Lee Wilkinson Ph.D writes one of the first truly objective books on quality
ways to assess those with Autism and Aspergers in our public schools titled "APractice Guide to Assessment and Intervention for Autism and Asperger Syndrome
Schools;" that I personally have seen. Parents and educators (here I include any
workers on the IEP or those they supervise such as OT or SLP Technicians) are the
obvious target audience for this book.
A pharmacist first; I have taught high school biology where there were many
IEP's on my plate. I returned to pharmacy shortly after this. I asked the
question, "What would the parent then an educator want this book?" Incidentally a
pharmacist or other healthcare professional would love this compact version. Often,
I was questioned about this process because I was the first contact person with
easy access to the public. Having a son with issues, I tried to answer with the
best I could while explaining I was not an expert and arming themselves with
knowledge while seeking out good experts was to their advantage.
Parent point of view would seek from this book;
*The Best Practices Promised in the Title.
*What is Expected During the Assessments
*The Who What Where When and How Information and that Would be Obtained and
How this Pertains to Them and Their Children While Using it.
*Taking this to Write an IEP in an Informed Manner
*Language that is Understandable While Brief and Concise
Educators point of view would seek from this book;
**Basically the Same as Above but
**Know the Best Practices Compared to Others (Why, Good and Bad with Examples in
Application)
**Lists, Worksheets,
** See or Explanations of How to Use in Planning Writing an IEP and Using for
Curriculum in Everyday Practice
>>>I believe both parents and teachers really want the best for the children. When
this occurs the children win.
Wilkinson does this in language that is understandable. Cards or guideposts
are presented in nice form to sum up the points. He takes two cases to use as a
walk through for the process of application. There is one thing I could want from
this book. However, authors cannot be expected to meet my everything list. I
mention them elsewhere on my blog on five resources for autism. There are two ten
year reports on best practices from the National Autism Center for health and
education. I mention them because my hope is the same as Wilkinson's I think. I
want to inform. I must inform you that the reports are cumbersome and hard to
read. However, they are research and reviewed.
For your time, Wilkinson's book is one of your best bets. He provides
worksheets for the teachers and parents to refer to often. The person that wrote
his introduction says he believes or transfers the idea of a "dimensional approach"
to his work in application to children. Teamwork is necessary for the best outcome
is one conclusion drawn by me that he believes in that is a must for these
children.
I think this because assessments are key in helping the children. He writes
the book to provide educators with the best practices and latest in a concise
manner. I feel this is from the heart instead of a desire to seek rewards. He
presents to me as a true man of science. He doesn't discount the new but cautions
parents to be wise about their approach to it.
He says the focus is on the child. Furthermore, he says to zero in on the
strength's of the child. This is so nice to read. Having been on on many IEP's of my o
own child, he is 17 now. I will say most educator's were on the positive side but a
few tended to be negative. It is more motivating to look on the child's positive
aspects. If the focus is on the negative, the scene will be set at school and home for
a worse future than need be. Do you ever see a negative salesman?
Therefore, I can say as parent, I have bought the Kindle and love the
information. Educators, it is a quick reference in concise brief content. If I were
still teaching it would be a must have; especially for new teachers.
To sum it up, the title does this for me, "A Best Practice Guide to
Assessment and Intervention for Autism and Asperger Syndrome in Schools."
Lee Wilkinson Ph.D is the very skillful, dedicated and educated author. ISBN
number is 13:97814905117. Amazon paperback price is $24.65. Barnes and Noble
weighs in higher for a paperback at $29.25. A used book advertised on Amazon goes for around $18.92. For the price, I'd like the new book myself.
