Autism, Asperger Syndrome and related conditions newsletter

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Exclusive Interview with Aileen Stalker

Aileen Stalker is the author of The One and Only Sam: A Story Explaining Idioms for Children with Asperger Syndrome and Other Communication Difficulties published by Jessica Kingsley Publishers. Aileen Stalker is an experienced Occupational Therapist with a Masters degree in Special Education. She has over 30 years' experience of assessing and treating children with a wide variety of diagnoses and has presented papers at numerous conferences, developed handbooks and manuals for clinical therapeutic use and worked at a senior level in several Occupational Therapy departments.

What inspired you to write The One and Only Sam?

During all my years of working with children, and also raising my own two sons, I observed how children enjoy stories and are especially intrigued by silly language. When I gained additional training and began to tutor children with dyslexia, and also working with children with high functioning autism in social skills groups – many of whom struggle with the abstract ideas embedded in the words of an idiom - it was a natural choice to include a section about “silly sayings” within the tutoring sessions or the group activities.

The use of pictures (which I drew) to illustrate “what it sounds like” and “what it really means,” also helped the children to gain better understanding of the idioms. But I also realized that any child understands language better if it has context and relates to their own experiences. So developing the story about Sam trying to understand idioms that he heard in his everyday life grew out of my clinical practice and the needs I saw that were not met by the idiom books that were already on the market. I was lucky to also have an artistic friend who was very skilled in creating the whimsical drawings.

You have had a long and varied career working with children with autism, ADHD, challenging behaviour and physical disabilities what have you found most rewarding?

My most rewarding career was raising my own two sons who are wonderful, caring young men. Professionally however, I think seeing the resiliency in children, many of whom had experiences that would devastate most adults, but who were able to still play, learn and try again, and often, with the help of a multi-disciplinary team approach, overcome their initial negative start in life.

Do you have any advice for people starting work in Occupational Therapy or special education?

I think following your passion is important throughout your career. Both Occupational Therapy and special education offer endless possibilities to make use of your own interests as well as responding to the needs of the individual with whom you are working. I often think that if special education had existed in its current form when I taught for the one year before taking Occupational Therapy training, that I might have continued to work in the educational system. However, having shifted to Occupational Therapy, I spent a wonderful lifetime career both teaching children and working with educators, parents and researchers so I ended up with the best of both worlds. I was also able to use my interest in art, writing, story-telling, cooking and use of media and physical activities as therapeutic approaches.

What do you think are the biggest challenges faced by children with autism spectrum conditions?

I think the loneliness that young children and pre-teens experience (no matter how much intervention occurs and/or education of peers to help their understanding of why the child with ASD has certain behaviours) when they don’t really understand yet what it is that makes them the unique individual that they are, is very heart-breaking. However, in the social skills/social thinking groups that I co-led for six years I saw the benefit of not only teaching the reasoning behind social thinking but also the benefit of having like children together. Generally each of the children could find another child in the group who was “just like me” and this at last gave them affirmation that they could have a friend and this decreased their loneliness and isolation in the social world.

What are you reading at the moment?

Well, I have officially retired as a practicing Occupational Therapist but that OT perspective of maintaining a balanced life that has meaning and purpose, will stay with me forever. Now I am focusing on physical activity, writing and doing more drawing, watercolours and print-making, and of course lots of reading and fun with friends and family and my new grand-daughter.

I am always thinking about new books to write as well as read. Presently I am reading A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson (an amusing follow-up to a five day backpack trip I did this summer), Saving Fish from Drowning by Amy Tan and also looking at a hiking book for New Zealand (where I will be hiking and back-packing for 7 weeks in 2010.) I am also reading a book about public art in Canada as current background information for the talks I am giving for a recent book I co-authored called Public Art in Vancouver Angel Among Lions.

Copyright © Jessica Kingsley Publishers 2009

The One and Only Sam: A Story Explaining Idioms for Children with Asperger Syndrome and Other Communication Difficulties is released this month and is available to order. See the below link for more details.

More details of the book

JKP News

JKP author Dr. Tony Attwood has been been mentioned in an article by the New York Times.

JKP author Dr. Darold Treffert has featured in an article by CBS News - The Early Show.

Autism in the news - some of the articles in the media this month

BBC News - Wales has published a story about a third of people with autism lacking income.

The NAS have welcomed the new guidelines on diagnosing adults with autism.

We are pleased to announce that you can now follow us on Twitter and find us on Facebook!

Email us with your news, events or feedback at news@jkp.com or visit our website for more on our books.

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This month's author feature on Choosing a School for a Child with Special Needs by JKP author Ruth Birnbaum

Whether a child is born on an estate or an Estate, no parent chooses to have a child with special needs. However, once that reality has sunk in, parents (and professionals) are faced with the choice of placement in a school. For many parents, it can be an agonising decision whether to place their child within a mainstream school, a specialist unit or a special school. It opens up questions of how to include a child into their local school and will inclusion encompass social inclusion or will their child become isolated as a result of not being able to keep up with their peers. Many parents are not even aware that there are other alternatives; such as dual placements, residential options, home education or virtual schooling.

What are the questions that parents should ask which will help them to make an informed decision? The book, Choosing a School for a Child with Special Needs, leads parents and professionals by the hand through different areas of need, asking the pertinent questions of the school by using a question format. There are, for example, chapters on specific learning difficulties, including dyslexia; dyspraxia; dyscalculia; speech, language & communication needs; behaviour, social & emotional needs; sensory needs (visual/hearing impairment), autistic provision, moderate, severe and profound learning difficulties. The book explains the role that various therapists can play in a child’s schooling and includes questions on art therapy, music therapy, drama therapy, play therapy and psychotherapy, counselling & mentoring, speech & language therapy, occupational therapy and physiotherapy. The book also considers inclusive practices, religious beliefs, co-education, school size, small classes and transition. In all these areas, the parents can gather their questions and sound out the school. The book helps parents to draw up a list of possible schools, understand the current law and collect the right documents. There are very practical hints and tips on how to conduct the visit, take notes and who to meet with and what to look for. Most importantly, it informs parents how to review and analyse the findings in order to make a decision. This may help parents when providing evidence for a Special Educational Needs & Disability Tribunal.

This is a user-friendly practical book which arose as a result of the author making visits to schools across the country over many years and meeting with hundreds of parents who all asked the same question “How should I choose a school for my child with special needs?” If it goes some way in helping to answer this, then there will be many more children successfully placed in the school that is appropriate for them. A happy parent means that there will be a happy child and one who can learn more effectively.

Copyright © Jessica Kingsley Publishers 2009

Ruth Birnbaum is the author of Choosing a School for a Child With Special Needs which is available to buy now.

More details of the book

Content links

• Interview: Aileen Stalker
• Autism Books
• News
• Article by Ruth Birnbaum
• Useful dates
• Unsubscribe info

JKP Autism books

The One and Only Sam:
A Story Explaining Idioms for Children with Asperger Syndrome and Other Communication Difficulties
Aileen Stalker

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Motivate to Communicate!:
300 Games and Activities for Your Child with Autism
Simone Griffin and Dianne Sandler

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A Spectrum of Light:
Inspirational Interviews with Families Affected by Autism
Francesca Bierens

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Autism and its Medical Management:
A Guide for Parents and Professionals
Michael Chez

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Fuzzy Buzzy Groups for Children with Developmental and Sensory Processing Difficulties:
A Step-by-Step Resource
Fiona Brownlee and Lindsay Munro

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Practical Behaviour Management Solutions for Children and Teens with Autism:
The 5P Approach
Linda Miller

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Getting to Grips with Asperger Syndrome:
Understanding Adults on the Autism Spectrum
Carol Hagland

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Working with Adults with Asperger Syndrome
A Practical Toolkit
Carol Hagland and Zillah Webb

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22 Things a Woman Must Know:
If She Loves a Man with Asperger's Syndrome
Rudy Simone

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Can the World Afford Autistic Spectrum Disorder?
Nonverbal Communication, Asperger Syndrome and the Interbrain
Digby Tantam

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The Complete Guide to Asperger's Syndrome:
Tony Attwood

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First Steps in Intervention with Your Child with Autism:
Frameworks for Communication
Phil Christie, Elizabeth Newson, Wendy Prevezer and Susie Chandler
Illustrated by Pamela Venus

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Group Interventions for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders :
A Focus on Social Competency and Social Skills
Albert J. Cotugno

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Useful Dates for your Calendar

Email us with your news, events or feedback at news@jkp.com or visit our website for more on our books.

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