative and advisory capacities. She currently works as a consultant and supports teachers and school districts as they integrate their students on the spectrum into mainstream environments. Her stated goal is in the development of inclusive classrooms where all students can learn and grow.
Her writing is clear and accessible. It gives her readers an understanding of the complexity of ASD by using concrete examples and provides the instructor with the tools and techniques that help steer students towards success. : How to Reach and Teach Students with ASDs is highly recommended for all instructors and families wishing to teach and better understand individuals with ASDs.
The autistic spectrum, also called autism spectrum disorders is characterized by widespread abnormalities of social interactions and communication, as well as restricted interests and repetitive behavior. The ?ve forms of ASD are classic autism, Asperger?s syndrome, Pervasive Developmental Disorder Not Otherwise Speci?ed (PDD-NOS), Rett syndrome and Childhood Disintegrative Disorder. The number of reported cases of autism increased dramatically in the 1990s and early 2000s. This increase is largely the result of changes in diagnostic practices, availability of services and public awareness, although current research shows that unidenti?ed environmental risk factors cannot be ruled out.
Classic autism is a disorder of neural development and affects information processing in the brain by altering how neurons and their synapses connect and organize in ways not yet well understood. While autism has a strong genetic basis, the genetics are complex and it remains unclear whether any of the disorders in the spectrum are explained more by rare mutations or rare combinations of genetic variants.
Controversies surround other proposed environmental causes of ASD, such as pesticides, heavy metals or childhood vaccines, but no convincing scienti?c evidence has been presented for any of these proposed causes. Boroson?s work is valuable in that it offers tested preventive strategies that cooperatively build a classroom setting that includes students with ASDs.
Boroson begins by de?ning and explaining many of the terms and acronyms encountered while helping students across the autism spectrum. She gives us the ill-de?ned and yet textbook characterization of ASDs stated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services? Center for Disease Control and Prevention Autism Information Center (2009):
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