Help for the Child with Asperger's Syndrome : A Parent's Guide to Negotiating the Social Service Maze

Parents of children diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome frequently find themselves embarking on an exhausting and disheartening hunt for the services and interventions that their child needs - and is entitled to. Gretchen Mertz presents a readable and comprehensive parent's guide to developing an intervention program for a child with AS. Beginning with the search for a diagnosis, she outlines an accessible overview of the helpful and appropriate services that are available, how to find them and get funding for them, what to expect of them, and how to evaluate them. The issues raised and the information given will be pertinent to any parent of a child that has (or may have) AS. It will also be an invaluable resource for social workers, psychologists and psychiatrists who wish to find or offer appropriate support for children with Asperger's Syndrome. Annotation "Parents of children diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome frequently find themselves embarking on an exhausting and disheartening hunt for the services and interventions that their child needs - and is entitled to. Gretchen Mertz presents a readable and practical parent's guide to developing an intervention program for a child with AS." "Giving an accessible overview of the helpful and appropriate services that are available, she provides tips on how to find services and get funding for them, what to expect of them, and how to evaluate them. She also details US legislation and explains how parents can make use of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. This book is an essential read for all parents and professionals wishing to find or offer appropriate support for children with Asperger's Syndrome."--BOOK JACKET. Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved

"Parents of children diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome frequently find themselves embarking on an exhausting and disheartening hunt for the services and interventions that their child needs - and is entitled to. Gretchen Mertz presents a readable and practical parent's guide to developing an intervention program for a child with AS." Giving an accessible overview of the helpful and appropriate services that are available, she provides tips on how to find services and get funding for them, what to expect of them, and how to evaluate them. She also details US legislation and explains how parents can make use of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. This book is an essential read for all parents and professionals wishing to find or offer appropriate support for children with Asperger's Syndrome.

Parents of children with psychiatric conditions or developmental disorders do not enter the social service maze upon receiving a diagnosis.