Avoiding Anxiety in Autistic Children: A Guide for Autistic Wellbeing

As seen on the BBC documentary, Inside Our Autistic Minds, with Chris Packham

'Full of wisdom and positivity' Professor Nicola Martin

One of the biggest challenges for the parent of any autistic child is how best to support and guide them through the situations in life which might cause them greater stress, anxiety and worry than if they were neurotypical.

Dr Luke Beardon has put together an optimistic, upbeat and readable guide that will be essential reading for any parent to an autistic child, whether they are of preschool age or teenagers. Emphasising that autism is not behaviour, but at the same time acknowledging that there are risks of increased anxiety specific to autism, this practical book gives insight into the nature of the anxiety experienced by autistic people, as well as covering every likely situation in which your child might feel anxious or worried. It will help you to prepare your child for school, to monitor their anxiety around school, and also to be informed about the educational choices available to your child. It will give you support to help make breaktimes less stressful for them and how to help them navigate things like eating at school and out of the house.

Educationally, this book will take you and your child right up to the point of taking exams and leaving school; socially and emotionally it will cover all the challenges from bullying, friendships, relationships, puberty and sex education. It will give suggestions for alternatives in the scenarios that might cause anxiety or confusion in your child; it will also give a full understanding of your child's sensory responses and such behaviours as masking, or echopraxia.

As the parent of an autistic child, you may find their path to adulthood different to the one you had expected to take, but as this book makes clear, autism should be celebrated and affirmed. Avoiding Anxiety in Autistic Children helps you to do just that, with practical strategies that will help happiness, not anxiety, remain the over-riding emotion that colours your child's memories of their early years.

Dr Luke Beardon is Senior Lecturer in Autism at Sheffield Hallam University. He has published widely on autism and is renowned and respected for his uniquely inclusive, celebratory approach to helping autistic people thrive in a neurotypical world. He works with government authorities to develop services and model best practice, in addition to being part of a research team, and has spoken at many national and international conferences on a variety of autism-related topics. He has won several awards for his work, including the National Autistic Society's Autism Professionals Award for achievement in 2016, and has won the Autism Hero Awards in two categories, including for Lifetime Achievement.