Introduction. 1. Differences in Dealing with Problems. 2. Emotional Expressions of Grief in Autism. 3. Cultural Expectations and Autism. 4. Knowing What to Say. 5. How to Tell a Person with Autism Someone Died. 6. Death as a Special Interest.
A first hand account of how people with autism deal with the loss of someone in their life and how those supporting them can best help
Deborah Lipsky, M.Ed., is a high-functioning autistic individual with substantial experience in emergency and trauma management, having formerly worked as a firefighter, emergency medical technician, and reserve police officer. She is now a Continuing Education Seminar Presenter and Keynote Speaker, and is a consultant for schools, agencies, and private parties, specializing in meltdown management and environmental manipulation to reduce sensory issues. Deborah has written two other books on autism, Managing Meltdowns and From Anxiety to Meltdown.
Lipsky uses personal experience and case studies to explore how
people with autism feel and express the loss of a loved one, and
how they process and come to terms with their feelings of
grief…...She offers advice to parents and carers on how to prepare
someone with autism for the bad news.
*Autism eye*
A fine survey on how people with autism handle loss of people in
their lives, and explores how they come to terms with grief. From
various coping behaviors such as turning to solitude over sharing
feelings to their ability to show no emotional turmoil and to turn
their focus to other things, this explains the different reactions
of autistic people to their environment and experiences, and comes
from a high-functioning autistic individual with a basic background
in emergency services and education alike.
*Midwest Book Review*
My Aspie father never showed an ounce of emotional turmoil, not
when he talked about being on the front line in WWII, not when he
talked about his beloved parents' deaths, not when he talked about
the Great Depression. He offered reasons for why these events
occurred, insight into how to move beyond the obvious holes they
left, and advice meant to prepare for future inevitable tragedies.
Most marked my father as a cold and unfeeling man, but Deborah
Lipsky's understanding of the way many with autism handle grief,
show my father to be a man who simply processes loss and sadness in
a different way, not in a lesser or insignificant way. Just as this
book explains how some with autism respond to grief, it also
expresses how most of society does grieve. Sharing the points of
view will help people on and not on the spectrum learn to respect
individual reactions to the things that fill life with woe.
*Liane Holliday-Willey, author of Safety Skills for Females with
Asperger Syndrome, Pretending to be Normal, Asperger Syndrome in
the Family, and Asperger Syndrome in Adolescence*
Lipsky, an autistic woman who has worked as a firefighter,
emergency medical technician, and reserve police officer, is the
author of two other similar titles: Managing Meltdowns and From
Anxiety to Meltdowns. She expertly brings the disability motto
"Nothing about us without us" to life in this behind-the-spectrum
perspective of death and grieving. Lipsky discusses how autistic
people view the end of life, which entails literal thinking and
problem solving that are not in step with our (neurotypical)
emotional responses. Her matter-of-fact approach and examples shine
a light on just how different the process is for those on the
spectrum. Strategies surrounding cultural expectations for wakes,
funerals, and other social events are included. VERDICT An
eye-opening work that is truly illuminating and thought-provoking.
Essential for anyone who loves, lives with, or works with people on
the spectrum, and highly recommended reading for those in the
mortuary, counseling, and education fields.
*Library Journal*
This book is a good insider guide and gave me a better
understanding about how people with autism cope with grief and
loss. The gap between ASD and NT reaction to grief remains but
hopefully it will enable those that are seeking support to begin
bridging the gap.
*Side by Side*
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