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Written for parents, clinicians, and educators, Parent Child Excursions is a practical book about helping children with ADHD, anxiety, and autism. In this unique approach, Dr. Dan presents ADHD as a problem with stopping, anxiety as a problem with going, and autism as difficulty balancing these competing tendencies. From the introduction: "This book is quite simply a story of red light and green light, braking and accelerating, holding back and forging ahead." Based on this simple formulation, management of problems with self-control depends on finding the right balance between excitation and inhibition.
These five Excursions present entirely new ways to think about caring for "different drummer" children. Readers will discover an unprecedented level of detail. Based on scientific research and years of clinical experience, Dr. Dan takes you for a deep dive into: (1) effective medication for ADHD, (2) exposure therapy for anxiety, (3) combined therapies for coexisting ADHD, anxiety, and autism, and (4) social engineering for autism. The book concludes with an in-depth discussion of (5) autism, sexuality, and gender variation, cowritten by Dr. Dan and his son Dr. Aaron Shapiro.
As with his first book, Parent Child Journey: An Individualized Approach to Raising Your Challenging Child, Dr. Dan teams up again with illustrator John Watkins-Chow. Throughout the five Excursions, they weave a fun metaphorical tale. Readers are led along by an under-inhibited dog, an over-inhibited turtle, and a well-balanced bird of a different feather.
By the end of this comprehensive and original guidebook, parents and professionals will have learned how to prepare the child for the trail and the trail for the child.
About the author
Dr. Dan Shapiro is a native of East Lansing, Michigan. He moved to Washington, DC, to attend the George Washington University School of Medicine and stayed for pediatric residency training at Children's National Medical Center. Dr. Shapiro practiced primary-care pediatric and adolescent medicine in Silver Spring, Maryland, then shifted his focus to developmental and behavioral pediatrics. Currently, in addition to his office practice, Dr. Shapiro observes children and collaborates with educators at dozens of Washington, DC, and suburban Maryland schools. He developed ParentChildJourney.com, a comprehensive set of parent training and support programs. He is a fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics and a member of the Society for Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics. Dr. Shapiro is married, with four children and two grandchildren. He is the author of Parent Child Journey: An Individualized Approach to Raising Your Challenging Child and Parent Child Excursions: ADHD, Anxiety and Autism.
