A New Course: A Mother's Journey Navigating Down Syndrome and Autism

Shortly after Teresa gave birth to her second son, Nick, he was diagnosed with Down syndrome. Early infant and child intervention helped Nick reach developmental milestones in his own time. But there was more to come when Nick hit third grade. A wave of fire alarm-pulling along with other serious and dangerous behaviors signaled that this was something more than just Down syndrome.

At last, a book that takes a deep dive into the complexities that families face raising a child with a dual diagnosis of Down syndrome and autism (DS-ASD) and other intellectual and developmental disabilities.

A New Course is a hybrid of a memoir combined with valuable lessons following each chapter and in the appendix. It’s a must read for families, school faculty, therapists, physicians, and support groups wanting to understand a parent’s perspective and looking for answers about:

Early intervention,
Individual education plans (IEPs) and transition meetings,
Speech, physical, and occupational therapies,
Behavior support and applied behavior analysis (ABA),
Toilet training and puberty issues,
Wandering and elopement,
Meltdowns, and
Augmentative and alternative communication.
Author Teresa Unnerstall provides guidance and hope steeped in more than 25 years of experience. She is a parent turned educational speaker, writer, advocate, and consultant. Her determination to find resources, support, and specialists helped her son to reach his full potential.