Intervention and Support for Parents and Carers of Children and Young People on the Autism Spectrum: A Resource for Trainers

The needs of parents and carers of children on the autism spectrum are not met by conventional parenting strategies. This resource for trainers and facilitators offers the best available knowledge and theories to help them develop an understanding of how their child perceives the world and ultimately improve their family life.

The manual is divided into ten sessions that introduce a topic related to autism and Asperger Syndrome, for example, 'mindblindness' and the social world, and strategies to manage individual behaviour. During each session parents are introduced to a new topic and are invited to participate in exercises and group discussions that serve to reinforce the key messages discussed earlier. Each session closes with recommended reading and 'homework'.

This manual is a valuable resource for professionals working with parents of children and young people with autism and Asperger Syndrome and is an effective complement to How to Live with Autism and Asperger Syndrome: Practical Strategies for Parents and Professionals published by Jessica Kingsley Publishers, which is referenced throughout the resource.

Barry Wright is a Consultant Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist and Christine Williams is a Consultant Clinical Child Psychologist. They have both worked with children and young people, from infancy to young adulthood, with a wide range of different abilities and severity of autism for over 12 years. Much of their work has been in developing and using an extensive range of interventions to help people on the autism spectrum to build on their strengths and to support the families in the process.