Autism: Sensory-Movement Differences and Diversity
Martha R. Leary and Anne M. Donnellan
First Time in One Volume:
Leary and Donnellan’s influential works on
autism and sensory-movement differences
“If we follow the lead offered here we will not only have a model of the discipline we must cultivate, we will also have the support of people with disabilities as full partners in the difficult search for better understanding. Leary and Donnellan carefully note anomalies, irregularities likely to be ignored or explained away in routine practice: irregularities such as the many accommodations people with disabilities and those who care about them have invented beneath the notice of the professionals who ordinarily control their treatment. The authors rigorously deconstruct the myth of mental capacity.”—John O’Brien, author (with Connie Lyle O’Brien) of Members of Each Other: Building community in company with people with developmental disabilities.
“The trend of our best work in behavioral difficulties has been to move from coercion and control to understanding and accommodation. Martha Leary and Anne Donnellan have made a crucial advance with their groundbreaking research.”—Herbert Lovett, author of Learning to Listen: Positive approaches and people with difficult behavior.
About the Authors
Martha R. Leary, MA, CCC-SLP, is a Speech and Language Pathologist who has learned from people with autism and their supporters and their families for over 30 years. She has lectured extensively in the United States, Canada, Ireland, Australia and England. Her highly acclaimed writings with David Hill, Jodi Robledo and Anne Donnellan, present alternative ways of viewing the symptoms of sensory and movement differences which may affect our understanding of people with communication differences and unconventional behaviors. Martha continues to learn from people with unusual support needs. She consults with people and their teams through organizations that focus on personalized positive supports.
Anne M. Donnellan, Ph.D., is a Professor in the School of Leadership and Education Sciences at the University of San Diego as well as Professor Emerita at Wisconsin-Madison. A long-time member of the Professional Advisory Panel of the Autism Society of America, she is also on the Board of the Autism National Committee and active with TASH. She has published some 100 books, articles, chapters and monographs and has lectured throughout the world. She is currently co-host of the Frontiers in Integrative Neuroscience special issue, Autism: The Movement Perspective. Her career spans over 40 years of training, research, and advocacy work on behalf of children and adults with communication and behavior challenges.
Book cover design: Dan Parent
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