Description
Discover how Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) & the DNA-V model can empower parents & professionals to support autistic children and young people through all stages of their emotional development.
Raising any child presents challenges that require understanding, patience, and new ways of looking at emotional growth and resilience. Supporting an autistic child effectively can often require two interlocking approaches:
1) changing the world around them to make it more inclusive and
2) teaching them skills to better navigate that world.
This book does both. It provides a range of learning exercises based on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). ACT helps individuals to behave more consistently with their own values and apply mindfulness and acceptance skills to their responses to uncontrollable experiences.
The closely related DNA-V model, which stands for four skills – Discoverer, Noticer, Advisor and Values which is also discussed in the book, is a combination of ACT and positive psychology. DNA-V is designed to help young people cope with challenges, stress and change. DNA-V is simple and easy to understand and is popular with psychologists, therapists, mental health professionals, teachers, counsellors and coaches.
Whatever your situation or level of knowledge, this book offers practical strategies, insights and real-life examples that will help guide you and your child on your journey to a rewarding life together.
See sample.
Audience
Supporting the Wellbeing of Autistic Children and Young People: An Acceptance and Commitment Therapy Approach to Building Emotional Resilience will be useful to parents and carers of children and young people (aged 0-25) with a diagnosis of autism. And for professionals working with autistic young people in a wide variety of contexts and roles including teachers, educational psychologists, mental health professionals, early years workers, social workers and support workers.
Author
Freddy Jackson Brown is a registered and chartered clinical psychologist and ACT therapist with twenty years of experience working in the NHS with children and families. He also offers assessment and intervention services to people and organizations via Psychology Solutions Partnership and Positive Behaviour Solutions. His interests include emotional literacy, child development, language and communication, and behaviour perceived as challenging.
He has published a range of peer-reviewed articles and chapters on ACT, behaviour analysis, disability and sexuality, His books include Get the Life You Want (2013), ACT for Dummies, When Young People with Intellectual Disabilities and Autism Hit Puberty and The Science of Children’s Wellbeing, as well as The ACT Journal also published by Pavilion.
Content
About the Author
Introduction
1. The Emotionally Resilient Child
2. The ACT model
3. Autism, Neurodiversity and Individuality
4. Developing Skills Throughout Childhood
5. How to Live a Good Life
6. The Secret of a Happy Family
7. Enhancing Your Wellbeing
8. Succeeding at School
9. Supporting Sibling Relationships
10. Friendships, Relationships and Love
11. Understanding Ourselves
12. Building a Foundation for Life
Appendix 1
Appendix 2
Details
Publisher: Pavilion Publishing and Media Ltd
ISBN: 9781803884035
Expected Publication Date: January 2026
Dr Sarah Cassidy, Autistic Psychologist and Parent, President, Psychological Society of Ireland –
Many who are new to neurodiversity affirming paradigms struggle with finding that delicate balance between respecting authentic autistic ways of being in the world and still gently, respectfully steering our autistic children or clients towards the things they find important in life. As an Autistic Psychologist who often finds myself very frustrated when my own neurodivergent kids just won’t do the things that are going to work for them, it’s genuinely difficult to find that magical space in the middle. I know all the research. I’ve done all the training. I’ve read all the books!! Why is Autism so different? Well, I’m not sure that it should be all that different. Yet we can’t just make people do the things we think they should do!
Also, Autism is heterogenous and this landscape is changing fast and we are all learning some new dance steps here, whether we are autistic, allistic, clinician, parent, educator or layperson. This book demonstrates how to respectfully teach practical skills in affirming ways that will improve quality of life for autistic people. There is no tokenism or ableism hidden away. It does exactly what it promises to do in accessible, evidence informed, affirming ways. Looking forward to recommending this book to my clinic clients and other psychologists.
Ben, parent –
Every parent of an autistic child should read this book. Freddy Jackson Brown doesn’t just understand child psychology and autism, he is deeply inspiring and he understands what it’s like to be a parent trying to do their best. Whether you’re just starting your parenting experience or years into it, this book will help you support your child, yourself and your family to build a more meaningful, connected and values-driven life.
Mark Oliver, Clinical Psychologist –
The support of our autistic youngsters is vitally important. But with so much information out there, how can parents know which interventions are evidence-based and which are not? With this book, Freddy Jackson Brown has produced a valuable and important resource, distilling the most up-to-date scientific knowledge on mental health and presenting it in a way that is accessible and useable.
Duncan Gillard, Educational Psychologist and Author –
The wisdom contained within the pages of this book has the potential to profoundly transform the lives of parents and carers and, by extension, the lives of the children for whom they care. It’s engaging and accessible, but more importantly it’s absolutely packed with scientifically backed, practical strategies. In a world filled with parental self-help books, this is an absolute must-read – I cannot recommend it enough!