Book Review: Applied Behavior Analysis for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders

Book Cover

One week.

That was how long I took to read this book.  I'm a fairly fast reader, and I can usually go through a book in a few days.

This.  Oh boy.  This.

Let's get into this, shall we?

This book made me feel like I was back in college, reading a textbook and studying.  Yes, it's that academic.  It was not an easy book to read at all.  In fact, I am of the opinion that this is a book written for aspiring Applied Behavior Analysts, rather than parents.

In fourteen chapters, editor Johnny Matson compiled several papers written by different people with the aim of presenting Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) as an evidence-based treatment program for people on the autism spectrum.  The chapters are all laid out with several focuses, each written like a research paper with citations and references at the end.

Applied Behavior Analysis for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders lays out the history of autism as a diagnosis, how treatments have evolved over time.  There are chapters focusing on characteristics of children on the spectrum, such as rituals, repetitive movements, self-injury, non-compliance and so on.  And with each characteristic mentioned, there are also segments on methodologies, research, and analysis of the treatments used to address each concern.

It's really informative, and I will say I learned a whole lot from this book.  I thought about preparing myself on some level as we look into starting ABA therapy for R, and in fairness, this was a good book to get knowledge from.  But it's so information-heavy and intensely academic that I would recommend anyone who's thinking of reading this to mentally prepare themselves for exactly that.

My rating would be 3.5 out of 5 stars.  Applied Behavior Analysis for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders can be purchased from Book Depository or Apple iBooks.  Be forewarned, it's a rather pricey book.