Moving swiftly on
I’ve never been very good at psychobabble but many of us have moved ahead of the guidance in books such as How’s does your Engine Run by the Alert programme and The Incredible 5 point scale as our children grow older. It’s not that we don’t use them any more, it’s more that there are new and different challenges to help them overcome, a variation on a theme.
First up I’ve been reading Understanding Myself, A kid’s guide to intense emotions and strong feelings by Mary C Lamia. This is great for young people and around here it helps reinforce the use of language to label and understand the emotions that bubble up along with the hormone surges. The content may need to be adapted to grasp some of the concepts but overall this is a great ‘next step.’
For my children I’ve not read the whole thing to them nor expected them to read it themselves since this would not be a preferred topic, however, tackling one particular emotion at a time makes the pill more palatable.
We’re also dealing with more grown up issues that some people encounter as their world view expands. In this realm I’ve found Don’t Panic by Reid Wilson extremely helpful. For me the counter intuitive and obtuse approach is difficult to stomach, but guess what, it’s a perfect match for logical thinkers who don’t seem to experience the same struggle. This is written for an adult reader but the underlying concepts can be adapted to better meet the complex needs of younger people. I particularly like the ‘don’t fight it off’ approach as we already know from personal experience that that’s an approach which merely feeds the fear.
In addition, Fully Present by Susan L Smalley and Diana Winston helps provide a more rounded approach to who we are and accepting our foibles in the big bad world. I’ll let you know when I’ve finished.
January 17th, 2011 at 6:40 am
These books can only help to maintain confidence for our children. Some good choices.
CJ xx
.-= Crystal Jigsaw´s last blog ..Debate- Prenuptial Agreements =-.
January 17th, 2011 at 4:27 pm
Thanks for the suggestions, Maddy. These all look like good reads, for myself now and my son later.
.-= Trish´s last blog ..Book Review- How to Teach Life Skills to Kids with Autism or Asperger’s =-.
January 17th, 2011 at 6:47 pm
Great collection – esp with your recommendation. I like how you said you were moving on from the former references – not rejecting them.
.-= Barbara´s last blog ..Skin and Brain Go Way Back =-.
January 18th, 2011 at 3:04 am
Do you think Understanding Myself would be a good choice for an ASD/ADD six year old? He’s literate and verbal. I’m looking for resources for the son of a friend of mine in Washington State.
Also, have you heard about this documentary? I’m really excited. I hope they release it on DVD so that I can see it here in Australia.
http://www.wretchesandjabberers.org/index.php
January 19th, 2011 at 11:52 am
Thank you Maddy, for another excellent (and timely) book selection. Must take a look and see if I can use this for my own hormonal offspring.
January 20th, 2011 at 4:30 pm
What I appreciate about such books is, as you note, that they provide a feeling of Not Alone–they put our singular-feeling experiences into a larger context that reminds us we’re part of an ongoing, throbbing humanity.
February 1st, 2011 at 12:35 pm
Wow this comes on the heels of my recent, somewat stressed out blog post today! I certainly agree with kindness and mindfulness.
Sometimes we also have to be a little honest too. I think in our world we don’t think it’s kind…we have to step around real issues to appease people so they are not offended.
In the autism world, we don’t have the time. We aim to be compassionate when there is still much discrimination and lack of access for autistic people. That’s the fine line.