Talking Teenagers (eBook)

Ann Boushéy is the parent of Jon, a teenager with autism. She has a Master's Degree in Creative Writing and lives with her family in the Mid-west, USA. She is the author of Parent to Parent: Information and Inspiration for Parents Dealing with Autism or Asperger's Syndrome, also published by Jessica Kingsley Publishers.

Introduction. 1. A parent's heartache-ever present. Chicken nugget #1: HFA or AS? What's the Diff? 2. What do I tell people about autism? Chicken nugget #2: What do we do with the good intentions of others? 3. IEPs and those elusive goals. Chicken nugget #3: Autism and gray. 4. Charting growth. Chicken nugget #4: Living with fear 5. Understanding Jon's way of understanding: Or, Lost in Translation is not just a movie title. Chicken nugget #5: 'Sometimes it's all Greek to me too!'-explaining terminology 6. What to take on vacation. Chicken nugget #6: On perseveration-'Stop beating that dead horse!' 7. What about anger? Just because your child has a disability, doesn't make you a doormat! Chicken nugget #7: 'I love you, but we are not connected at the hip!' 8. Straight talk for parents: 'We need to be like the Energizer Bunny, we must keep going and going…' Chicken nugget #8: Birthday parties-so simple, yet so impossible. 9. An interview with the school counselor. Chicken nugget #9: 'Is there a lesson in these socks?'-dealing with tactile issues. 10. A bully by any other name is still a bully. Chicken nugget #10: When parents hit a brick wall in communication. 11. An interview with an expert on autism-Dr. B.J. Freeman. Chicken nugget #11: Literally speaking. 12. Choosing your battles: Fighting the system. Chicken nugget #12: 'Get off my back! Please!' -understanding rudeness. 13. An interview with a parent expert-Emily Perl Kingsley. Chicken nugget #13: Stopping to note the successes-a trip to the dentist. 14. Planning for our own demise: an interview with an attorney. Chicken nugget #14: Changing my view. 15. Resources remix: Useful information and resources. Chicken nugget #15: 'We must see differently!' 16. Explaining their differences to our teens. Chicken nugget #16: Thoughts on normal. 17. A case for empathy. Chicken nugget #17: 'But do I have to fix him?' 18. The s-e-x word meets the a-u-t-i-s-m word. Chicken nugget #18: Waiting for the other shoe to drop-optimistically being pessimistic. 19. Charting behaviours. Chicken nugget #19: Three steps forward, one step back-not the latest dance craze. 20. Family members and autism: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. Chicken nugget #20: Finding hope at the library. 21. Autism and religion. Chicken nugget #21: Angels by my side. 22. Shadow dancing. Chicken nugget #22: Serendipity-the sauce for those nuggets! Epilogue. References. Subject Index. Author Index.