Developmental-disabilities Books

This book has been quite helpful with resources and with thinking positively about the prognosis for our NLD child.

This book really describes my daughter. It's very specific and yet easy to read. For the first time, I've found a book which makes sense of my daughter's lifelong behavior. I'm grateful to have found it.

This is a good book. It has practical tips that can be immediately utilized. It also goes into how you can help your child at school with IEPs, etc. I would recommend it as a supplemental book for parents with children having this problem.

I hope when you read this book you endure through the first 63 pages of tedious technical differential diagnosis to make it to page 64. It is on pages 64 and 65 when this book paints in vivid colors the NLD and AS experience, as if you could briefly experience it yourself. Ms. Stewart explains what some have called "rigidity" in affected invididuals as their preference for generating "scripts" [essentially memorized responses] and interacting with life through their "scripts". Many parents and teachers make the mistake of trying to 'light fires' under NLD/AS children, but Ms. Stewart explains their slow processing speed as a need to translate the world into their own organized system before they can respond. I have given this book the highest rating - 5 stars - because author Stewart's look into the process of the NLD/AS mind is enthralling insight.

The book promises more than it can deliver. Six dense chapters follow the insights presented on page 63 and 64, but only on pages 126-127 "Practice Activities" do I find practical ideas that might make a difference. And too much of the book is devoted to school success concerns and too little on assisting NLD/AS children to developing lives outside school. Some suggestions seem almost silly: buy a watch for your child. list key words in assignments. These aren't deep insights, the suggestions should have been limited to ideas that are distinctly different than helping any child without NLD or AS.

It seems like this book just copied information from earlier books on the subject and rushed to capitalize on the increase of AS diagnoses. Atwood's book is far more interesting, informative and original. I've seen this woman speak as well, and she seems a bit unclear.

This is a great book on dealing with ADD. It is easy to read and full of useful information for dealing with loved ones with this disorder.


The ironic thing is, though...if you actually suffer from ADD you will probably not be able to get through this book.


So I suppose this book would be best for people who don't actually have ADD.


Wait, I got it!!


Make this a "books on tape". That would work!

This book is useful for parents looking to get a good understanding of the mechanics of ADHD and some ideas on how best to tackle it. The book is very technical in places but it offers some practical advice.

Great book for medical professionals and those who have some background in ADHD. Good for others, but can be a bit more complicated. Personally I found it very informative.

This book is one of the top three in my ADHD library, which is rather extensive!

Read the editorial reviews above, from some of the field's top experts, to see how highly Brown's colleagues regard his work and this book.

Having attended Dr. Brown's lectures many times over the years, I was glad to see that this printed presentation is just as engaging and clear as his lectures.

Highly recommended!

Gina Pera, author, advocate
Is It You, Me, or Adult A.D.D.? Stoppingthe Roller Coaster When Someone You Love Has Attention Deficit Disorder
ADHDRollerCoaster.com

This book is excellent and a must-read for any one interested in the effects of ADD on not only learning and academic achievement, but intepersonal dynamics, management of finances, and advancement in the workplace. Rather than providing either excuses or stigmatizing explanations, Brown provides scientific and anecdotal evidence for a complex, neurobehavioral profile of the executive functioning difficulties for those persons with ADD.

I have an autistic son who is 4 years old now. He was diagnosed when he was 2 1/2 years old and I wish I had bought this book right from the start. There are so many great ideas and it's pratical for a child that's anywhere on the spectrum. The great thing about the activities are that they can be adapted and modified to your specific child. I would recommend this for sure to any parent or teacher with an autistic child.

As a psychologist, I have often doubted the epidemic of diagnosis on
the autism spectrum but I found this book useful whether the diagnosis
is appropriate or not for kids that need more sensory stimulation and
creative play.

Parents of kids newly diagnosed as having autism are often concerned bout how to interact with their child for maximum effectiveness. Playing, Laughing and Learning with Children on the Autism Spectrum is more than just a book about how to play with such a child: it shows how to break down activities into manageable stages, gain a child's attention, and build on play-oriented achievements for broader impact. Any parent with an autistic child will find this a winning guide, as will educators working with special education kids.

there are a few good ideas in this book, not exactly for me, but perhaps for others. I always find that it seems that they reach to hard to try and fill these types of books with activities, just take the concepts here and apply to each individual child is what I say!

There was some good info in this book, but mostly common sense. I am a early childhood teacher with a child with autism, and most of this is common practice in early childhood. It does give you a reason for the skill difficulty in children with autism, then gives you some ideas. not bad.

This book is the first documentary that I've read that I could not put down. It offers great insight into the life of inner city school kids who struggle with so much more than the average high school student. As a student at an elite university and an LA native, I am shocked at how different the paths that lead to college are for people who might be sitting right next to each other in class. It is a must read for anybody who thinks affirmative action is unfair and who believes that everybody has equal rights in the USA. The playing field has to be leveled and this book shows you why.

This is an extraordinary tale following children who, against all the odds, seem to find comfort and safe haven in their desire to learn. I was fascinated by the struggle to see the next step for some of these kids, however. Even though they clearly value the education they are getting, the giant leap from the struggles of a neighborhood High School to a distant College Campus seems to really define how hard it is for these kids to break the cycle of poverty and broken homes most have experienced.

I am not an educator. I was motivated to buy this book after hearing it recommended on Imus. I thoroughly enjoyed the experience, and wonder what it will take to overhaul our dismal education systems.

I fell in love with South Central Los Angeles through reading this book. Corwin has this style of writing that is so elegant and wordy and, ugh! I can't put into words how much this book meant to me. I just finished a class on Multicultural Education and this book was a required text. Through reading this book and "Affirming Diversity" by Sonia Nieto, which I highly recommend for anyone in the teaching field or entering into the teaching field, I was able to connect the information I was reading in the textbook to the real life examples Corwin writes about. The stories of these twelve teens are compelling and my emotions soared throughout the book. Corwin educates readers about affirmative action, resistance theory, and other theories involved in the education system through his writing of experiences in Crenshaw High School. I can't stress enough how much I recommend this book to any reader. It is life changing.

"And Still We Rise" was a compelling look at a group of students rarely disscussed. Inner city students who not only go to school to get by but against great odds are able to beat the odds and succeed in school. "And Still We Rise" follows a group of students attending Crenshaw High School enrolled in their gifted students program. "And Still We Rise" looks at the daily obsticals and pitfalls of the gifted program students face as they try to attain a better life through education. "And Still We Rise" also causes those of us in the educational community to question the way we look present day educational issues as well as our students. "And Still We Rise" is both inspirational as well as insightfull. I highly recommend this book for all people, especially those in education.

I read "And Still We Rise" aloud with two friends, and we were then able to discuss each chapter, which I found very helpful with this book. "And Still We Rise" is emotionally laden with questions, and inspires conversation about the state of affairs in our country, our inner cities, our schools and our homes. The book is dense with remarks which make a person question his own beliefs, or her previously unchallenged opinions.

Though his writing style is not as smooth or polished as I would have liked, at times, Corwin's heart is in the right place and he seeks to convey the classes and students in a realistic light. He does a good job at providing a complete picture of each of his main character students.

I also recommend "Makes me Wanna Holler" by Nathan McCall, about the journey of one black man growing up in the inner city, and "Cultural Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know" by E.D. Hirsch, Jr. Reading "Cultural Literacy" in the midst of the Little/Moultrie argument about curriculum provides an interesting discourse.

Would recommend this book for individuals (parents, teachers, therapists) who haven't had much exposure and experience interacting with children who have Down Syndrome.

My daughter has Down Syndrome and I got this book upon recomendation by a physical therapist. I would recommend this book to every parent who is interested in participating in early intervention for their down syndrome child. The book is written very well for the lay person. For those of you with children who have down syndrome, it's a tough and wonderful road and god bless you!

Easy to understand, step by step ideas for promoting motor development in any child who has low tone (hypotonia), not just children with Down Syndrome. Provides clear photos as well as written instruction. This introduces the same ideas I teach parents as a therapist in the parent-infant education program.

This is a great book for learning about gross motor development. As with the other books like it, this book follows stages rather than ages, so the user can focus on the particular child and his/her development.

Our daughter has DS and is having some GMS issues. However, this book provides instruction on how to progress to each step toward walking. The therpist we use has began to instruct us on some of these steps, but our daughter has already been through them, so it is keeping her ahead of the game. I've heard a lot about Patricia Winders, and I wouldn't hesitate to buy other books of hers as well.

I bought this book to try to help a family member with AS. I have developed quite a library of these books over the past few years, and this is one of the better ones.

The book does a nice job of laying out the spectrum, and gives a good jumping off point to start thinking about a specific action plan for an individual. As some other reviewers have commented, the book is probably not going to be much use for the affected person, but is aimed at caregivers and support troops.

Someone suffering from AS once explained to me that "If you have met one Aspie, then you have met one Aspie", and it took me a while to finally realize what that meant. There is no one book or strategy that will help with a particular person, and unfortunately this book is no exception.

However, it is a useful guide in seeing some specific ideas for dealing with individual aspects of the syndrome, and how to coach around individual problems. It was certainly a great attempt to compile a helpful list of what issues others have dealt with, and how they managed those issues.

I am not a trained professional, but IMHO the problem is that AS symptoms are not independent, but rather combobulated into a total package. What works for a specific problem with one person may or may not work with someone else. Therefore, I found the book most useful as a list of techniques to try rather than a blueprint for success.

Having said that, this book as good as any book I have read on the subject, and I would recommend it as part of the toolkit for anyone dealing with the late teen AS person.

I found this book very positive and encouraging! After I read this book, I was very pleased to see that there is somebody out there who realizes that people with Asperger's Syndrome are capable of learning the skills they need to become successful members of society, if they are given all the help that they need. I wish that there were a lot more people who realized this! I hope that there will be in the not-too-distant future!

I found this book to be exceptional in that it provided me with a few new ideas for workforce strategies for individuals with Asperger as well as some individuals on the Autism Spectrum. It also contained guidelines for approaching training that are very clear and helpful to employment specialists or job developers. In the future, I would like to see some literature that addresses specific challenges for individuals with Autism who might have more significant barriers, as opposed to practices that address high-functioning individuals with Asperger.

This valuable resource provides direct service approaches for job development and placement supports. It will be useful for staff training and self-empowerment for those with high functioning autism.

This book is addressed to the person working on finding work for someone with Asperger's Syndrome (AS), assuming that is someone different than the person with AS (Aspie). Hawkins has a relatively modest definition for "work that works." She just means "a job that someone can get and keep," which would be a very nice thing indeed for a lot of Aspies. This book doesn't really address the subjects of work as mission and vocation, finding work where one's deep gladness and the world's deep hunger meet.

What's good about this book? It addresses some issues that might predicably arise within the family of the Aspie. It talks about how a "job coach" could be use to help an Aspie at a job. It gives some good nuts-and-bolts advice on how a consultant might assess an Aspie for jobs they could do successfully. It gives some tools to help an Aspie negotiate their predictable difficulties. It gives some tips on conducting an interview.

What's not so good about this book? It gives the impression that it would be a good book for the Aspie, as opposed to being addressed to the consultant. I propose the title should be something like "Putting People with Asperger's Syndrome to Work (And Keeping Them There)" An Aspie would look at the cover and wonder "Why are those two women holding that man down? And why doesn't the woman on the right have her shirt tucked in, if they go on and on about Aspies dressing like slobs?" The book could say more about leveraging the obsessive-compulsive aspect of AS in preparing for an interview, acquiring knowledge about the employer, etc.

There is a issue brewing as to whether AS should be considered a disability under the terms of the Americans with Disabilities Act. This book doesn't address that, but I'm not expecting it to. However, the next book on this subject should.

Knowledge of AS is growing significantly, so to call anything about AS "ultimate" isn't accurate. All the material in this book is valid, and the only reason I don't give it five stars have to do with the comments above.

McHugh's book puts a new perspective out there for siblings of the disabled to come to grips with many of the endemic problems that this population of people (myself being one of them) deals with. Great for adults in understanding where they are coming from and really great for kids in understanding why they feel differently about siblings than their friends might. While there are other books out there, this one puts a bit of a "feel-good spin" on having siblings with disabilities, particularly in the last chapter. Sometimes you need to wallow in the frustration for a while and understand the negative consequences and their impact before you can see the positives, which is the only reason that this book gets four of five stars - aside from that, this is an excellent, helpful book that does a fantastic job of explaining the dilemma of having a sibling with a disability.

I bought this book because I have a child with a disability, and I wanted to do what I can to be helpful to my three other children. It was a wonderful read! It reassured me, which is something all mothers need a lot of. It also reminded me that vigilance about sibling excesses is in order. After reading it, I reminded my children that they don't have to grow up to be superstars in some kind of effort to compensate for what my one child lacks.
I enjoyed the author's willingness to be so honest about her feelings, yet even when revealing negative feelings, she asserted a positive spin by contrasting her feelings with more positive feelings of others. It's clear that much of her difficulty had to do with being raised in a different time -- when there was little help, and when disability was considered shameful and secret. My favorite section of this book is the discussion of the common phenomenon of siblings entering the helping professions as adults. She has a fresh and interesting take on this topic.

First of all, I really wish that people who have not grown up with a disabled sibling would not write negative reviews of this book because they just don't know what it is like. My sister had polio and her illness and subsequent operations took all of my families' resources both financial and emotional. I grew up thinking that I was unimportant and that maybe if I was sick too, I would get attention. My earliest thoughts were those of wishing that I would just die so I didn't have to feel so bad/guilty all the time. Kids that grow up with disabled siblings often feel that they did something wrong to cause the disability. My middle sister and I both felt that way, yet we weren't even born when it happened.

Ms. McHugh has written an incredibly honest book that will be greatly appreciated by anyone else in this situation. We live in a world of silence and isolation, how can you ever complain when you can walk, talk, hear, etc. You would be considered extremely selfish. The life of a sibling of a disabled person is very distorted.

Thank you, Ms. McHugh for your courage.

It's been called life's longest relationship, and our bond with our siblings usually is just that. Who else could witness our joys and sorrows and put their arms around us through all of life's seasons? With whom else will we share such conflicted feelings of love, hate, rivalry, and reconciliation for so long? To a large extent the biblical tragedy of Cain and Abel haunts every family and every generation. Therefore learning to navigate and face these intense and uncomfortable feelings is a passageway to a healthy adulthood.

As if hurt, resentment, anger, and rage aren't enough, the family crucible is even more complex when a sibling is born with or develops a disability. Parents struggle to be fair to the special and unique needs of each child. Typically developing children watch their parents struggle and feel their own grief as well for what might have been-along with embarrassment and guilt. In the new revised edition of Special Siblings: Growing Up with Someone with a Disability, Mary McHugh helps readers to understand that life's inequities are unavoidable.

"Children who grow up with a brother or sister with a disability learn early that life is unfair," says Mary McHugh, an accomplished writer and the sibling of Jack, a man with cerebral palsy and mental retardation. "They have to learn that often the child with the disability must come first; they must face the fact that not everyone will want to be their friend because of the sibling with the disability; they must learn to accept that people will often stare at their brothers and sisters.... My advice for them is all these things are hard lessons to learn but they make you strong enough to deal with anything life presents you with when you are an adult."

McHugh's research for this book included interviews with more than 100 siblings - in their teens, 20's 30's and 40's - of people with special needs in an effort to understand her own feelings. Her inquiries show that they share more than a brother or sister with a disability. "Growing up with a special sibling makes you compassionate and kind to every human being you meet; it makes you a good problem solver; it makes you tolerant of religious differences, racial differences, other disabilities, old people, etc. It often makes you an achiever who works to make the world a better place. In short, you will probably be the kind of person other people want as a friend."

As Don Meyer, director of the Sibling Support Project, at Children's Hospital of Seattle writes, "In her remarkably wise book, Mary McHugh masterfully blends her experiences and the experiences of others with insights from clinical research. Although McHugh doesn't shy away from the troublesome aspects of sibling relationships, Special Siblings also describes the remarkable attributes seen in many brothers and sisters of people with special needs."

Throughout the book, as Brookes Publishing outlines, McHugh explores the spectrum of feelings- from anger and guilt to love and pride - and helps readers understand the issues siblings may encounter in

· childhood - such as dealing with their own needs for attention and information, identifying with their parents' grief, understanding their sibling's disability, and coping with their own feelings

· adolescence - such as participating in family discussions, fitting in with peers, searching for their own identity, and talking to a counselor or therapist

· adulthood - such as building a support system, navigating adult relationships, deciding whether to have children, and planning for their sibling's future care

McHugh wants siblings to understand that they are not alone. She has included an extensive list of resources in the back of her book. She urges people to go to sibling support groups and talk to other siblings about our often-unacceptable feelings where they will find unconditional acceptance. The one thing Mary McHugh would like to assure every special sibling: "That you will probably grow up to be a very fine person: strong, compassionate able to cope with just about anything that comes along, loving, tolerant, an achiever who will make a difference in the world. The world will be a better place because you're in it."

Readers may wonder if things would be different for McHugh if she and her brother were growing up today. While attitudes toward people with disabilities have improved and access to services has generally increased, family dynamics have remained largely unchanged. The family is our most intimate social setting, and it is there that we are the most vulnerable. Communicating about our pain and resentment diffuses our anger and allows for healing and lifelong cooperation. These are lessons we all must learn, and in this regard children with special needs can be a catalyst.

Emotional, wise and intelligent, this book is a must-read for teen and adult siblings. This is also an indispensable resource for parents who are agonizing over how to do their jobs fairly-one of the most common questions I am asked in my role as a psychologist who specializes in the family life issues. Professionals who support people with disabilities and their families will be likewise enlightened in their roles. Complex matters are so often made clear by the simple yet profound reflections of children. Special Siblings by Mary McHugh is a special contribution that succeeds because it captures the essence of that voice from siblings of all ages including herself.
Special Children, Challenged Parents: The Struggles and Rewards of Raising a Child With a Disability

There is a great need for enlightened books on the topic of growing up with a sibling with a disability. Unfortunately, this book does not answer that need.

Ms. McHugh feels the common denominator between her and the other siblings who lament their sibling is the issue of disability. In fact, the common demoninator is self-pity. Most of us in this world have issues with their childhood, whether they be a sibling with a handicap, an abusive parent, a dead beat dad, or an overachieving brother. We all carry many scars. It is not the challenges that we face, but what we make of those challenges.

Having a loved one with a disability does not change our essential truth. Yes, it may be difficult at times, but life is, difficult that is. The challenge of facing a disability on a daily basis only makes you more of what you already are. Sometimes that's good, in this case it's very sad.

Ms. McHugh may be the sibling of a man with a disability. But she is the one truly handicapped. Handicapped by her inability to stop using the disability as a crutch. The disability nor your brother are the source of your pain, anger and suffering. It is the inability to deal with it in a productive manner.

The next book I'd like to read from Ms. McHugh would be about people with disabilities and how they tolerate the whiny, self-important, shallow ramblings of their very confused siblings.

Many books on this topic are not as positive as this or have a succesful Asperger individual writing it! However, I'm not positive but I'm pretty sure the child and wife who also wrote this book are also mildly disabled too (not necessarilly Asperger's but possibly) and the family is just oblivious of this. That doesn't disvalue anything of what any of them say at all; however if they missed this they missed putting other very important details that should have been covered in this brief book also. If you have Asperger's I hope you can relate with what I'm saying especially after reading this book! Including stating that they know although the author was this way that that doesn't mean they think all people with this syndrome are. They never said they all were but they didn't say the opposite and for some reader's especially people with the syndrome I bet they need to here that in order to not assume they thought otherwise. This book can be useful but, it isn't a complete book on the topic for those just beginning to learn about this syndrome. That's not what I expected or I think what the book is met to be, but the advice could be more Asperger Specific. It is very general good advice for people to take on how to deal with many people not just those with Asperger's. And if you know quite a bit on this topic don't expect to learn anything new. If you want a book on positive Asperger's with the best roll model defiantly get Diagnosing Jefferson instead or additional to this book! It's better especially if you want a more thourough, complete, or slightly more advanced book on the topic. But, to use this book for the man and family as a role model to prove Asperger's can succeeed in the write environment surrounded with the right attidutes both personally and professionally is defiantly a good reason to get this book! The author's a manager for crying out loud!

This book shows some of the day-to-day struggles within a family with one of the members having Asperger Syndrome. Yet the family does a pretty convincing job of communicating that AS has its positive side as well! This is an upbeat helpful book for all who wish to understand their friend, co-worker or loved one with AS.

If you have a friend or family member with aspergers syndrome you simply must read this book. It does a masterful job of helping us "normal" people not only understand someone with AS but also suggests simple adjusments we can make that mean the world to them. I have a close friend with AS and after reading this book I have learned new ways to truly enjoy a wonderful healthy friendship.

While this author does an excellent job of providing personal accounts of having Asperger's, which is a neurobiological condition on the Autism spectrum, there are too many inconsistencies and fallacious claims this book endorses.

Autism and Asperger's (a/A) is NOT a disease. Autism and Asperger's are neurobiological conditions that affect sensory processing; communication and often impede social development. The very suggestion that the a/A spectrum is a disease is just not true and is patently ludicrous.

While I can't give this work a ringing endorsement, I can say that if it has helped others, particularly in intrafamilial relationships understand what people on the autism spectrum contend with, then it has served a good purpose.

I very much enjoyed this book, and found a lot of truth and encouragement in it.
But as a person who has Asperger Syndrome herself, I disagree with some of the generalizations the McCabes use. While it may be true for Patrick that he needs to do several things at once, for instance, it is entirely impossible for me to do more than one thing at a time. Multitasking will often lead to total confusion, and eventually extreme irritability or shutdown in me.
I am also not very organized, I am completely unable to keep my house tidy. And while I fit their concept of Aspies having a high IQ in the gifted range, my sister, who also has AS has normal intelligence (on the other hand, she IS very organized).
So, while all they say is true for Patrick, his gifts, work and relationships, Aspies are individuals, too, and quite different from each other.
That said, I do recommend this book to anyone who has a friend or family member with AS, as it is very helpful in explaining how people with AS think, perceive their surroundings and feel different, and how to make family life pleasant and loving by respecting the AS person (and in turn, the person with AS trying his/her best, to understand and love their family and friends).

As you can see, I enjoy the topic of Autism. This approach has more useful ideas that should be considred when working with children with Autism. Although, this is a more parent/home approach, there can be some carry-over into school as well.

My son and I love the games in this book, and we often end up in fits of laughter.

I also love RDI because it doesn't feel like therapy - it just feels like playing! The games are light and non invasive, and don't involve analytical thinking or psychology etc. This is perfect for my son as he tends to think too much about things. These games get right outside of linear thinking and work on relating.

Highly recommended!

The title of thie book is a little misleading, as the book is not really a downward age-extension of Gutstein's other RDI book but an expansion of exercises useful for the first 3 stages of RDI. Therefore, it is THE book for most parents of children with ASD, as usually these are the stages you end up starting with/on when doing the RDI exercises with your child. And, having more than double the options for the exercises is very helpful. I strongly recommend this book.

This book gives excellent advice to parents on ways for parents to help their autistic child develop socially. The principles are laid out clearly and activity descriptions are easy to follow. Unfortunately, for us, the beginner activities are nearly all too difficult for my child. As the book makes the objectives for each activity clear, parents can, if necessary, invent easier activities to meet them. I would recommend it but I understand the authors no longer do, saying that RDI has moved on since its publication and that the book no longer represents what RDI is about.

Great for preschoolers with autism who are low to high functioning. You will come away with a least 5 new play activites here that will always work.

This story was recommended by a counselor for 2 nephews who really enjoyed reading it!

The reviews on the back of this book focus upon the character with Asperger syndrome. Doing so to this intricate and well-paced saga of a year in two young men's lives is an injustice. RUNNING ON DREAMS juggles the journeys of two protagonists in addition to several subplots. It is peopled by multi-faceted characters who face several difficult moral dilemmas. The result is a never-boring book that young readers will relate to, a book that will make them think, and that they probably will not soon forget.

While attending the 2007 Autism Society of America National Conference last week, I met Herb Heiman at the AAPC booth. He was excited to tell me about this recent book. I started reading it immediately and enjoyed the unique style of writing highlighting the two main characters, Brad, the middle school track star and Justin, the new transfer student who has Asperger Syndrome. It's an enjoyable story that compares similarities and differences while teens struggle with issues middle school presents. It was fun to also learn more about the author's home state of Oregon. I recommend this book especially for those entering middle school.

Brad, 15 has a lot going for him. A track star at the Oregon high school he attends, he also has a good track record academically. He has an older sister, Amy, 19 who has undefined differences and an eating disorder.

Justin, also 15 is an only child who has Asperger's Syndrome which is the spectrum partner to autism. A walking encyclopedia of classic rock knowledge, he is also a Beatle fan who has his first experience in a mainstream/inclusion program. A good resource room teacher helps Justin along in the inclusion process.

Enter Brad. He has signed on for extracurricular activities and decided to pitch in with the resource students. Justin's teacher describes Justin to Brad, feeling that the boys will be a good match. The boys also happen to share the same birthdate.

After some rocky starts, Brad reluctantly rises to the challenge. He feels Justin's blunt statements and willingness to stand by what he believes in even if it means compromising popularity and status might embarrass him. After all, Brad is a track star who has an attractive, albeit shallow and self centered girlfriend and the image that Justin only fantasizes about having.

Brad's friend Pat and Pat's girlfriend Linda, whom Brad describes as a dog help Brad re-evaluate his priorities. In time, he realizes that the trophy girlfriend; the image; the plaudits and middle school status are not the most important priorities in his life. He gets involved with Special Olympics and offers to work with Justin on improving his running and agility.

Excellent dialog and delightful, plausible characters make a good story even better. This is a good book for all ages and the obvious message of tolerance and acceptance can never be overstated. I like the way Brad responded to the Special Olympics participants once he got to know them; I also like his displeasure with Crystal when she made fun of others or acted repelled by people with disabilities. One especially poignant part in the book was when Brad helped a child with a crooked leg onto a seesaw while Crystal rebuffed the child. Brad also says that people with challenges like the boy on the playground and the students in the resource room often got overlooked and that he was one of the people who overlooked them.

An intense book with an ending that will remain in the hearts of readers long after they have turned the last page. This book makes me think of a song by a Brooklyn duo, Professor Louie and Fast Eddie, "You Can Make it on a Dream," which is an intense look at richly drawn individuals who have indeed made things happen.

The week I first met Herb Heiman this book was published. I met him in his "other life," as a 40-year veteran of TaiChi. His ability to see the gifts in every human being shows up just as strongly in this book as it does in his teaching.

Running on Dreams is a beautiful story that will clean the windows of your heart. Having lived this story with my own child, I know, first hand, the joys, the frustrations, and the terrific sadness that comes with the territory Herb has so masterfully described. Running on Dreams show us, right up close and personal, what it's like being on both sides of the experience of autism.

It's a wonderful book, not just for young adults, but for anyone who wants to understand more about what it's like to cope with the very different experience of the world that people with aspergers live everyday. The story is told from a truly compassionate point of perception. Every parent, every sibling, every neighbor, every teacher, and certainly every school and social service administrator who needs to better understand the everyday challenges of coping with aspergers will benefit deeply from reading it.

I recommend you get a copy for yourself today. Then get five more copies and give them away to others who need to clean the windows of their hearts, too.