The Jumbled Jigsaw exposes autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) not as single entities but as a combination of a whole range of often untreated, sometimes easily treatable, underlying conditions. Exploring everything from mood, anxiety, obsessivecompulsive and tic disorders to information processing and sensory perceptual difficulties, including dependency issues, identity problems and much more, Donna demonstrates how a number of such conditions can combine to form a cluster condition' and underpin the label autism spectrum disorder'. Donna Williams encourages and empowers families to look at what they can do to change their child's environment to address anxiety, overload and other issues. She also gives carers the necessary information to navigate the booming autism marketplace and demand the right tools for the job. The author also challenges professionals to adopt a multi-disciplinary approach to identifying and treating the cluster conditions that make up an autism spectrum diagnosis, and to improve service delivery to those in need. The Jumbled Jigsaw is a call to modern society to take responsibility and accept diversity. It is written in a very human and user-friendly way for parents and for Auties and Aspies themselves, but it is also aimed at carers, professionals, policy-makers and service providers.
Part 1: Getting Oriented. Introduction. Part 2: Into the Depths. 1. Fuel System and Electrical Problems: Health and Autism. 2. Different Ways of Navigating the World: The System of Sensing Versus Interpretations. 3. Issues of Overload: Being Mono and Delayed. 4. Experiencing the World Rather Differently: Sensory-Perceptual Issues. 5. Losing Control of One's Body: Impulse-Control Problems. 6. Strange Emotional Spaces: Mood-Regulation Problems. 7. Invisible Cages: Anxiety Issues. 8. Being Joined at the Hip: Dependency Issues. 9. Bad Parenting or Bad Match? Boundary Issues. 10. A Matter of Perspective: Trauma, Neglect, Abuse and Grief. 11. Who Am I and Which Side Am I On?: Identity Issues. Part 3: The Fallout. 12. The Fallout. Appendix 1: Current Professionals and Services. Appendix 2: Autism Spectrum Cluster Checklist. Appendix 3: Referral List Based on Checklist. References. Index.
The real strength of the book is to challenge practitioners to go beyond the label of autism in order to be a real help; I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book as it was challenging on every page, I think it will appeal to practitioners with a wide experience of children with autism and other complex mixtures of difficulties that do not fit neatly into conventional labels. As Donna herself commented her ideas will interest those with an open mind and holistic perspective.
