Stuart Neilson

GalleryASD non-fiction Stone, Florica (2004) Autism - The Eighth Colour of the Rainbow Learn to Speak Autistic

Stone, Florica (2004) "Autism - The Eighth Colour of the Rainbow Learn to Speak Autistic".
Florica Stone is a therapist who works with autistic children and has a compassionate attitude and empathy that seems rare. Her approach, expressed through descriptions of useful interventions, always begins and operates through attempting to share the child's understanding. Many of the exercises involve joining the child, sharing the child's experience and doing what the child does. This can be such a revelation for parents when they discovery that apparently meaningless or apparently self-harmful behaviours feel meaningful when they try them for themselves. I believe more in hard work than in "unconditional love" (lack of progress does not equate with lack of love), but perhaps she is using different words to say the same thing.