Communication-Disorders Books

This book is fascinating. However, there are a few things that really "date" the book and are a little "off-putting."

The author's continual use of the terms "autistics," "paraplegics," and "wheelchair-bound" - are clearly terms from days gone by. Today it is customary and more respectful to speak of people who use wheelchairs (rather than being "bound" to them), people who have autism or paraplegia. The Person-First movement (which advocates putting the person first before the disability) has helped us to think of individuals as PEOPLE - all of whom have unique traits. Disability is just one of many aspects of an individual. Therefore, the person is not an "autistic." But rather, a person who sees the world in a very unique way, who has many different likes and dislikes, and for which disability is part of, but not the entire defining feature of one's life.

The author seems to group people with autism into one big group and loses the individuality of the people she is tying so desperately to understand.

Perhaps this kind of thinking is reflective of the time in which the book was written (early 1990s), but it still takes something away from understanding the unique individuals she had a chance to meet and study.

Other than this, I would highly recommend this book. It is engaging, enlightening, and very entertaining.

This is an extraordinary telling of a very engrossing subject, from a clinical and a very personal viewpoint: how cetacaens and humans can interact.

Ms. St. John pays particular attention to ways that being with dolphins and porpoises can have special value in pulling autistic humans into a larger world, along with her own notes of general life.

Very recommended.

This book is a fantastic collection of accounts of moving, diverse personalities who all share one thing in common- the have no functional verbal speech. Rosemary, as the character who becomes involved with these very different characters, has a wonderful humorous and passionate writer's voice, making this comparable to books like Oliver Sachs' The Man Who Mistook His Wife For A Hat. You don't have to be interested in Facilitated or Augmented Communication techniques to find this book a thoroughly good read in its own right. You simply have to enjoy the inner worlds of human beings and how remarkable it is when those worlds get their first change at expression.

Rosemary Crossley casts aside the taboos and tackles the serious issues, never taking herself overly seriously. She's a credit to a world that takes far fewer risks and asks far fewer important questions than she does.

Read it if you dare.

Rosemary Crossley discovered (or rediscovered)facilitation training (FCT), and here she tells how and why. FCT is a means of communication with people with communication impairment - people with autism, or Down syndrome, or cp - and the real point of Speechless is that it makes us ask whether these people can't talk because they're mentally retarded or whether they get labelled as retarded because they can't talk. If you believe it really happens, that is: there's a lot of controversy around FCT, and Crossley has been accused of many things, charges she answers in this book. A must for anyone dealing with a non-speaker

I enjoyed this book a great deal because it taught me how to work with children with language disabilities.

The book arrived in a timely manner and was not that terrible bad.

I have founds both the Assessment and Treatment Manual equally helpful for new and experienced SLP's. As for the review titled "Speech therapy does not work," it is clear that we have a irrational person that cannot see beyond his/her personal experience to see how invaluable SLP's are. We are trained to service many different ages and disorders. Effectiveness of a whole profession should never be evaluated out of anger from an individual experience. However, it is evident that certain support groups are trying to program families into this belief, which is very unfortunate and unproductive(especially for the person their trying to advocate for)! Speech Language Pathologist are helping their clients daily in the rehabilitation and remediation of skills to help them regain or acquire skills that enable them to function in society. Along with cognitive rehabilitation and speech and language intervention, we also provide dsyphagia therapy (feeding therapy) which certainly helps a client to begin/regain the ability to tolerate certain types of food/textures. This is done to ultimately avoid aspiration pnuemonia, which could be fatal if not treated. This technique strenghthens muscles that assist in eating and articulating. As you can see, our profession is extrememly important. Unfortunately we are not "miracle workers" and can only rehab and treat to the client's ability. A team of advocates, lawyers, or irate family members cannot change this in a person. It is what it is. Maybe the anger should be redirected positively to the person who really needs it, and acceptance should begin. Just then, maybe "real" progress may be observed. SLP's are not rewarded by high salaries, but work and worry about our clients endlessly. Our therapuetic techniques evolve as research does. Keeping an open mind helps people to improve professionally, as well as personally.

This is an excellent resource with descriptions, ideas, examples, helpful hints and age appropirate goals. Not only do you get sample activies but they are very detailed too. They also list additional resources. OH! and example profiles... you can see if one of your students has similar attributes. They have therapy for children, adolescents and adults... what more can you ask for. I used this book to learn and use "pace" therapy, what a great help! =)

Thank you Angela for an excellent book, that told me what was the matter with me. I didnt know that I had an actual medical condition till I read your book and saw all these symptoms and feelings I have had many times and read many scenarios of yours that were very similiar to mine. I even had a husband with the same name and attitude and personality as your ex-husband. And I haven't had near as many attacks since I left him. And just like you I had a very hard time leaving him because marriage is suppose to be for life but I knew it was very unhealthy for me to stay in that situation. Your book has helped tremendously, I now understand what is going on with me. Your book has touched me. It is very easy to read and its great to read about somebody who has personally experienced this and explains it in plain english and not from some doctor using medical jargon. Thank you again Angela..I am now looking to God to help me. I am also in a much healthier relationship with a man who also goes through these panic and anxiety attacks so we are there for each other because we understand what each other is going through. Thank you so much Angela. God Bless You!

The book starts out great but then after the pages of ex husband slating and soppy life information I was left wondering whether this book was there to help people or a biography of the author's life? I have found books written by professionals a lot more helpful!

Truly inspirational ! I am so glad a christian has spoke up . Too many people think its a mental persons illness and just dont understand it . I think Angela Brittian puts another face on this treatable illness . Were not crazy just suffers of a painful nervous condition . I recommend this book to anyone looking for comfort and help to overcome . The bible scriptures are such a help and comfort .

I am so glad people can share their experiences with others when they go through something so traumatic. I loved the scriptures I received from the book, I have been searching for scriptures that would help me.( is it not amazing how GOD sends us what we need;-)) Noone can understand what Panic and anxiety is all about until they themselves live the nightmare. Angela lived it, she overcame it, and she shared it with others. That is the whole purpose in life, to live,learn and share with others. Thank you so much, for all the information I received, and for the care that you put into the book. I plan to get my whole family to read this book because it takes understanding something to be able to help someone. GOD will surely bless you in every way, through reading this book.

This book is part self-help, and part autobiography. You won't really find a lot of specific ways to help overcome anxiety attacks here. Most of the techniques are very general in nature, and this book is in no way an exhaustive review of how to treat anxiety or panic attacks.

Still, the book is very inspirational, and any Christian that suffers from anxiety and panic attacks will find it worth reading. Its main virture is really its inspiration though, rather than any specific methods for combatting anxiety.

I found one of the chapters, on Bible verses that relate to anxiety and strength, to be the most helpful. The book is a quick read. You should be able to finish it in 1-2 sittings.

Definitely inspirational, and worth your reading time. There aren't many books available on Christian spirituality and conquering anxiety. If you aren't Christian, and have no interest in becoming Christian, this book won't really help you much. If you are, and you suffer from anxiety, definitely check it out.

This text is being used in my anatomy and physiology course, which I am taking in preparation for a graduate program in speech language pathology. This book might possibly be acceptable for someone who is already familiar with anatomy and physiology, but for someone (such as myself) who has never taken this course before, the text is extremely confusing. Specifically, the text refers to various anatomical structures which are supposedly represented with an accompanying graphic illustration. Sometimes they are and sometimes they are not! Many times the text does not provide any accompanying illustrations. Different terms are introduced which are not defined, nor is there a definition in the back of the book. I have been reduced to looking in my dictionary or trying to "google" terms. I feel that I have many holes in my understanding of this material and that I have wasted a great deal of time with this text, when I could have profited from a much better written testbook.

This book is well written and explains the material with great detail so that anyone can understand it clearly. I am very satisfied with the purchase.

The best thing is that this book has a CD-rom that gives you simplified with tests every one the the chapters. You can practice your knowledge gained at the end of every chapter using written tests.

I would have liked if the images had color. They're all white and black or drawings (which are really good too).

This book is very easy to read and learn from. The CD is great for practice exams. I love it!

I'm pleased with the book, the condition, the price. I didn't ask for rushed delivery and it took about 2 weeks to arrive.

My son, 3, has been using PECS for 6 months now and I bought this book hoping to find more instruction on the use of PECS and different sentence structures. While the book gives a good overview of the system, I think there is far too little concrete information for parents wishing to implement PECS in a home environment. I was disappointed that right when I thought the author would go into detail about a topic, he simply referred to another publication for more information.

If a parent is looking for real instruction on using PECS, I would recommend the instructional manual sold by Pyramid Educational Products. PECS is a very useful tool in gaining understanding and speech in autistic children. This book just isn't the best way to go about learning how to implement the program.

It is truly frustrating when your child who should speak - can't speak. Just because they cannot speak - does not mean they DON'T understand. They do understand. It is just that they way of showing you they understand is not available to them yet.
This is a great book for helping you get introduced to PECS (Picture Exchange System) and scheduling. This book helped me get started on giving my autistic son WORDS he could not express.
With this book buy an inexpensive digital camera, plastic laminate and an inexpensive color printer because PECS will change your childs life. This book will help you get started.
We started PECS with Jeff just under three years of age. After 2 weeks he was making requests with single pictures and NO LONGER TANTRUMING BECAUSE HE WAS FRUSTRATED! HE COULD COMMUNICATE. Fast forward to age five and Jeff can read over 500 words, write sentences because he used PECS. PECS changed my son's life and made the beginning process of communication before speech possible.

(Happy ending, Jeff now speaks!)
Start here..

My son, 3, has been using PECS for 6 months now and I bought this book hoping to find more instruction on the use of PECS and different sentence structures. While the book gives a good overview of the system, I think there is far too little concrete information for parents wishing to implement PECS in a home environment. I was disappointed that right when I thought the author would go into detail about a topic, he simply referred to another publication for more information.

If a parent is looking for real instruction on using PECS, I would recommend the instructional manual sold by Pyramid Educational Products. PECS is a very useful tool in gaining understanding and speech in autistic children. This book just isn't the best way to go about learning how to implement the program.

This book is very helpful to parents who child does not talk. But for children that do talk, this is not a book that teaches verbal skills. I purchase this book for my verbal child and when I finish reading it, I found it to be a waste of money.

This book is an excellent resource to parents and professionals who are implementing the PECS communication sysems. We started PECS with our son when he was 22 months old -- just weeks after he was diagnosed with autistic spectrum disorder. After attending the 2-week intensive PECS camp, we used PECS as the primary vehicle for communication for our son. We watched in amazement as our child blossomed as he discovered the world of communication. When we started PECS, our son had no functional speech and spoke only a handful of word-approximations. One year later he speaks fluently (although his speech is still disordered), often using 6 to 8 word FUNCTIONAL sentences. I am certain that it is the PECS system that brought him this far. PECS is so much more than just trading "pictures for pretzles" and this book is an excellent resource for learning how to use PECS to its full capacity. We recommend it enthusiastically.

The proven co-management techniques and honest insights into dealing with someone with bipolar are great. And so is customer service. I highly recommend this book.

This book is for those significant others whose loved ones suffer from Bipolar. Significant Others, are you lost in a world full of medical terminology without clear, concise, operational answers to your concerns for the welfare of your loved ones as well as yourself? If you have picked up every medical journal, every professional article, every documentation stating the symtomology factors pertaining to manic/depression, and still feel overwhelmed, uninformed, and empty-handed, this book is FOR YOU. This book is inspirational to those who suffer the wrath that those with Bipolar unintentionally impose on their loved ones. It is a step-by-step thorough guide for co-victims of this disorder to recognize the patterns of destructive behavior their loved ones endure, and how to respond appropriately to the manifestations of such behavior. I have been in a relationship with a loved one for several years, enduring the cycles of destructive behavior my husband would often project upon me, leaving me feeling guilty, hurt, abused, and neglected. After reading this book, I feel as though I am strong enough to face this illness with him, instead of running away, which is probably what a lot of co-victims of such disorder would like to do. This book allows the reader to see the person beyond the illness, and that there is help and hope, and that not one single person should ever have to suffer the effects of this mental illness alone. This book will provide the coping strategies to overcome such obstacles that mental illness will often present, and how such strategies will affect the loved one's perception and treatment toward the co-victim, who is suffering as much as the ill person (him)herself.
Take a chance, buy the book, and you will never look at Bipolar quite the same again.
Good luck and God Bless.

I looked for the information contained in this book everywhere. It's been a great help in dealing with my loved one's bipolar. Don't know why C Johnson would make such a comment. But the book says not to share it with someone who has bipolar as he/she won't like it.

What a ripoff! There are approximately 130 pages of text followed by a quiz and charts. The text consists of common sense thinking that most of us already possess. This is definitely not worth the $60 price tag (includes shipping). Save your money for more worthwhile books.

Bipolar disorder is misunderstood by many and difficult to diagnose. Many of us living with a close friend or loved one with this disease find ourselves trying to escape hell without abandoning the individual altogether. Marlee's book gives insightful tools for coping with and understanding elements of this disease. Bipolar is not just someone flying off a building or crying for weeks on end. It is often the disease of verbal abusers, and until this disease is better treated and understood, we will contintue to abuse and be abused. Marlee gives us a path to enlightenment.

Who knew voices could be so interesting? This book provides a wealth of truly fascinating information about the human voice and its often under-appreciated role in our society while making it accessible to the average reader. The author conducted an impressive amount of research, and synthesizes the information in a way that flows well and inspires readers to "take a new look" at voices. It is interesting to learn, for example, that voice can even be affected by a sprained ankle, or that opera singers experience damage to their ears similar to that experienced by assembly-line machine operators. The extensive pages of notes and additional resources make this book an excellent springboard for learning more about voice. I would especially recommend this book to anyone who works extensively in an auditory environment, including call center managers, radio professionals, telephonic workers and others who spend a lot of time communicating with others using spoken language.

Animals of all different kinds busy themselves with making noises in order to feed or mate or protect themselves. Humans are no different, but have taken the use of their anatomical noisemaking devices to extreme utility. Of course, this is tied to our use of language, and language is full of puzzling aspects, but so is the human voice when considered as an instrument or tool rather than just an auditory word delivery system. In _The Human Voice: How This Extraordinary Instrument Reveals Essential Clues About Who We Are_ (Bloomsbury), Anne Karpf looks at the importance of the voice to human society, and the paradoxical way that we take it for granted. Karpf skillfully takes us through many surprising aspects of how we use our voices, and cites many curious studies that have used clever tricks to make the voice give up its secrets; this isn't an academic treatise, but there are eighty pages of footnotes with sources from Aristotle to The Simpsons. She has done fifty interviews with people about their own voices, what they think about other people's voices, and how much information a voice can give them. It's a perfect subject for a book: everyone has a voice, everyone has intimate vocal connections to others, and everyone has more to learn about how it all works.

She begins with an examination of how our anatomy works to make the voice. Among the complexities of our vocal systems is that all the components have other functions rather than producing voices, functions that are vital to life while voice-making is a mere option. Teeth and tongue modify the voice, for instance, but they are really there (as they are in voiceless animals) for purposes of eating. We are programmed to recognize voices even before we are born. A baby within the uterus can react to some sounds as early as fourteen weeks on, and quickly becomes attuned to the mother's voice, which some studies show has a calming effect, slowing the fetal heart rate. After birth, a baby reliably reacts more to the voice of the mother than to anyone else. It is a familiar phenomenon that if one baby in a group starts crying, other babies will be likely to start to do so themselves, indicating that even infants have some programmed sympathy for the distress of others. It is fascinating, though, that a baby tends not to start crying if played a recording of its own cries, indicating a knowledge at birth of the difference between me and not-me. In the sixties, the word "voiceprint" was coined, and it was thought that each individual voice might be visually represented with the fidelity of fingerprints. Forensic identification of speakers, however, has required subjective opinions of experts in ways that fingerprints do not, and often such evidence has yet to be declared admissible in state courts. Part of the problem is that age, mood, and situation change our voices in ways that vary voiceprints out of identifiability.

Karpf has just mentioned key findings of many studies, not all of which are conclusive. She does express her doubts on studies such as those of professor Albert Mehrabian who supposedly found that 7% of the information conveyed by a voice consists of words and their meaning, while the rest of the communication comes from vocal and facial expression. Karpf generally campaigns, however, that the voice is more important than we have thought, and she is convincing. Her enthusiasm for her subject is readily apparent; she is eager to make sure the voice gets the recognition it deserves, and all who read this book will gain an increase of appreciation for their own voices and what voices can do for us. Karpf takes note, for instance, that some large firms are promoting "e-mail free Friday", whereby for one day a week e-mail will be ditched, with the aim that employees will begin talking and listening to each other.

This is quite a fascinating Pop-Science book on the voice. But the first thing you have to realize is the list of things that this book is not:

It is not on how the human body makes noises, although there's a little bit of that.

It is not on how the ability to speak separates us from the other animals on this planet.

It is not even on what words we use to express ourselves.

Instead it is a book on how our voice sounds. It's about the communication that takes place even when the words are removed. It's about how listening to politicians sound rather than listening to what they say. It's about how the way Churchill and Roosevelt, and yes, George W. Bush sound that got them elected rather than their opponents.

I was amused at her comments about Al Gore's stiff, sanctimonious monotone putting him at a disadvantage beside George Bush's vocal affability. Remembering back that was true. But now when you listen to Gore in his documentary 'An Inconvenient Truth,' he doesn't sound the same at all, like his comment about once being known as the 'Next President.'

Her reporting on the experiments where the actual words are removed from speech and people are asked questions about the speaker are especially interesting.

This is not a highly technical book, instead it is written for a popular audience but it lets you know what the pros are thing about and doing.

It would be hard to express how irritating this book is. The human voice is indeed an amazing instrument, but it is ill-served by the pop sociology, psychobabble, and profound disrespect for science contained in this book (along with a number of errors of fact). A good work of popular science should find the interest in "dry" scientific findings and make them accessible to a broader audience, not disparage them in favor of man-in-the-street opinions. I suggest Ms. Karpf rein in her adjectives and look harder for what science has to offer in her future works. She will produce a more readable, more interesting product if she does.

. . . is a Japanese proverb that British sociologist Anne Karpf uses, along with scientific data, to show how one culture values silence (especially for female speakers, or non-speakers, as the case may be).

But just across the Bering Sea, Karpf found that Alaska Native Americans who were convicted of crimes got longer jail sentences when they spoke slower and paused more when speaking to non-Native police and judges (vocal behavior that would have been interpreted as respectful in Japan).

The voice, like so much else, is partly determined by nature and partly determined by culture. Karpf also shows many other ways that My Voice is determined by Your Ear.

So much in this entertaining book is pertinent today. Just yesterday I saw a headline in The Drudge Report that said WOMEN TALK 3 TIMES MORE THAN MEN. (Drudge does like his caps.) But Karpf quotes evidence rather than impression proving MEN TALK MORE!!! AND THEY INTERRUPT!!!!!

The most interesting section of the book for me was on "The Public Voice." Here Karpf eviscerates British and American politicians. Karpf is fair, analyzing politicians of the the left and right. I'm not fair, so I'll just quote Karpf on Tony Blair, whose voice has been "emotionally incontinent" ever since Diana died. And Blair has also puposefully stuck an "Estuary-style mini glottal stop" in his speech to add "blokeishness" to his voice.

But Blair's political voice is just one example of the "new intimacy" evinced by politicians in Britain and the U.S. They want to "act sincere," which is, as Karpf points out, a contradiction in terms. That reminds me of the old joke (was it Samuel Goldwyn who said it?): "The most important thing is sincerity. Once you can fake that, you've got it made."

The Human Voice is full of fascinating facts. For instance, opera singers make THEMSELVES deaf from listening to the vibrations of their own voices in their skulls. (Margaret Thatcher apparently ruined her voice by shouting down opponents in parliament. Whether she listened to what she was saying is an interesting question.)

There have been several great books on linguistics lately (by scientists who write well, not language scolds like Lynne Truss). There's David Crystal's new book How Language Works (the section on phonetics is good to read before or in conjunction with Anne Karpf's The Human Voice), and also Australian linguist Kate Burridge's Blooming English and Weeds in the Garden of Words.

But I'm definitely going to read anything else by Anne Karpf.

The author, a speech therapist, discusses in great detail the "big three" communication disorders caused by stroke: aphasia, apraxia and dysarthria as well as the ramifications of these disabilities for the patient. Technical terms are explained in detail so that the non-medical person can understand them. The psychological aspects of language loss are discussed in terms of the patient's anxiety, depression and acceptance of unwanted change. Speech rehabilitation is covered and the book has typical questions and answers a reader might ask following the last chapter. Resources such as web sites, support groups, etc. are also included. The book may be overly detailed for some readers. I was disappointed that the author dealt primarily with the stroke patient's survival without addressing how the family could survive the often devastating effects of language disability or loss.

The author, a speech therapist, discusses in great detail the "big three" communication disorders caused by stroke: aphasia, apraxia and dysarthria as well as the ramifications of these disabilities for the patient. Technical terms are explained in detail so that the non-medical person can understand them. The psychological aspects of language loss are discussed in terms of the patient's anxiety, depression and acceptance of unwanted change. Speech rehabilitation is covered and the book has typical questions and answers a reader might ask following the last chapter. Resources such as web sites, support groups, etc. are also included. The book may be overly detailed for some readers. I was disappointed that the author dealt primarily with the stroke patient's survival without addressing how the family could survive the often devastating effects of language disability or loss.

The book was well written. It gave good insight to what many stroke survivors face when they confronted with the disablity of not being able to communicate by speech. It's obvious that Dennis Tanner has a great degree of empathy for stroke survivors and their care providers. The book describes in detail what is transpiring physically with apraxia of speech. Speech is compared to a computer and its many funtions. As a stroke survivor with severe Broca's apshasia and resulting apraxia I found the book to be of great help as did my family. It was well written and answered many of the questions that my family and myself had. I would recommend it as a "must" for stroke survivors with communication disorders.

The book was well written. It gave good insight to what many stroke survivors face when they confronted with the disablity of not being able to communicate by speech. It's obvious that Dennis Tanner has a great degree of empathy for stroke survivors and their care providers. The book describes in detail what is transpiring physically with apraxia of speech. Speech is compared to a computer and its many funtions. As a stroke survivor with severe Broca's apshasia and resulting apraxia I found the book to be of great help as did my family. It was well written and answered many of the questions that my family and myself had. I would recommend it as a "must" for stroke survivors with communication disorders.