7 Must-Read Books for Parents of Kiddos with Autism

As a parent of a child with autism, you’ve naturally got lots of questions. And like loving parents do, you seek out answers. Books are great for advice and support. The challenge is finding the best ones that are written by trusted experts in the field, easy-to-understand, and offer real solutions you can put into action to help your kiddo and family thrive.

We want to help. Always! So, here’s our list of 7 books – some classic, some more recent – that we know can make a difference in your life. If you have any questions about what you read in these books or others, please let us know. Our autism and ABA therapy experts are ready to lend a hand, whether you need an in-the-know answer that can inform your decisions or individualized, gold-standard ABA therapy that will help your kiddo write their own story.

Now, on to why you stopped by our blog today!

Book recommendations from The Behavior Exchange

  1. “Autism Spectrum Disorder: What Every Parent Needs to Know” (2nd edition)

This comprehensive book from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) covers just about every topic and concern a parent needs to know about, from the basics of what autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is and how to know if your child is on the spectrum to behavioral interventions, how to access care, and everyday strategies for helping your child. It’s written by two pediatricians from the AAP who are parents of a child with autism. You can buy it here. Available on Kindle and in paperback.

  1. “More Than Words” (2nd edition)

As the subtitle explains, this book is a parent’s guide to building interaction and language skills in children with autism spectrum disorder or social communication concerns. It’s based on the Hanen program of the same name, offering child-centered strategies that make the most of your child’s unique enthusiasms, strengths and preferences, as well as their everyday routines and interactions that are comfortable for them. You’ll also learn about how ASD affects behavior, how to help your child interact in positive ways with other kiddos, and more. You can buy it on the publisher’s website.

  1. “Overcoming Autism” (Revised & Updated)

This book is referred to as the definitive guide to reducing symptoms of autism spectrum disorder in children. The interventions you learn have been shown to be the best approach to improving the development and quality of life of children with autism. It is written by Lynn Kern Koegel, the nationally recognized head of the Autism Research Center at the University of California, and Claire LaZebnik, a professional writer and the mother of a child with autism. You can learn more about the book on the publisher’s website, including where you can buy it.

  1. “The Science of Making Friends: Helping Socially Challenged Teens and Young Adults”

This book is based on the acclaimed PEERS program from UCLA, the only research-based approach to help adolescents and young adults with autism make and keep friends. It offers a step-by-step guide that helps parents, educators, and others provide “social coaching” to teens and young adults on the autism spectrum. The book includes role-playing exercises for practicing each social skill, along with homework assignments. You can learn more about it with these companion videos, and you can buy the book here.

  1. “Sleep Better!” (Revised edition)

From bedtime tantrums to bedwetting, sleep problems can be one of the biggest sources of worry and frustration for parents of children with special needs, including autism. This book serves as a down-to-earth, nonjudgmental guide with widely tested, behaviorally grounded, easy-to-use techniques that work for all children, regardless of abilities. You can learn more about the book on the publisher’s website, including where to buy it.

  1. “The Complete IEP Guide”

Author and Special Education Attorney Lawrence Siegel has written the definitive guide for parents on how to successfully advocate for special education services for their children. The 11th edition of the book explains the law and provides key forms, sample letter, and resources you need at every stage of the IEP process to ensure your child gets the education they deserve. You can learn more about it and link to retailers of the book on the publisher’s website.

7.     “A Work in Progress:

This book is a classic ABA manual with two parts that offer parents ABA-based behavioral intervention strategies, including a detailed curriculum with 54 clear, step-by-step exercises. The first half of the manual provides practical how-to information on setting up an ABA-based social skill curriculum and dealing with difficult behaviors. The second part is a detailed curriculum that provides actual lessons with step-by-step instructions and creative ideas on how to make learning a natural progression. Paperback and spiral bound editions are available here.

Happy reading!

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Ashvina attended University of Bombay and graduated with a Bachelors of Commerce. She got her Montessori Diploma in 1985 and taught ever since. Ashvina came to TBE in January of 2016 as Admin Assistant. During the years she got the opportunity to learn and work in different departments such as HR, Finance, Office Manager and Executive Assistant. Last summer TBE bought billing in house and her current focus area is Revenue Cycle Management. She is detail oriented and enjoys working with people. Ashvina volunteers to deliver meals to seniors and local shelters on the weekend. She loves to spend time with her family and grandkids. Ashvina loves her job because she enjoys hearing different points of view, and she feels her contributions help fuel the direction of our company.

Working with children comes naturally to Angela. Her mom was a special education teacher for 30 years and often had Angela join her for Take Your Child to Work Day. And in high school, Angela spent every summer as the nanny for a little boy with an autism spectrum disorder. It was this experience where her passion for working with children with autism started to blossom.

From there, she went on to graduate from Oklahoma State University with a Bachelor of Science in Human Development and Family Sciences. She learned about Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) in a non-normative development class and from that moment knew that ABA would be her life’s work.

Angela moved to the DFW area shortly after and began working at The Behavior Exchange as a therapist. She worked on her Master’s in Behavior Analysis at the same time. A year after graduating, she earned certification as a Board Certified Behavior Analyst.

Now, as a Clinical Director at The Behavior Exchange, she brings a life-long passion to her work, holding a special place in her heart for children with limited language skills and working closely with families to develop healthy sleep habits.

Danielle’s passion for working with families is deeply personal and from the heart. Her younger brother has an autism spectrum disorder, and through their journey as a family, she found her purpose in life as an advocate for individuals with special needs.

After graduating from the University of North Texas with a degree in Human Development and Family Studies, Danielle began volunteering at The Behavior Exchange. She saw passionate therapists, meaningful change for clients, and families with hope for the future. After a summer of volunteering, she officially joined the team as Director of Admissions and found her home with The Behavior Exchange family.

With her extensive experience working as a client advocate with insurance providers, Danielle perseveres to help individuals of all ages and abilities receive the services they need to reach their full potential. She feels truly honored by each and every family who entrusts The Behavior Exchange to be part of their journey and is committed to the organization’s core values, mission, and goal of being a beacon of hope for the community.

Adam has always had a passion for helping individuals of all ages thrive and reach their full potential. He’s also an enthusiastic musician, songwriter, leader, and devoted family man, who has been helping children and team members grow with The Behavior Exchange since 2010.

Prior to joining the team at The Behavior Exchange, Adam was a mortgage loan consultant and grad student, pursuing his master’s degree in Education at the University of North Texas. He graduated in 2013 and also earned a graduate academic certificate in Autism Intervention. The following year, after years as a Behavior Therapist and seeing first-hand the power of ABA and the meaningful impact it can have on children and their families, Adam became a Board Certified Behavior Analyst. He then commenced from the Stagen Leadership Academy after completing the Integral Leadership Program (ILP), a 52-week practice-based program designed to develop executives serious about transforming themselves, their teams, and their organizations.

Adam is truly grateful to be a part of a dynamic, inspiring and compassionate team, and he’s dedicated to bettering the lives of all children and their families through the delivery of the highest quality of ABA services, while supporting the amazing team at The Behavior Exchange.

Soraya is from South Africa and moved to Texas in 1996. She graduated from The University of Texas and pursued a career, at that time, in Education. Soraya taught at a Montessori school for a few years and then took on a leadership role.

During her time in the education system, Soraya realized her passion was to assist children with special needs. So she joined The Behavior Exchange as a therapist, transitioned into a supervisory role in 2017, and a year and a half later, was promoted to Clinical Operations Manager.

She quickly learned the ins and outs of ABA operations and scheduling and successfully collaborates across departments to ensure The Behavior Exchange continues to provide quality services to clients and their families. She’s thankful to be part of such an amazing organization and excited to see what the future holds.

You could say Walter’s career started when he spent hours as a young child drawing superheroes and coloring maps. This passion, along with extraordinary swimming skills, landed him a full swimming scholarship at Texas Christian University, where he graduated in 1997 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Communication Graphics.

During the next 13 years, his design and art direction skills, conceptual-thinking abilities, and marketing-savvy know-how were honed at a few prestigious advertising and marketing agencies around the Dallas area. In the mid 2000s, he helped his wife Tammy Cline-Soza (founder and CEO of The Behavior Exchange) create a unique and concise brand for her new business. From logos and websites to uniforms, brand voice and visuals, Walter has been the main creative force for all things The Behavior Exchange.

Aside from giving birth to The Behavior Exchange brand, Walter is helping Tammy raise two amazing, beautiful children, River and Sierra. In his spare time (the two minutes he’s got per week), you can find Walter illustrating iconic landmarks of Dallas and Texas or looking around for this next open-water swim. Once he gets back in shape.

After 20 years of building The Behavior Exchange, literally from the ground up,
Tammy couldn’t be more proud of the team, culture, and organization that it has become.

As a family helping families, The Behavior Exchanges looks for opportunities that will make the biggest impact and produce life-changing outcomes – for clients, families, and even for team members. Tammy believes that if a team, a family, a community takes care of each other, the possibilities are endless and the relationships built along the way can make life more enriching and challenges easier to navigate. You could say her goal has been to build a kind of utopia full of support, love, and expertise that brings the best services possible to the community and ensures more families have access to those services.

Tammy and her family have dedicated their lives to the mission of The Behavior Exchange and continue to grow, learn, cultivate, challenge, support, and create better models for success. To that end, she is committed to her own leadership development and actively participates in advanced training, mentoring, and deep self-exploration on how to live out her purpose to love and support her family and help others reach their full potential. She takes her position very seriously and tries to serve as a channel for what the universe wants to come to fruition.

She also loves travel, gardening, being creative, MUSIC!, tennis, yoga, meditation, journaling, reading, being in nature, adventures, and more than anything, spending time with her husband Walter and their two beautiful children, River and Sierra.