Your child has an autism diagnosis. What now?

How can you help? First, do no harm. Well, that’s a no-brainer for parents, right?

When your child receives an autism diagnosis, the research begins. You want to learn all that you can and find the best ways to help him.

You will receive advice from specialists that makes sense to you - it fits with your life philosophy and with what you know of your child. You will receive advice that does not sit so well with you, the needs of your family and what you feel are the needs of your child. Trust your instincts. You know your child the best and no one has his well-being at heart as much as you.

Whether or not you feel prepared right now, you as the paper will be your child's primary therapist. You spend the most time with him and have the biggest impact on his life.

This book is for you. It's written by a parent who is also a special ed teacher, counselor, school psychologist, district consultant and autism consultant. The language won't require that you sit with a dictionary in your other hand but when you do find something that makes you want to research further, links and provided to help you with your search.

Helping your autistic child be the best he can be is doable. It's within your reach and this is the book to guide you.

Dr. Sharon Mitchell gets it. Apart from being a parent, she's been a teacher, counselor, school psychologist, district consultant and autism consultant for decades. She has presented to thousands at conferences and workshops on ways to successfully include kids who learn differently. She teaches university classes to wanna-be-teachers and to school administrators on inclusion strategies and students who learn differently.