Book Review: People with Autism Behaving Badly: Helping People with ASD move on From Behavioural and Emotional Challenges

People with Autism Behaving Badly: Helping People with
ASD Move on From Behavioural and Emotional Challenges
John Clements, Jessica Kingsley Publishers
ISBN 1843107651, £13.95

STAR RATING: 5/5

I  would recommend this book to families who already know about
autistic spectrum disorder, and who want to work towards overcoming
difficulties relating to certain behaviours, writes
Beth Billington.

The language used is accessible and not too jargon-oriented, and
the book is clearly laid out. I particularly like guidelines on how
to use the book effectively, without having to read every
page.

The book is practically very useful, with suggestions for
prioritising goals, practical ideas and case examples to illustrate
concepts. The use of exercises and thinking points enables the
reader to give it a go in the real world, in order to foster
change.

It explains why people with ASD may “behave badly”, and each
chapter outlines a theme explaining the reasons behind behaviours
that, to “neurotypicals” (people not on the autistic spectrum) may
seem inexplicable.

Examples of chapters are “I can’t stand that”, “I don’t want you to
say no” and “You’ve lost me”. The author uses examples from the
whole age spectrum and level of difficulties, so all families
should be able to relate to some of the material.

Beth Billington has a younger brother with autism, and is a
trainee clinical psychologist at Lancaster University