Autism and Understanding: The Waldon Approach to Child Development

This book is very interesting. I had never heard of the Waldon Approach before, although some aspects of it were familiar to me. For example, turn-taking and sharing games are well known therapeutic exercises to engage children and promote their learning. Other exercises – to encourage productive movement, placing, building, banging and scraping – were new to me but they make perfect sense.

Reading the children’s case studies and hearing their parents’ journeys was particularly encouraging. Although I don’t think you can counteract the well-held belief that autism is a lifelong condition, I do know that with early and appropriate intervention, many on the autistic spectrum are able to live fulfilling lives. There is definitely a place in society for adults on the spectrum to share with parents and carers of younger children their insight about having autism.