CAMBRIDGE, Mass.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–

When Anjali Sastry received the formal diagnosis that her three-year-old son had autism, she feltas any parent wouldlost, afraid, and helpless.

But after the shock wore off, she got educated. She read every book and scientific study about autism she could get her hands on. She shadowed her sons therapists, and met professors of special education doing promising research. She hunted down developmental psychologists to get ideas on learning techniques she could try with her son at home. She built teams of helpersfrom teachers to family members to babysittersand designed newsletters and reports that would support her childs learning. Over the years, whenever a friend, colleague, or friend-of-friend received a diagnosis of autism for one of their children, Sastry was the person to turn to for help. Many people told her: You should write a book.

And so she did. Sastry says her book, Parenting Your Child with Autism, is one that she wishes she could have received all those years ago when her oldest son was first diagnosed. The book, co-authored by Dr. Blaise Aguirre, is both a handbook to help caregivers choose the right treatments and educational approaches for their child, but also a self-help guide filled with wisdom and warmth from an empathetic mother who understands the complexities of parenting children with special needs. (Sastrys younger son has Aspergers, an autism spectrum disorder.)

Parenting a child who has autism is a journeyone that Ive been on for over ten years now, says Sastry, who is a senior lecturer at MITs Sloan School of Management. When your child has autism, every decision can seem weighty because youre working so hard to help your child learn without the advantage of the full complement of skills, capabilities, and motivation that are mostly inherent in typically developing children. My goal is to help parents make smarter decisions by becoming the special kind of experts they need to be when it comes to their kids.

Sastry, whose professional focus is on global health deliveryproviding medical care in poor settings where needs are high, aims to teach caregivers how to blend research with action by applying the scientific method to their parenting.

There is so much data about autism coming out all the time, she says. Parents must have an understanding of the ideas supported by those studies, but in order to choose the best options for their kids, they ought to assemble their own evidence. This involves gathering data about their child based on the time they spend with them, and experiments where theyve tried new things at home and school; making sense of it with the help of doctors, teachers, and therapists; and then combining it with other information. Only then will they be able to evaluate whether their child could do better with a new approach, dietary change, medication, or treatment.

The book begins with a survey of current thinking about autism and its causes and cures. The next section is a guide to the diagnostic process, and gives advice for parents on how to collaborate with medical professionals to select the right interventions. It also gives suggestions for partnering with teachers and schools.

The final part of the book contains personal and professional recommendations to help parents build an everyday life that works for the entire family. Its parent-friendly techniques range from simple programs that shore up a childs social interaction and language, to approaches for teaching household chores clearing the table, making the bed, for instance – that will foster the childs independence. These ideas are based on anecdotes from Sastry and other parents as well as medical experts.

Parents of children with autism report very high levels of stress, says Sastry. But there is also evidence that they rebound within two years after getting an initial diagnosis. My best advice to families coming to terms with the diagnosis is that even if the way forward seems difficult right now, it will get better. You do regain your footing. If our book helps you get there any faster, well have reached our goal.

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Parenting Through the Challenges of Autism: A new book out today by MIT Sloan School’s Anjali Sastry offers practical …

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