This expanded second edition of Mitzi Waltz’s Autism: A Social and Medical History offers an in-depth examination of how the condition was perceived before it became a separate area of investigation, and how autism has been conceptualised and treated since. As well as strengthening the existing text, Waltz has added material on a number of topics that have received increased attention since the first edition, including the rise of the anti-vaccination movement, the shift towards genetic and genomic research, and the progress of the autism self-advocacy movement. The author examines these issues through the perspective of what they mean for autistic people, clinicians and society, and looks at the challenges still faced by autistic people. Waltz also looks at the increased autism diagnosis among girls and women, and how autism has been represented in traditional media and social media. The book includes information from interviews with key researchers, parents of autistic children and people with autism.

If you or someone you know has been diagnosed with a pervasive developmental disorder (autism, Asperger's Syndrome, Rett Syndrome, Childhood Disintegrative Disorder, or PDD-NOS), this book is for you. In an informative style, weaved with personal stories from parents, author Mitzi Waltz covers various topics: getting a diagnosis (including preparing for a diagnostic interview in a medical, psychiatric, or school setting, with descriptions of all diagnostic tests and checklists/questions used by professionals); treatment options (such as medications/supplements, sensory integration, occupational/physical/speech therapy, behavior modification, 'Floor time', and more); and coping with diagnosis and treatment (including emotions and support systems, insurance, and educational plans).

Until recently, bipolar disorders were almost never diagnosed in children and rarely recognized in adolescents, even though between 20 and 40 percent of the two million or more adults diagnosed with bipolar disorders in the United States experienced the onset of illness in their teen years or before. Psychiatrists now recognize that manic depression has frequently been misdiagnosed as ADHD (or oppositional defiant disorder, conduct disorder, or depression). According to recent data, 23 percent of children currently diagnosed with ADHD will evenutally be diagnosed as having a bipolar disorder. As many as a million children in the US alone may have childhood-onset bipolar disorder.

Bipolar disorders are different in children than in adults. There are some diagnostic criteria unique to children. Some reckless behavior is limited by being a child and being under adult control. Families and communities pay a heavy toll when this disorder is not recognized and treated. Suicide is a possible outcome, as are school failure, limited job prospects, legal difficulties, and hospitalizations. Understanding and recognizing the differences in the illness for children and adolescents is key for concerned parents and professionals.

"Bipolar Disorders covers the range of topics that parents need to know about in order to help their children:

Description of the range of bipolar disorders

Diagnostic criteria, current and proposed, including comparisons to common misdiagnoses

Family life with bipolar disorders, including recognizing and preventing mood swings, safety, and support

Medications, with special attention to the physiology and responses of children and adolescents

Therapeutic interventions in various "talk therapies"

Other interventions, such as improving sleep patterns, preventing seasonal mood swings, diet, and supplements

Insurance issues

school, including special education system and 504 Plans or EIPs

As author Mitzi Waltz notes, "With early intervention, the possibilities for these kids are limitless."

This study of alternative and activist media provides an introduction to alternative media theories, audiences and practices. It brings diverse voices and concepts from outside the commercial media world to the fore, enriching and challenging mass media. Illustrated with historical and current examples, from both a UK and international perspective, it also includes carefully constructed exercises and discussion topics based on case studies and available texts.

Topics include the place of alternative media in a mass-media world; a history of alternative and activist media; media participation and consumption by marginalised audiences; the use of pirate and community radio, video and television by community and minority groups; fanzines and other small publishing ventures by individuals; the use of alternative media for explorations in design; the blurring of boundaries between alternative and mass media; and new technology and its possibilities for alternative media.

Features:

* A unique study of alternative and activism-oriented media designed for students of media studies, print and broadcast journalism, cultural studies, media sociology and related disciplines

* Includes extensive notes and Internet resources

* Contains exercises and additional resources, such as suggested further reading or film/video/digital media for discussion, in each chapter.