Does Your Baby Have Autism? Book Review

Does Your Baby Have Autism? Written by
Osnat Teitelbam and Philip Teitelbaum, PHD

We are told by everyone that the key to helping a child with autism is early diagnosis. A child with autism develops their own coping mechanisms, develops their own routines, likes and dislikes. The older the child gets, the harder it is for that child to change.

As a parent, you are the first one to notice differences in your child. Still, parents are being told the same thing now that I was told when my son was a baby. It is too early to do an evaluation. It is too early to determine if there is a problem.

That is why I like this book. “Does Your Baby Have Autism? Is the first book to provide a means of identifying precursors of autism during a child’s first year.” The authors have broken down developmental milestones in the first year of a child’s life to the basic movements. These milestones include reaching for objects, turning over, crawling and walking.

The observations are based upon watching over a hundred home videos sent in by parents whose child was diagnosed with autism. They were able to notice atypical movements in every video. Knowing how difficult it is for parents to get a professional diagnosis for their child at a young age, the Teitelbaum’s wanted to write a book that would give them good, practical advice and ways to help their child.

Throughout the book, the authors stress the importance of keeping a log of your observations of your child. There is an observation journal included in the back of the book, or the parents can keep a video journal. I love the detailed sketches of a baby performing a task, rolling over, crawling and walking. With each specific area that is addressed in the writing, you also have pictures showing what the author is explaining.

Included in this book are also suggestions of what you can do to help your child. For example, if your child favors reaching for an object with one hand, encourage him/her to use the other by holding “a toy on your child’s weaker side so he must extend his arm to grasp it.” There are also other suggestions based on what the child is or is not doing.

This is one of those books that I wish I had been given before I left the hospital. My sister had bought me a parenting book. She swore it was a must have for all new mothers. I think along with that book, every mother should be given this one. The number of children being diagnosed each year is on the rise. The earlier we can get help for them, the better off they will be. I think of how much time I lost because my son’s doctors said it was too early to do anything, too early to even do a developmental evaluation, I just want to scream. Especially when the same doctors were even telling me that there was a problem. I recommend this book to all parents, caregivers and healthcare professionals. We need earlier diagnosis and this book will help parents to advocate for it for their child.