The Parent's Guide to the Medical World of Autism: A Physician Explains Diagnosis, Medications and Treatments

Super easy to read and understand. Dr. Aull lays everything out clearly and backs up all of his statements. It is obvious he has a lot of experience in the field and has been working on this a long time. I would suggest this read to teachers and caregivers, not just parents. As a parent of a child that may be on the spectrum, I learned a great deal and would recommend this book to everyone!

Very informative but I wish there are some pictures or tables because reading it was a little hard.. no bold letters or italics just plain reading so it made me mark almost everything that I personally think should be important. I’m just a reader that needs more visual stuff in it like even the print to emphasize important things but all in all I think this is a great book to have as a parent or special ed. Teacher. My book is screaming of different color pens and highlights so it looks messy now but I know it will be easy to go back and reference it rather than all plain lettering.

Clear and helpful information from all sides of the issue. A must read for anyone wanting or needing information.

Dr. Aull has written the perfect book for parents of Autistic children! It explains so many aspects of Autism in a manner that the average, worried parent can understand.

the book is very informative and does a good job of explaining autism, giving examples of behaviors and explaining the various medications available

For everyone for a better understanding of what parents confront with children with these challenges. Well-written, easily understood and a competent guide.

Interseting

I was more than a little worried about reviewing this title because it looked very complicated. It turns out to be an easy and gripping read. Dr Aull is a Behavioral Pediatrician with over 30 years of experience treating and diagnosing patients on the autism spectrum and that experience shows throughout the book in real-life examples from his practice.This is essentially two books in one. The first half of the book is about diagnostic procedures while the second is all about medication.In the diagnostic half, Dr Aull talks about the different things that he looks for when patients enter his practice. It was quite interesting to discover that he places such a high emphasis on genetic traits. He talks about observations he makes in a child's parents during the interview and  the questions he asks about the family.His personal take on Asperger's syndrome is fascinating and he ascribes many of the common symptoms to anxiety, thus increasing the importance of anti-anxiety medications.There are some great comments on methods of testing various medications on children and the reasons why this testing is essential. Every child is different and although genetics can give you some clues as to the best medication it doesn't always reveal the entire picture.The book assumes that parents are looking for the right kind of medication and as such it doesn't deal with questions of whether or not medication of children is right. There are no politics in play here.The medication chapters discuss different categories of medications and their use in individuals with Asperger's syndrome before moving on to discussions of medications which can assist with ADHD and sleep issues. The discussions include information about how often to use medications, how long the testing period should be and what changes parents should expect to see during that period. There is also some discussion on how different medications interact with each other. This is a fascinating read which is presented in a way that makes its complex topic much easier to digest.If you're considering medications or if your child is already on medication, it's well worth reading. Beyond that, every developmental pediatrician should have copies available in their waiting rooms particularly as the early sections cover many of the questions that are likely to occur to parents only after they have left the doctor's office.