I offer this experience because I wished for autistic people to be fully understood through their life’s experiences.A highly beneficial read for parents/carers who want the best for their ‘person’ offering unique provision for professionals in their wish to provide the best service for people of all ages they offer support.You are invited to look through the lens of sensory processing, in depth. As the book flows, you begin to see the weave in how all of the senses are connected, giving a clearunderstanding of how they physically manifest for the autistic person; more importantly, it translates previously misunderstood behaviours into meaning.All behaviours are a unique language and with that communication, comes solutions directly from the autistic’s sensory perspective.
Belle Berroyer was born in Essex where she started her professional career in early years development and education. Throughout her varied career, she continued her professional studies, combining both academic research and practical experience knowledge.
In more recent years, she has written articles for various magazines and media platforms, as well as creating and delivering workshops on sensory awareness and autism for early years courses across the academic spectrum, as well as specific workplaces and support services for a multitude of neurotypes, particularly autism.
She has recently set up her own website where she offers environment support for families within their own homes, as well as 1-1 sessions for parents, carers and workplaces to enhance their knowledge of sensory awareness in autism.
In 2002, she relocated to mid-Wales where she became a mother. This is where her awareness of autism and sensory processing became truly active. Her son was born a non-speaking autistic. Teaching her his way of being human, she began to enquire deeply into the sensory aspect of living life. In doing so, she learnt about her own sensory challenges, which answered a lot of before, unknown questions about her own struggles growing up.
Now, 17 years on, Belle has created this practical and insightful introduction to learning the language of autism through the sensory systems.
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2 reviews
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Jillian Caballero, M.A., CCC-SLP (Speech Language Pathologist) Ferndale, WA, USA
MUST READ! THIS BOOK IS GOLD!
“Learning the Language of Autism Through the Senses” is an incredibly powerful “must read” for any parent, educator, therapist, caregiver and/or friend of an autistic individual. Belle speaks from the heart and vulnerably shares her wealth of knowledge from firsthand experience of both raising her autistic son along with her professional background of being a nursery nurse in the UK. Belle takes the reader through a compassionate but massively eye opening journey to understand what it’s like to be autistic.
The first half of the book sets the stage on humanistic principles of the importance of accepting all neurotypes and guiding parents and caregivers on how to find support. The second half is focused on deep diving into each of the sensory systems. Belle takes the reader further than simply having an awareness of each system (auditory, tactile, visual, interoception, proprioception, taste, smell, vestibular) She gives concrete examples of how sensory challenges might be communicated and/or managed through behaviors.
Here is the magic. She beautifully helps the reader link autistic behaviors to possibilities of what they actually might mean! I wholeheartedly agree that “Every behavior has a real, logical meaning to the person communicating and experiencing it.” For example, she describes how her son sometimes claps or laughs when he is eating crunchy foods She has cleverly inferred that his auditory sensitivities have made eating crunchy food very difficult/uncomfortable because it is an overwhelmingly loud internal experience for him. Thus he makes a loud vocal sound himself to balance out or dim down the sound the crunching of his toast makes. “He also claps loudly which enables him to eat and cope with the intense sensory experience. Stopping him from doing this whilst eating would be detrimental to his health and wellbeing.” That makes so much sense!
As a neurotypical speech language pathologist with over 10 years of experience working with autistic individuals, I am blown away by the content of this book. I wish I had a guide like this early in my career. The agony and frustrations which I have witnessed in the clinic setting (such as children crying, screaming, running away, shutting down, crawling under the table) would have made so much more sense had I had I better understanding of what they may have been experiencing internally.
Lastly, I love how Belle shares so many real life examples of how overwhelm can show up in autistic individuals. She empowers the reader with tools to be able to best understand and thus support their children. I also enjoyed how she shares in everyday terms/language. It is written almost as kind, down to earth conversation with the reader rather than a cold/disengaged text of scientific information.
To summarize, GET THIS BOOK! READ IT! THEN READ IT AGAIN! Thank you so much, Belle.
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51 year old woman who has been diagnosed ASD for 15 years
‘I am a quarterway through this book and am filled with hope and Joy. The hope is that after reading this book people will notice and listen to those people who have Autism in a new way. They will recognize that they are in the same world but look through different eyes, hear through different ears, feel through a different skin, and taste with a different tongue. Children and adults with Autism will be seen like they never have before. As someone who has an ASD and feels misunderstood most of the time- reading a book that understands me deeply brings me, Joy. It makes me feel connected to people and gives me a language to explain myself and others who are on the spectrum. Thank you, Belle!!!!’
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