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Grateful parents and professionals worldwide have welcomed this essential guide to the highly recommended Floortime approach for treating children with any of the autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Now available in paperback, Engaging Autism includes new, exciting information on neuroscience research into the effects of this approach, plus guidance for parents navigating the controversies surrounding the treatment of autism.

Unlike approaches that focus on changing specific behavior, Greenspan’s program promotes the building blocks of healthy emotional and behavioral development. He shows that, remarkably, children with ASD do not have a fixed, limited potential, and may often join their peers to lead full, psychologically healthy lives. The Floortime approach can also be applied at any age—including early infancy, when the first signs of risk for ASD may appear—so that preventing the full development of autism becomes a real possibility.

Stanley I. Greenspan, M.D., author of the widely used and praised books The Challenging Child and (with Serena Wieder, Ph.D.) Engaging Autism, is Clinical Professor of Psychiatry and Pediatrics at George Washington University Medical School and lives in Bethesda, Maryland. Serena Wieder, Ph.D., Associate Editor of the Journal of Developmental and Learning Disorders, is co-author with Dr. Greenspan of The Child with Special Needs and a close colleague of Dr. Greenspan's in all his work in the field of autism.

Published to coincide with National Autism Awareness Month in April, these two excellent books on autism spectrum disorders (ASD) address the important areas of early diagnosis and treatment. In Does My Child Have Autism? , Stone (director, Treatment & Research Inst. for Autism Spectrum Disorders, Vanderbilt Univ.), with the help of professional writer DiGeronimo, assists parents and others in identifying early signs that could help with earlier intervention services. The focus is on three key elements: delays in social interaction, communication issues, and repetitive behaviors. Stone also includes numerous FAQs and a comprehensive overview of the diagnosis process in this wonderfully written book.

In Engaging Autism , Greenspan (psychiatry, George Washington Univ. Medical Sch.) and Wieder (associate editor, Journal of Development ) offer the definitive guide to Greenspan's respected "floortime" method. Its general principle calls for communicating on the same level as the person with ASD, which frequently involves using favorite objects or games. One example features a child who continually opens and closes doors. To engage the child, the authors suggest discreetly using a door stop to force the door closed and, in turn, force the child to ask for help (with prompting); a reward is offered for the communication. Other examples are just as illuminating, illustrating concepts that can be used and adapted. Both books will greatly strengthen any ASD collection; highly recommended.--Corey Seeman, Kresge Business Administration Lib., Univ. of Michigan, AnnArbor

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