Children and teens with autism can be particularly vulnerable to online dangers and this practical handbook explains how you can help your child to navigate websites, chat rooms and social media safely. Providing all the information needed to monitor, educate and guide your child's computer use, the book discusses key concerns such as parental control, social networking, grooming, cyberbullying, internet addiction and hacking. The risks and the warning signs to look out for are clearly explained alongside useful advice and examples from real-life experiences. A Digispeak Dictionary is included that decodes the cryptic language of online slang and there are downloadable forms to help record your child's internet use. The practical solutions in this book will give you peace of mind and ensure that your child can enjoy the educational and social benefits of the internet in safety.

The developmental challenges of children with special needs means they are often more at risk of physical or emotional exploitation. This book provides invaluable tools to help parents, carers and teachers protect vulnerable children. Difficult topics are sensitively and straightforwardly addressed through step-by-step guidelines for parents and learning activities for children. Guidance to carers includes information on how to identify warning signs of abuse, and recognise tell-tale behaviour changes in their child. Intervention activities help children learn which adults to trust and how to stay safe, while reducing the fear, shame or stigma surrounding abuse. Aimed at ages 5-12, these learning devices have been specifically designed to meet a range of comprehension and developmental abilities, with instructions for parents to adapt them to meet the specific needs of their child. This important guidebook empowers adults to fulfil their responsibility to protect and support children, and to provide a safe environment in which every child can reach their highest potential free from coercion or abuse.

This book addresses an important and relatively neglected topic in the scientific literature: individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) who have dealings with the legal system. It examines issues and implications for autistic people, who have a significant risk for engagement with the legal system in some capacity (e.g., witness/bystander, victim, or perpetrator). Key areas of coverage include: Autistic people as victims and perpetrators of criminal activities, including violence, stalking, sexual exploitation, and cybercrime. Risks for unlawful behavior in individuals with autism and Asperger's. Legal assessment issues, such as witness protection and postconviction diagnoses. Legal outcomes for autistic people, including case law, prevention, service provisions in correctional settings, and rights and support systems. The Handbook of Autism Spectrum Disorder and the Law is an essential, comprehensive resource that explores the risk for unlawful behaviors affecting autistitc people as victims and perpetrators, as well as related issues of assessment and treatment, and outcome. It is a must-have reference for researchers, clinicians/practitioners, and graduate students in psychology, psychiatry, social work, and law, as well as professionals in such related fields, as criminology/criminal justice and the legal system.

Book 2 continues as the tiny fingers in Book 1 Grades K-2 grow and become more familiar with online activities. The critical job of ensuring our children’s safety expands as students become more independent and begin to have greater online autonomy. From Street‐smart to Web‐wise®: A Cyber Safety Training Manual Built for Teachers and Designed for Children isn’t just another book — it’s a passionate call to action for teachers, a roadmap to navigate the digital landscape safely, with confidence and care. Written by authors who are recognized experts in their respective fields, this accessible manual is a timely resource for educators. Dive into engaging content that illuminates the importance of cyber safety, not only in our classrooms but extending into the global community. Each chapter is filled with practical examples, stimulating discussion points, and ready‐to‐use lesson plans tailored for students in third and fourth grades. Regardless of your technology skill level, this book will provide you with the guidance and the tools you need to make student cyber‐safety awareness practical, fun, and impactful. As parents partner with educators to create cyber‐secure spaces, this book stands as a framework of commitment to that partnership. It’s a testament to taking proactive steps in equipping our young learners with the awareness and skills they need to tread the digital world securely. By choosing From Street‐smart to Web‐wise®: A Cyber Safety Training Manual Built for Teachers and Designed for Children, you position yourself at the forefront of educational guardianship, championing a future where our children can explore, learn, and grow online without fear. Join us on this journey to empower the next generation — one click at a time!

Understand the unique needs of teens and adults with autism and how to adapt existing library programs to be more inclusive. Autism spectrum disorder is a lifelong condition, but programs and services are mostly for children. As this population ages and the number of adults receiving autism diagnoses grows, are public libraries serving this group? Serving Teens and Adults on the Autism Spectrum offers practical strategies for delivering better service to individuals with autism, from library programming to technology, collections, library volunteers, and the information desk. Relying on feedback and help from the autism community in her area, Carrie Rogers-Whitehead created programs for children, teens, and young adults on the autism spectrum. In this book, she shares advice on developing programs that focus on teamwork, transitions, and social skills. She explains best practices for reference interviews and teaches readers how their libraries can partner with nonprofit and government entities to develop workforce skills and connect adults with autism to jobs. Ready-made program activities for teens and adults with autism make it easy for libraries to better serve this often misunderstood group.

The late teens and twenties are exciting times, but filled with potential pitfalls as young people navigate the transition into independent adult life. This handbook is filled with the information that young people with ASD say they want (and need) to know about alcohol and drugs, social media and online safety, relationship types and boundaries, safe sex, stress and emotional health, and independent living. It includes real life examples, coping strategies and practical tips to help young adults with ASD stay safe while living life to the full. Informal and frank, this will be a go-to guide for young people on the autism spectrum.

This book offers scientifically validated guidance to help you raise your tween, teen, or young adult on the autism spectrum. It contains supportive advice for finding good medical and psychiatric care, helping your teen learn executive functioning and social skills to navigate middle and high school, and talking to your teen about sexual development and sexual activity. You will also find helpful resources for college and transition programs, as well as ideas for taking care of yourself and reducing stress.

This book is not only reassuring; it is inspiring, and bursting with ideas and achievable strategies. The authors write with authority and conviction, and tackle even the most difficult and delicate of topics. If ever you needed to be convinced that girls with ASD can overcome the difficulties and challenges of puberty and adolescence, have successful friendships and relationships and enjoy a healthy sexuality, then take the time to read this book - it is a must-have for families, teachers and therapists alike.' -Sarah Attwood, author of Making Sense of Sex: A Forthright Guide to Puberty, Sex and Relationships for People with Asperger's Syndrome Growing up isn't easy, and the trials and tribulations of being a teenager can be particularly confusing for girls with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs). This book covers all the concerns commonly faced by girls with ASDs and their parents, from periods and puberty to worries over friendships and 'fitting in'. Taking a good look at these adolescent issues, and many more, within the context of specific areas of difficulty for girls with ASDs, the authors provide families with the knowledge and advice they need to help their daughters - and the whole family - through the teenage years. This book addresses core issues such as cognition, communication, behavior, sensory sensitivities, and social difficulties; it gives candid and realistic advice on a wide range of important teenage topics. Providing professional perspectives alongside personal experiences from mothers, daughters and educators, this is a unique and indispensible guide for families and their daughters with ASDs, as well as the teachers and professionals who work with them.

An ethnographic study of diverse children on the autism spectrum and the role of media and technology in their everyday lives. In spite of widespread assumptions that young people on the autism spectrum have a “natural” attraction to technology—a premise that leads to significant speculation about how media helps or harms them—relatively little research actually exists about their everyday tech use. In Kids Across the Spectrums, Meryl Alper fills this gap with the first book-length ethnography of the digital lives of autistic young people. Based on research with more than sixty neurodivergent children from an array of racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic backgrounds, Kids Across the Spectrums delves into three overlapping areas of their media usage: cultural belonging, social relationships, and physical embodiment. Alper’s work demonstrates that what autistic youth do with technology is not radically different from their non-autistic peers. However, significant social and health inequalities—including limited recreational programs, unsafe neighborhoods, and challenges obtaining appropriate therapeutic services—spill over into their media habits. With an emphasis on what autistic children bring to media as opposed to what they supposedly lack socially, Alper argues that their relationships do not exist outside of how communication technologies affect sociality, nor beyond the boundaries of stigmatization and society writ large. Finally, she offers practical suggestions for the education, healthcare, and technology sectors to promote equity, inclusion, access, and justice for autistic kids at home, at school, and in their communities.