Want to know what books Steve Silberman recommends on their reading list? We've researched interviews, social media posts, podcasts, and articles to build a comprehensive list of Steve Silberman's favorite book recommendations of all time.
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Fourteen-year-old March Wong knows everything there is to know about trees. They are his passion and his obsession, even after his recent falls—and despite the state’s threat to take him away from his mother if she can’t keep him from getting hurt. But the young autistic boy cannot resist the captivating pull of the Pacific Northwest’s lush forests just outside his back door.
One day, March is devastated to learn that the Eagle Tree—a monolithic Ponderosa Pine near his home in Olympia—is slated to be cut down by developers. Now, he will do anything in his power to save this beloved... more Fourteen-year-old March Wong knows everything there is to know about trees. They are his passion and his obsession, even after his recent falls—and despite the state’s threat to take him away from his mother if she can’t keep him from getting hurt. But the young autistic boy cannot resist the captivating pull of the Pacific Northwest’s lush forests just outside his back door.
One day, March is devastated to learn that the Eagle Tree—a monolithic Ponderosa Pine near his home in Olympia—is slated to be cut down by developers. Now, he will do anything in his power to save this beloved tree, including enlisting unlikely support from relatives, classmates, and even his bitter neighbor. In taking a stand, March will come face-to-face with some frightening possibilities: Even if he manages to save the Eagle Tree, is he risking himself and his mother to do it?
Intertwining themes of humanity and ecology, The Eagle Tree eloquently explores what it means to be part of a family, a society, and the natural world that surrounds and connects us. less 
Steve SilbermanA gorgeously written novel, it features one of the most accurate, finely drawn and memorable autistic protagonists I’ve come across in literature. (Source)
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One of the biggest fears of parents with children with autism is looming adulthood and all that it entails. In her new book Susan Senator takes the mystery out of adult life on the autism spectrum and conveys the positive message that even though autism adulthood is complicated and challenging, there are many ways to make it manageable and enjoyable. From her own son with autism, now twenty-five, she has learned “never say never.”
Autism Adulthood features thirty interviews with autistic adults, their parents, caregivers, researchers, and professionals. Each vignette reveals... more One of the biggest fears of parents with children with autism is looming adulthood and all that it entails. In her new book Susan Senator takes the mystery out of adult life on the autism spectrum and conveys the positive message that even though autism adulthood is complicated and challenging, there are many ways to make it manageable and enjoyable. From her own son with autism, now twenty-five, she has learned “never say never.”
Autism Adulthood features thirty interviews with autistic adults, their parents, caregivers, researchers, and professionals. Each vignette reveals firsthand a family’s challenge, their circumstances, their thought processes, and their unique solutions, and plans of action. Sharing the wisdom that emerges from parents’ and self-advocates’ experiences, Senator adds her own observations and conclusions based on her long-term experience with autism. Told in Senator’s trademark warm, honest, and approachable style, Autism Adulthood paints a vivid and thought-provoking picture of many people grappling with grown-up, real-life autism. Senator’s is the only book of its kind, as real families share their stories and their creative solutions. less Steve SilbermanSenator offers a blueprint for a world in which people at every point on the spectrum are treated as fellow citizens who deserve respect and the ability to make choices. (Source)
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Autism is usually portrayed as a checklist of deficits, including difficulties interacting socially, problems in communicating, sensory challenges, and repetitive behavior patterns. This perspective leads to therapies focused on ridding individuals of autistic symptoms. In Uniquely Human, Dr. Barry M. Prizant suggests a major shift in understanding autism: Instead of classifying "autistic" behaviors as signs of pathology, he sees them as strategies to cope with a world that feels chaotic and overwhelming. Rather than curb these behaviors, it's better to enhance abilities, build on... more Autism is usually portrayed as a checklist of deficits, including difficulties interacting socially, problems in communicating, sensory challenges, and repetitive behavior patterns. This perspective leads to therapies focused on ridding individuals of autistic symptoms. In Uniquely Human, Dr. Barry M. Prizant suggests a major shift in understanding autism: Instead of classifying "autistic" behaviors as signs of pathology, he sees them as strategies to cope with a world that feels chaotic and overwhelming. Rather than curb these behaviors, it's better to enhance abilities, build on strengths, and offer supports that will naturally lead to more desirable behavior and a better quality of life. In fact, argues Dr. Prizant, attempts to eliminate autistic behaviors may actually interfere with important developmental processes.
Including inspiring stories and practical advice drawn from Dr. Prizant's four-decade career working in universities, schools, hospitals, and in private practice, Uniquely Human offers a compassionate and insightful perspective that parents, professionals, and family members will find uplifting and hopeful. less Steve SilbermanThe authors provide helpful strategies for enabling autistic children to build on their natural strengths, instead of dwelling on what they can’t do. (Source)
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"Full of practical advice and transcendent 'Aha!' moments, The Real Experts offers young autistic people and their families the kind of wise mentorship from tribal elders that was unavailable in previous generations. It's a landmark book." - Steve Silberman, NeuroTribes: The Legacy of Autism and the Future of Neurodiversity
How do I help my child to thrive? To be healthy and happy, to fulfill his or her positive potentials, and to grow up to lead a good life? Every parent of an autistic child struggles daily with this question. Just trying to understand an autistic child's... more "Full of practical advice and transcendent 'Aha!' moments, The Real Experts offers young autistic people and their families the kind of wise mentorship from tribal elders that was unavailable in previous generations. It's a landmark book." - Steve Silberman, NeuroTribes: The Legacy of Autism and the Future of Neurodiversity
How do I help my child to thrive? To be healthy and happy, to fulfill his or her positive potentials, and to grow up to lead a good life? Every parent of an autistic child struggles daily with this question. Just trying to understand an autistic child's actions, feelings, and needs can seem like an overwhelming challenge. It doesn't help that professional "experts" and the mass media bombard us with all sorts of harmful and terrifying misinformation about autism.
Fortunately, more and more parents are discovering an essential source of insight into autism: the writings of autistic adults. Who better to help us understand autistic children and their needs, than the people who have actually been autistic children?
Listening to the insights and experiences shared by autistic bloggers has helped Michelle Sutton to help her two autistic children to thrive. In The Real Experts, Michelle has collected writings from a dozen autistic authors, containing "insider" wisdom on autism that has been invaluable to her family. The result is an extraordinary resource for families with autistic children, and also for educators, therapists, and other professionals.
"This book is a gift to parents who want to get the real scoop from the real experts on autism -- autistic people themselves. Michelle Sutton has gathered excellent first-person accounts of what it's like to grow up, live, and thrive as an autistic person. More than anything, autistic people and their families need to see and hear autistic role models who can help them understand, support, and celebrate their unique autistic loved ones. The Real Experts is a wonderful contribution to the autism community, and to us all." - Karla McLaren, M.Ed., The Art of Empathy and The Language of Emotions
"Wow. What a breath of fresh air. I read this book with unfolding delight... Finally, people on the spectrum are being heard, and it is a phenomenon that gathers momentum as parents and others realize they can learn from what is being said." - Dawn Prince-Hughes, Songs of the Gorilla Nation: My Journey Through Autism
The Real Experts features essays by Nick Walker, Ally Grace, Emily Paige Ballou, Alyssa Hillary, Cynthia Kim, Kassiane Sibley, Sparrow Rose Jones, Michael Scott Monje Jr., Elizabeth J. Grace, Briannon Lee, MorEnike Giwa Onaiwu, and Amy Sequenzia, with a introductions by Michelle Sutton. less Steve SilbermanA collection of advice for parents of autistic children, written by autistic adults, and published by an autistic-run publishing imprint. (Source)
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Cynthia Kim explores all the quirkyness of living with Asperger Syndrome (ASD) in this accessible, witty and honest guide looking from an insider perspective at some of the most challenging and intractable aspects of being autistic. Her own life presents many rich examples. From being labelled nerdy and shy as an undiagnosed child to redefining herself when diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome as an adult, she describes how her perspective shifted to understanding a previously confusing world and combines this with the results of extensive research to explore the 'why' of ASD traits. She explains... more Cynthia Kim explores all the quirkyness of living with Asperger Syndrome (ASD) in this accessible, witty and honest guide looking from an insider perspective at some of the most challenging and intractable aspects of being autistic. Her own life presents many rich examples. From being labelled nerdy and shy as an undiagnosed child to redefining herself when diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome as an adult, she describes how her perspective shifted to understanding a previously confusing world and combines this with the results of extensive research to explore the 'why' of ASD traits. She explains how they impact on everything from self-care to holding down a job and offers typically practical and creative strategies to help manage them, including a section on the vestibular, sensory and social benefits of martial arts for people with autism.
Well known in the autism community and beyond for her popular blog, Musings of an Aspie, Cynthia Kim's book is rich with personal anecdotes and useful advice. This intelligent insider guide will help adults with ASDs and their partners, family members, friends, and colleagues, but it also provides a fresh and witty window onto a different worldview. less Steve SilbermanA warm, encouraging and deeply honest book by a woman who didn’t know she was autistic until she was in her 40s. (Source)
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