Abstract
Whether or not one believes that we are in the midst of an autism epidemic in North America, an undeniable fact is that there are many children and young adults with autistic features seeking assistance from the health care community. To assist the busy practitioner in assessing these individuals, Drs. Patricia Evans and Mary Ann Morris have developed this succinct guidebook. Evans was a practicing pediatrician before retraining in child neurology and neurodevelopmental disabilities and joining the faculty of the University of Texas Southwestern School of Medicine in Dallas, whereas Morris is a psychometrician at the Children’s Medical Center of Dallas. Their book consists of 22 short chapters highlighting their tested approach to evaluation, therapy, and management of autistic children. There are numerous helpful tables and flowcharts scattered through the book, while the appendices provide detailed information about resources for clinicians and families, valuable handouts and checklists, and sample letters for use in obtaining assistance for these children. In addition, the book contains login information for a website that includes a completely searchable online version of the book, which is particularly useful for printing copies of the appendices to use in counseling families. Evans and Morris have produced an important handbook that will help busy clinicians with the assessment and management of children with autism.