Joan Matthews is the mother of James Williams, and the author of five romance novels. James, aged 11, is now a fully mainstreamed fifth-grader without special support services. He wants to be a writer and to help other people with autism when he grows up. Joan and James live in Northbrook, Illinois.

• (*denotes a chapter by James Williams). Preface to the Revised Edition. A Disclaimer by Joan. Abbreviations. 1. Saying Hello. 2. Noise Sensitivity. 3. Eye Contact. 4. Recognizing Faces. 5. Eye Sensitivity. 6. Eye Teaming. 7. Touch Sensitivity. 8. Shaking or Holding Hands. 9. Change. 10. Nose Sensitivity. 11. Food Sensitivity. 12. Food Allergies*. 13. Chewing and Swallowing. 14. Hating Water*. 15. Toilet Training. 16. Going to the Bathroom. 17. Breathing Problems*. 18. Teeth Problems*. 19. Space Problems. 20. Knowing How Far Away to Stand from Other People. 21. The Inner Ear. 22. Balance Problems*. 23. Auditory Processing Delays. 24. Having an Urge to Quote. 25. The Music Playing in Your Head. 26. Special Occasions. 27. Being Polite When Someone is Crying. 28. Being Obsessed with the Alphabet. 29. Being Obsessed with Time. 30. Being Obsessed with Music*. 31. Being Obsessed with Numbers*. 32. Being Obsessed with Perfection*. 33. Left vs. Right Hemisphere Processing*. 34. Thinking Styles. 35. Stress*. 36. Behavior Problems*. 37. Discipline. 38. Anger. 39. Going to School. 40. Teasing. 41. Verbal Confusion. 42. Understanding Other People. 43. The Rules of Language. 44. Literal Language. 45. Telling Lies and Keeping Secrets. 46. Using Your Voice Politely*. 47. Mouth Control. 48. Tuning Out. 49. Playing Frozen. 50. Cocooning. 51. Exercise. 52. Pain Problems. 53. Foot Problems. 54. Stomachaches*. 55. Headaches. 56. Neck Problems*. 57. Back Problems*. 58. The Chiropractor. 59. Aiming Problems. 60. Waiting Problems. 61. Connecting with Other People. 62. Saying the Opposite*. 63. Things Mothers Do to Their SPs*. 64. NPs and SPs Together. Part I*. 65. Interrupting Other People*. 66. Being Polite*. 67. Trusting Other People*. 68. Disagreeing with Other People*. 69. Carelessness*. 70. Being Lonely and Making Friends. 71. Loving Other People. 72. Understanding Feelings. 73. Cooperation. 74. Being Flexible. 75. Making Good Decisions. 76. Freedom of Choice. 77. Cleaning Up. 78. Future Judgment*. 79. Needing Other People. 80. Mine and Yours*. 81. Doing Things Other People Want You to Do*. 82. NPs and SPs Together. Part II. 83. Reciprocity*. 84. Saying Goodbye. Conclusion: The Final Frontier*. Appendix 1. Getting Better. Appendix 2. The Self-Help Guide to Teaching Language. Appendix 3. The Self-Help Guide to Teaching Social Skills. Appendix 4. The Self-Help Guide for Successful Teaching. Appendix 5. SPs in the New Millennium. Index.

This book is essential for anyone with an autistic child, or one with a related handicap, teachers and social workers. It is written by the mother of an autistic son with some input from James, too. As the title suggests, it is a reference book rather than just for reading, but there is no jargon in it (I only had to look up the one word "echolia"), so makes for easy reading. It is broken up into 84 very short chapters, each stating a problem encountered by SKs (Special Kids) that wouldn't be a problem for NKs (Normal Kids), and how Joan and James remedied the problem. Most of the problems are ones recognised by the mother - eg. "touch sensitivity", "going to school" and "anger" - but James has added ones that he feels strongly about - "carelessness", "stomach-aches", "hating water"