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A review by redhickory
Ten Things Your Student with Autism Wishes You Knew by Ellen Notbohm
3.0
I didn't find this as useful as “Ten Things Every Child with Autism Wishes You Knew”, partly because it goes over some of the same ground as the other book and partly because it is more abstract, with less useful examples.
However, I liked her way of viewing things, saying "it's not about singling out the ASD child for special treatment. It's about teaching to the strengths and deficits of a different kind of learner." She also rejects the unfair argument, asking are we offering unfair help to a child who is allowed to wear glasses to see?
I also liked that she puts the onus on teachers to make an effort to understand that kids with an ASD think differently and she says from the child's POV, "Your way of thinking is so natural to you that you cannot even imagine that it is foreign to me".
Another point she makes that I like is "throw away the idea that all you have to do is try harder. If we aren't trying through compatible channels, we can try until we cry and it won't even matter. We have to try smarter, not just harder." That almost applies to everybody and all things, but it is something that is forgotten. Adults love "try harder" or "you're not trying hard enough".
This book basically advocates that teachers and parents put ego aside to help kids, and sometimes that means asking for help - we can't all do all thing and we can all be everything to everybody and the only failure is if we fail to recognize when we can no longer do what we set out to do and fail to ask for help.
However, I liked her way of viewing things, saying "it's not about singling out the ASD child for special treatment. It's about teaching to the strengths and deficits of a different kind of learner." She also rejects the unfair argument, asking are we offering unfair help to a child who is allowed to wear glasses to see?
I also liked that she puts the onus on teachers to make an effort to understand that kids with an ASD think differently and she says from the child's POV, "Your way of thinking is so natural to you that you cannot even imagine that it is foreign to me".
Another point she makes that I like is "throw away the idea that all you have to do is try harder. If we aren't trying through compatible channels, we can try until we cry and it won't even matter. We have to try smarter, not just harder." That almost applies to everybody and all things, but it is something that is forgotten. Adults love "try harder" or "you're not trying hard enough".
This book basically advocates that teachers and parents put ego aside to help kids, and sometimes that means asking for help - we can't all do all thing and we can all be everything to everybody and the only failure is if we fail to recognize when we can no longer do what we set out to do and fail to ask for help.