Running head: MEDIA CRITIQUE: AUTISM

Media Critique: Audiobook Discussing Autism in Children Aliza Markert B00580441 Dalhousie University PSYO 3129 February 9th, 2012

MEDIA CRITIQUE: AUTISM Media Critique: Audiobook Discussing Autism in Children

Autism Spectrum Disorder is complex and many parts of it are still a mystery to science. The audiobook Understanding and Coping with Child Autism (2010) attempts to help parents to cope with autism. It covers a wide range of topics, and makes a number of good points, but there are a number of areas where it could be improved. Understanding and Coping with Child Autism (2010) features a speaker explaining various concepts related to autism in children. Running for a total of one hour, this audiobook has 25 short sections, each focusing on a different topic. As a whole, it addresses parents who have a child diagnosed with autism. The range of topics covered in Understanding and Coping with Child Autism (2010) is extremely wide. A few of the sections focus on topics related directly to autism. These include common symptoms, therapeutic and medicinal treatments, and major life transitions such as moving into adolescence and making the transfer from school to work. The remaining sections in the audiobook focus on other, less direct issues that may arise from having a child with autism. One of these sections gives advice about how to go about taking a family vacation with an autistic child, while another explains how to deal with autism-related stereotypes. Additionally, it warns that extended family members may see autism in a negative light and treat the diagnosed child unfairly, and advises on how to deal with this predicament. A related topic that is covered is that of sibling rivalry, and the potential issues that can occur in siblings of children with autism. Although Understanding and Coping with Child Autism (2010) provides a unique portrayal of the disorder by going beyond the typical scope of autism-related topics, it fails to go into depth. For example, when it discusses potential treatments of the disorder, it

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merely goes down a list without giving any sort of description. In this way, the source is broadly encompassing in the topics covered, but shallow in that they are not covered in depth. Lengthening each section and going into more detail would be a beneficial improvement to this audiobook. The lack of depth suggests that the developer of Understanding and Coping with Child Autism (2010) may not be as informed about the disorder as they should be because there are also some inaccuracies. Most of these are merely concepts that have been overlooked, such as the failure to indicate the relevance of frustration due to communication difficulties when discussing behavioural problems, but others are inaccurate statements, such as the advice that it is possible that vaccinations are a cause of autism. Despite these errors, the majority of the discussion is quite accurate. If better research had been done to eliminate the inaccuracies, this would be a very valuable source of information. An additional benefit of this media source is that it views autism in a very positive light, encouraging acceptance, understanding, and education about the disorder. It is from the perspective of the uninformed listener where the most pertinent issues in Understanding and Coping with Child Autism (2010) arise. An uninformed viewer would not get a great deal of benefit from this audiobook because it doesnt cover many basic concepts needed to understand autism, and the ones it does cover are interspersed throughout the source in a disorganized way. There are also some other important things that are missing from this media source. When advising on how to best take family vacation with an autistic child, there is no mention of the fact that these children have difficulty changing their daily routines. Many valuable suggestions are given about how to arrange the vacation and decide on activities, but it is missing the fundamental concept that

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getting the child to actually go on a vacation, completely changing the regular routine, would be incredibly difficult. Additionally, it assumes that the child in question is extremely high functioning. For example, it assumes that all of these children will go on to have careers of some sort and be financially independent. Another potential issue arises which may depend on the perspective of the listener. Understanding and Coping with Child Autism (2010) is extremely real in that it provides practical solutions for the average parent. At first, this seems to be a positive thing, but some of the things suggested are not the ideal from a psychological perspective. For example, many different treatment options are provided, many of which are not behavioural treatments, the only type advocated by autism professionals. This is an important discrepancy because an uneducated viewer may think that all the treatments suggested are equally accepted in the professional community. In contrast, however, different individuals may not have the ideal options available to them, and this media source provides alternatives that may be more realistic. Clearly, the significance of this issue depends on ones perspective. Ideally, the audiobook would have mentioned the various methods of treatment, indicating which are more accepted and have been supported by research and which are available but not ideal. As an informed individual, I would base answers to any questions from the viewer on prior research and the DSM V criteria (and clarify any concerns they may have about discrepancies between their knowledge and the new diagnostic criteria). I would welcome parents to use tips from Understanding and Coping with Child Autism (2010), as some of the information is useful, but not to use it as a primary source of information on autism. For example, it may be wise to follow the suggestion to be aware that having a child with

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autism can put stress on a marriage and that it may be wise to seek out couples therapy as soon as marital problems emerge, or even before they start. In contrast, I would advise them to be weary about putting their child into the suggested musical therapy treatment without doing further research first. Overall, the audiobook Understanding and Coping with Child Autism (2010) is a potentially valuable source of information as long as it is used with other reliable sources. It covers a wide range of topics that may be helpful to parents, and its suggestions are very practical for the average family. It is a very interesting source because it covers a number of unconventional topics, and there may not be an abundance of other information on these specific issues.

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References Understanding and coping with child autism (2010). Retrieved from iTunes online store.