Table of Contents

Acknowledgments; Foreword; Introduction: A Call from the Trenches; PART ONE CHILDREN; Chapter 1. Jack: Misdiagnosis and the Burden of Doubt; Chapter 2. Sasha: The Specter of Early Diagnosis; Chapter 3. Annie: Emergence from the Shadows; Chapter 4. Davie: A Longer Journey; Chapter 5. Joe: Was it Too Late?; Chapter 6. Mikey: Talk to Your Child; Chapter 7. Max: The Impact of Oral Dyspraxia; Chapter 8. Josh: Developmental Drama; PART TWO THEORETICAL GROUNDINGS; Chapter 9. Feuerstein's Vision and Vocabulary; Chapter 10. Searching for Islets of Normalcy; Chapter 11. DIRFloortime Basics; Chapter 12. Islets of Normalcy Revisited; Chapter 13. The DSM on Autism: A Closer Look; Chapter 14. Autistiform but Not Autistic; Chapter 15. Toward a Paradigm Shift; Chapter 16. Concluding Reflections; APPENDIX I; APPENDIX II; APPENDIX III; Index

About the Author

Shoshana Levin Fox, EdD, is a child psychologist specializing in play therapy. Since completing doctoral studies in Canada, she has worked in Jerusalem, where she lives with her husband.

Reviews

"An Autism Casebook for Parents and Practitioners: The Child Behind the Symptoms is a marvelous read that combines the heroic success stories of resilient children and their families impacted by autism, while offering educational play strategies within a historical context taken from the author's own professional experiences utilizing the developmental/relational treatment model DIRFloortime with the modifiable directives of the Feuerstein clinical paradigm. The result is a text that continuously challenges the reader to consider, among other things, the limits if not the dangers of overused diagnostic terminology, while continuously seeking the strengths that ultimately define and maximize the potential of each individual child."Esther Hess, PhD, executive director, Center for the Developing Mind, Los Angeles, CA, USA"An Autism Casebook for Parents and Practitioners: The Child Behind the Symptoms is a breath of fresh air for the field of autism. Dr. Levin Fox sweeps aside many assumptions about autism and replaces them with reflections, questions and insights for practice that grew from her extensive career working with autistic children. These case stories do more than engage. They illustrate new ways of understanding and helping autistic children. This book is a 'must read' for therapists interested in expanding their clinical perspective on autism and for educators guiding students toward reflective practice. Parents of children with autism will find encouragement and guidance in this important book." John Allan, PhD, professor emeritus, Faculty of Education, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada

"An Autism Casebook for Parents and Practitioners: The Child Behind the Symptoms is a marvelous read that combines the heroic success stories of resilient children and their families impacted by autism, while offering educational play strategies within a historical context taken from the author's own professional experiences utilizing the developmental/relational treatment model DIRFloortime with the modifiable directives of the Feuerstein clinical paradigm. The result is a text that continuously challenges the reader to consider, among other things, the limits if not the dangers of overused diagnostic terminology, while continuously seeking the strengths that ultimately define and maximize the potential of each individual child."Esther Hess, PhD, Executive Director, Center for the Developing Mind, Los Angeles, CA, USA "An Autism Casebook for Parents and Practitioners: The Child Behind the Symptoms is a breath of fresh air for the field of autism. Dr. Levin Fox sweeps aside many assumptions about autism and replaces them with reflections, questions and insights for practice that grew from her extensive career working with autistic children. These case stories do more than engage. They illustrate new ways of understanding and helping autistic children. This book is a 'must read' for therapists interested in expanding their clinical perspective on autism and for educators guiding students toward reflective practice. Parents of children with autism will find encouragement and guidance in this important book."John Allan, PhD, Professor Emeritus, Faculty of Education, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada"Shoshana Levin Fox adopts a salutogenic approach: what goes right and why? In this way, this book is really part of a paradigmatic shift. It is a well-documented and scientifically valid text, yet at the same time hopeful. It is a must read for parents as well as for practitioners, who will find also practical suggestions."Jo Lebeer, MD PhD, Emeritus professor of Disability Studies at Antwerp University, Belgium