Social and Academic Abilities in Children with High-Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorders

This excellent, important book gives the reader a deep understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of children and adolescents with HFASD, fostering appreciation of their complex needs. It is clear from Bauminger-Zviely’s writing that she has extensive experience with this population. This book should be recommended to special educators, clinicians, students, and scholars to help them understand more fully the theoretical, clinical, and practical aspects that will eventually lead to a better life for these young people.–Cheryl Dissanayake, PhD, Director, Olga Tennison Autism Research Centre, La Trobe University, Australia

A ‘must read’ for researchers and practitioners. Bauminger-Zviely provides needed insight into the social, emotional, and academic functioning of children with HFASD, as well as the components of effective interventions. Among the array of books on ASD, this one stands out as an essential and practical guide.–Connie Kasari, PhD, Center for Autism Research and Treatment, Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, University of California, Los Angeles

I am grateful to the author for finally giving HFASD the kind of thorough review and synthesis the field has badly needed. This volume examines theory and research; provides a wonderful description of these unique individuals; and includes complete discussions of treatment approaches and interventions. The book has much to offer to a broad readership. For therapists and educators, it explains how research relates to interventions and provides suggestions for practice. For researchers, it offers a comprehensive literature review and discusses issues to be addressed in future work. For instructors, it will serve as a very useful text in graduate-level courses focusing on meeting the needs of people with HFASD.–Gary B. Mesibov, PhD, Professor Emeritus of Psychology and Psychiatry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill –

Nirit Bauminger-Zviely, PhD, is Associate Professor in the School of Education at Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel. She serves as Head of the Graduate Program in Special Education, specializing in autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Dr. Bauminger-Zviely’s research focuses on social-emotional development of higher-functioning children with ASD and on the design of relevant interventions that promote social-cognitive processes, social relationships, and peer interactions. She has been at the forefront of basic and applied research on affective and cognitive correlates of social relationships and interactions in these children and has pioneered new and effective methods of cognitive-behavioral treatments, including multimodal individual and group social-cognitive behavioral interventions. Dr. Bauminger-Zviely is the author of numerous book chapters and journal articles in such publications as the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, Autism Research, and Child Development.