Disabilities Books

Lisa Elliott shares short scenarios of the life of her son who is diagnosed with Aspergers/autism. The book covers many of the typical characteristics of individuals with ASD. There is laughter, and sadness, shared in her stories. A good book for all who work with, and love, individuals on the autism spectrum.

This book is a Godsend. It makes me think of the Stone Poneys' 1968 hit, "Beat of a Different Drum" and Herman Kelly & Life's "Let's Dance to the Drummer's Beat." You are treated to a drum medley of delightful anecdotes about life with Asperger's Syndrome (AS).

AS is the spectrum partner to autism and is a sensory, neurobiological condition that affects sensory integration, processing and communication to varying degrees. One of the many good things about having AS is that people with it make things more interesting and present logic from different, but equally valid perspectives. That's what's so wonderful about this book -- it does an excellent job of underscoring that point. Best of all, it instills pride among the autism/Asperger's (a/A) community.

Celebrate being on the a/A spectrum; enjoy some wonderful drumming and march to your own different drummer while you dance to the beat of a different drum done by the drummer's beat. I love this kind of book!

As a professional I feel this easy-to-read book provides insights into the everyday experiences of a family living with a child with autism spectrum disorder. Lisa invites the reader to take a glimpse into her family life by sharing poignant and humorous stories of their experiences. Through the experiences of her son, Clark, Lisa reminds is that although living with a child with autism spectrum disorder often leads to embarrassing moments, nobody ever needs to be ashamed. This enlightening book is a must read for parents, family members and professionals who live and work with individuals who have autism spectrum disorders

This is absolutely one of the best books I have read on Asperger Syndrome! When our son was diagnosed two years ago, I read and read and read as many books as I could on AS. Many were way over my head as they were so technical, some were hard to follow, several seemed to focus mainly on the negatives . . . EMBARRASSED OFTEN, ASHAMED NEVER IS THE PERFECT READ FOR A PARENT WITH A NEWLY DIAGNOSED CHILD OR FOR AN EDUCATOR.

When our son was first diagnosed, we weren't sure about the diagnosis as we had never heard of Aspergers. We researched on the internet and thought, "okay, this is familiar, maybe so." We read this book and thought, "WOW, THIS IS OUR SON!"

The title and the theme of the book fit our life . . . we are often embarrassed but we are never, ever ashamed. Be sure to buy this one, you won't regret it!

Embarrassed Often Ashamed Never is an easy to read book. Once I started reading I couldn't put it down until I was finished. I found this book full of "human real life" stories that touched my heart. As I was reading I could picture in my mind just what was actually happening in the story she was telling. I appreciate the openess that Lisa and her family shared with us in the book. One of my friends that works with children in the school that have Asperger Syndrome recommend that I read the book so as a parent working in the school it would give me a better understanding of some of our special children. Now I try to look at situations through their eyes when I'm helping out at school. Everyone should read this book.

After my 8 year old granddaughter was diagnosed with Dyslexia, we have researched and read as much as possible on the subject. This book opened our eyes to understanding dyslexia. We learned what to expect from teachers, administrators, and tutors as well as how she processes information in her ability to learn and communicate. Our granddaughter has experienced frustration and low self esteem issues that go along with this learning disability and this book gave us more insight as how to deal with all the issues surrounding dyslexia better than other books we had reviewed.

There was nothing in this book that I
wasn't satisfied with. Your book is wonderful! I really mean that.
It was very informative,insightful,helpful,and most of all - it
helped me easily identify with it. After all, I am Dyslexic. I have
always been Dyslexic,and I will always will be Dyslexic. I felt like
I was reading all about myself in your book. I am glad that you
pointed out that Dyslexics can be able to sound out words and spell
well but they often have problems with nonsense words and also
comprehension. I also liked that you mentioned the possibility that
Dyslexic symptoms can lead to misdiagnosis of disorders like ADD. I
don't even know if I have inattentive type ADHD that I was diagnosed
last year at the age of 32 years old. My Dyslexic symptoms can
easily can account for the inattentive type ADHD. I have been paying
more attention to how I write. I noticed that when I was beginning
to write the word, diaphragm, I wrote a b instead of a d. I have
read ground as brounds and an as no. It's like my Dyslexia hasn't
really gone away.


I took the Nelson Denny reading test when I got assessed for
learning disability. I scored 49th percentile on the reading
comprehension, but there were things on that test that I have read
about in the past. There were things on Carl Jung and Homer. Carl
Jung's psychology is something that really interests me. He believed
in the metaphysical and was seen as a mystic. I knew about Homer. I
read the Iliad as a kid. I loved reading about the Trojan War. I
just loved mythology because it was great for my unharnessed
imagination which you noted in people labeled ADD. I was like the
posterboy for ADD. If there were no things on that test that I never
read before, I would have scored well below the 30th percentile,and
I would have qualified as having a reading disorder. I was never
given a nonsense word reading test which is used to measure decoding
ability and diagose Dyslexia. The psychologist told me that I didn't
have Dyslexia. I had most of the symptoms of Dyslexia as a child.
Maybe I did have problems with reversing letters as a child. It's
hard for me to remember. 3 years of special education could have
helped correct my Dyslexia.



I really enjoyed reading your book. You've helped me realize that I
am Dyslexic. There is no doubt in my mind that I am Dyslexic. I know
that my children will be Dyslexic if their mother happens to be
Dyslexic like me. I will do whatever I can to get their Dyslexia
treated. They will be given the help,tools,love,and care to help
them succeed in life. I feel that this was something that I never
really had when I was a child. I blame nobody for that. I was held
back a year because of immaturity which you noted could happen to
kids with Dyslexia. I did feel more stupid because of that. My
mother didn't know anybody. She didn't know that I was Dyslexic. She
even called me "retard" when I was in 1st grade. Later on, she told
me that I was lazy and irresponsible when I was in mainstream
education. The fact is that she never went to high school. She had
many of the symptoms of Dyslexia. If she had known about her
Dyslexia,then she would have understood me much better. She would
have understood my father who also had symptoms of Dyslexia.


Thank you very much for this book. It was the book that I needed the
most. It was more effective than any self help book. I have been
involved in psychotherapy,and it did nothing for me. It didn't
address my Dyslexic symptoms. They didn't know that I am Dyslexic
neither did I. It was a social worker who mentioned Dyslexia when I
talked about being in special ed for speech problems. That was in
1997. Learning about Dyslexia and Dyspraxia has helped me understand
that I am not retarded,stupid,lazy,nor crazy. I will keep this in
mind when my children has the same problems as me. After all, I will
easily understand them because I have been through it too. Your book
will always help me understand that.



Sincerely,

Raymond Andrews

Abigail Marshall clearly and concisely guides parents through the LD maze. This book addresses all aspects of dyslexia, the various methods for teaching dyslexics...how and why they work, or don't...All the things a parent wished their IEP team had told them, but didn't.

For any parent reeling from a meeting with educators, this is a must read!

The Gift of Dyslexia The Gift of Learning

I love this book!!! I have a dyslexic child and a home library of books the haved helped me along the way. I found this book later in my plight and could have saved alot of money if I had it first. It is informative, easy to read, helpful, and hopeful with real world suggestions. Definitely a keeper. I still refer to it when I get frustrated. It is a book I use to talk with my child about her problems. Yes there are other books with great suggestions but this is the best starter out there!!!

This book outlines valuable information that I have not found in other L.D. handbooks (such as the advantages of Omega 3 fish supplements in your child's diet), yet it's a quick read. If one is to buy only one book on L.D./dyslexia, buy this book.

This book details all aspects of the child with down syndrome. I think this is a must have book for parents, and an equally important book for the professional working with a child diagnosed with down syndrome.

I would recommend buying this book since it includes many practical strategies with working with children with low cognitive functioning. We, as teachers, need practical ideas based by "best practice" research that we can implement immediately after reading a book. This is a book by a seasoned special education teacher and I recommend it highly.

This book offers so much help for parents, grandparents, teachers, anyone working with children who have down Syndrome. It gives so much help, ideas, insights... well, the list just goes on.

This is a great book for anyone working with or parenting children with down syndrome (and fascinating for anyone with children). It covers development based on stages rather than ages, so the focus can be on the child and not on a outwardly determined norm for development.

The substantially revised and updated second edition of Fine Motor Skills For Children With Down Syndrome: A Guide For Parents And Professionals by pediatric occupational therapist Maryanne Bruni offers a thoroughly "user friendly" study detailing particular tactics and effective strategies for training the motor skills of children with Down Syndrome. Introducing readers to invaluable tips on determining when a child is ready for preprinting and printing activities, strategies for encouraging self-help skills for independent living, research on how children with Down Syndrome learn, expanded suggestions for useful toys, activities, equipment, and grandparent lists, useful information for computer use, and more, Fine Motor Skills For Children With Down Syndrome enables a thorough grasp of greatly helpful and very practical information for a more educated approach to aiding children with Down syndrome. For its concise and essential comprehension of dire information, Fine Motor Skills For Children With Down Syndrome is very strongly recommended for all teachers, parents, guardians, grandparents, caregivers and counselors for children with Down Syndrome.

There are many different aspects to this book that I love. First was the educational aspect. Going into it I didn't know too much about MD, and the author provides an explanation of it in easy to understand terms. Secondly, its amazingly open and honest. The author discusses all of his feelings and struggles so clearly that your heart really melts for him. But at the same time, you are strengthened and touched by his sense of self. The stories about his outdoor adventures really motivated me to get out there and see everything that our beautiful country has to offer...and to think about the sense of accomplishment and glory of completeing a task that seems so daunting. Its amazing what Jonah does and how he never quits.

I also enjoyed the writing style. Its very conversational and humorous...esp the 'Ladies' chapter, loved the deserts! The internal beauty of people really is what makes this world go around.

Jonah Berger's "He Walks Like a Cowboy" is touching, funny, inspirational and insightful. This book should inspire others to be true to themselves and live their dreams in spite of their challenges. A good dose of reality from a gifted author. A compelling autobiography.

I recently attended a gathering specifically centered around this book. I overheard a conversation between a few people speaking about how this book is so motivating and inspiring for people with disabilities. I quickly interjected and reminded the people in the conversation that it does this for those WITHOUT any physical disability as well. After all, we all have some sort of disability that we live with. It may not be muscular dystrophy but we all have challenges we must face on a daily basis. Berger teaches us through his own life experiences that we have a choice as to HOW we live with these challenges. Its never easy but he shows us that we can do anything we want to with hard work and determination. It sounds cliche but there's no denying that after reading this book.

A quick, emotional, hard-hitting, MUST read!

Jonah Berger presents a road map for people with disabilities, particularly those of us with progressive diseases. He demonstrate how to face the future with humor, humility, and how never to take today for granted.

He discusses delicate topics like dating and the pain he lives with daily, with grace and his ever-present humor. The letters written by his family and friends are testaments to his incredible character and inspirational strenght.

He Walks Like a Cowboy is a rare opportunity to understand both the emotional and physical challenges of going through life with a disablity. It is a personal story told with great love and heart, allowing the reader the chance to connect with who the author is, and not just the words. A great book and I am looking forward to more from Jonah Berger.

This book was delivered in just the condition that had been advertised (in this case excellent condition) and the shipping was excellent. I would definitely use this seller again.

My 4th Grade son has read most of the Hank Zipzer series and found them to be "ok" -- funny and reasonably well written, but somehow not completely engaging for him. I found some of the writing to be a little formulaic. Still and all, I would recommend you give this series a try if you're looking for something new. My boy is a little finicky, and he liked these well enough.

This book Holy Enchilada is about this boy named
Hank Zipper. He has a learning challange called dyslexia.
He is very bad at spelling and math but mostly spelling.
In this book Heritage day is coming up. Hank desides to make enchiladas with his two best friends Frankie and Ashley.
When it comes time to make the recipe, he could not read the fraction 1/3tbls for chillie powder. So he guesses that it
said 3 1/3tbls. Uh oh what is Hank going to do now...
I would definataly recommend this book to anyone that loves
humor.

I am an elementary teacher who just wrapped up third grade. I read the Hank Zipzer series aloud to my class this year and they all agreed this was their favorite. At one point, we were laughing so loud that a colleage stuck her head in the classroom to make sure we were okay. All of these books kept the kids interested, made them laugh, and got many of them reading them independently after I had read it to them! One of our class catch phrases this year was, in the words of Frankie, "right, and my name is Bernice." Many of my students could relate to Hank's learning challenges and felt better knowing it was "okay" to struggle! Hats off to Henry Winkler and Hank!

The best book I've ever read is "Holy Enchilada". It is about a boy named Hank Zipzer and his school having a foreign exchange student from Japan to come to their school for a few days. So everyone decides to make the school look fancy for him. The kid needs somewhere to stay so Hank decides to let him stay at his house. The first night that he stays, they don't have anything to do so they start to make enchiladas for the Multi-Cultural Food Days at school. Hank starts to have trouble reading the recipe for how much zing to put in the enchiladas, and thinks he put to much in them, and everything gets worse from there. I
really liked this book because I can relate to the character and I understand him well. I would recommend this book to fourth graders and up.

My 17 month old daughter with Down syndrome adores this book. She enjoys answering every page when it asks "can you?" She gets very excited by the pictures of the babies/toddlers and frequently kisses the pages. I believe that some day we will use this book that she is so attached to begin talking to her about Down syndrome.

We love it so much we bought ten copies and donated them to the local NICU where my daughter stayed and the social worker is giving them to babies who are born there with Down syndrome.

I am writing this review because as a prior Early Childhood Special Educator to children birth-3, it was very hard to find board books that had children with different needs and races. I think that this is a wonderful book for both children and parents. It shows children doing the typical things that happen in their daily routines. I really enjoyed that the pictures were really children in real situations. The book was colorful and fun to read. I would recommend that daycares and preschools add this book to their libraries for all children to enjoy.

Cute book for little ones learning or who have down syndrom. My son has down's and he loves the pictures.

My son has Down Syndrome and it was so nice to have a book for him to see other people like him, I bought two of these because 6 days after my son was born another little guy with DS was also born, I gave one these to his mother as well and she loved it too!!!! The book has great photography and is nice and simple, It catches the eye of my 6 month old! Highly reccommed it to anyone and everyone!!!

This is a great book! I love that it shows young children with Down Syndrome participating in typical early childhood activities. There need to be more books like this that include children with special needs with out explicitly pointing out their differences.

John Riley's Daughter is one of those edgy, suspenseful novels that keep you reading once you start. The Southern atmosphere is right on the mark, and the characters get up and walk off the page. I loved it from the beginning, and have already read it again!

Recipient of the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association's Best Children's Book by a Northwest author 2001 award. Also named to School Library Journal's Best Books 2000 list.

After Memphis says harsh words, mentally handicapped woman Clover disappears and Memphis finds herself the source of renewed trouble in her grandmother's home. This tells of a grandmother's undisguised resentments, a granddaughter's loneliness, and a broken family reunited in a different manner. Unexpected twists and turns keep this lively and inviting.

A great read about family life in the south; mystery,love,adventure,abandonment; a typical southern family. I am a southerner. Altho written for young adults all ages will enjoy Kezi Matthews word pictures that bring Memphis to living color.

Few southern authors truly manage to capture the rhythm and flavor of southern life. Kezi Matthews has done it! Her voice rings so true, page after fabulous page.

Young Memphis Riley, motherless and unwanted by her next of kin, carries the burdens of a harsh and cruel world upon her fragile shoulders. Bearing the pain of abandonment, Memphis arrives on her grandmother's doorstep and struggles to find her place in a home that has no love to spare. The story unfolds in a tumultuous storm of anger and sweltering bitterness.

[excerpt] "My guitar!" she yelled. "Mine!" Her stiff, misshapen words flew at me on a thick spray of saliva. Then she turned and stomped down the steps. She was twenty-nine years old, but small and angular as a child. I watched her march across the yard and out of sight down the road, the tail of her ratty old coonskin cap flipping around as though it was still alive.

Her spittle clung like snail spoor to the outside of the screen. A fly circled the wet strings, then took off as I began to beat against the doorframe with my fist. This time she'd gone too far--way too far. [end of excerpt]

Kezi Matthews weaves a spellbinding tale of innocence and sobering reality in this debut novel. Her memorable characters will tug at your heartstrings and pierce the solitude of every silent moment, long after the final page is read.

_John Riley's Daughter_ is an excellent choice for a teen's personal collection. My copy is proudly shelved next to Ruth White's _Belle Prater's Boy_ and Kimberly Willis Holt's _My Louisiana Sky_, all three deserving of multiple reads.

What a wonderful choice for a classroom read-aloud--a great selection for both teens and young adults! Order a copy of this engaging novel into your home, and don't forget to order one for your local librarian. She'll thank you for it!!

Excellent and true story about a family dealing with their beloved daughter and a major learning disabilty.

that all those schools turned Allegra down, her being from the prominent family she's from! Maybe the schools weren't really right for her, but I guess I assumed some would have done cartwheels (and made some adjustments) for the privilege of having a Ford in their school.

I purchased this book many times, it is one that I keep in my car. I use it to help teachers, friends and family members understand my children and others like them. It has helped me understand why I feel the frustration when my kids "don't get it" or need extra guidance in different situations or in the public school system. It is a book that I give to their teachers in hope that they will take the time to read it. As I read this book for the first time, I highlighted many sentences, example - page 17 - quote "She was so funny and effervescent and her behavior was so far frm being considered " a problem" that my mother gave up all attempts at discipline or even expressions of disapproval".... I can remember so many times my kids - acting out -- but in a way that was just "their way" they are so full of expressions and life.

most important - page 39 - There is more then enough heartace involved in coming to terms with the fact that your child is disabled. .... this is the truth, but with this book it helped me come to terms with it and I am trying to help others. Please take the time to read this book it will help you, empower you and your child. You are the voice for your child, you are their confidant. You need to read this book....another wonderful book is Legacy of the Blue Heron, Living with Learning Disabilities by Harry Sylvester.

This is a wonderful book for any parent, written in an honest, unvarnished manner. Very insightful..... with lessons on supporting, loving, and accepting one's child no matter that the child's reality differs from the parents' dream.

I have read many books out there, and this is the best one that I have found. This book is much better than Dana Buchman's book called "A Special Education" in which she constantly refers to her daughter's mild mental retardation as a "learning difference". In this book, the author is honest and tells it like it is.... she does not sugar coat it like Buchman's book. In Buckman's book, she talked too much about herself instead of her daughter. The only negative part of Anne Ford's book is that she constantly talked about the private schools refusing to let her child attend, but if she had picked a public school, it is the law that they would have to allow her child to attend. Most regular private schools would not have the resources that her child would require. For instance, speech therapist, occupation therapist, physical therapist are not necessarily found in private schools, but public schools would have these resources because they are required by law to teach all children. Anne Ford did note this in her book. Finally, here are some quotes from Anne Ford's book that might be helpful...

"a learning disability affects a person's ability to interpret what they see and hear or their ability to link information from different parts of the brain, because their brain is 'wired' a little differently. These differences can show up as specific difficulties with spoken and written language, with coordination, self-control, or with paying attention. People can have learning disabilities in reading, writing, math, and processing information."

"Most children with LD can read words, but comprehension may be another matter entirely."

"Children with LD can and do succeed in school."

"Adults with LD can and do succeed in the workplace."

"LD can be treated successfully, and children with LD can go on to live happy, normal lives."

In conclusion, I highly recommend this book to all parents who have special needs children, and the teachers who teaches them.

Simply put: this book can change your life for the better. I was able to recognize things I have struggled with my whole life but was unable to identify what they were. This brought me a sense of peace I had not experienced in any other book.

Without a doubt, one of the most detailed and researched books about many of the aspects of love and relationships, and why we are the way we are about them. I would recommend this to anyone looking to truly enrich their lives!!

Excellent self help book. Hard to read the reality of what the doctors are saying. It does get worse before it gets better. I learned so very much from this book and have had it passed on to me. I hope to pass it on to others.

This book surprised me. It fell into my hands with perfect timing in midlife.

While I am not as deeply affected in many areas "lost childhood", "abuse" etc. there are many concepts that were most helpful. I identified with "passive abuse" through emotional absence of my parents and the fact that I measure others' childhood by my own as the "norm" because it's all I know. Also tremendously helpful is the concept of "repetition compulsion" where I am 'driven' to recreate as an adult the home I grew up in - in everything from taste in decor to relational patterns with my wife and children. Despite the quality of lack of it in some areas of the home I gerw up in, it was nonetheless the place I found what security I could. I want that security again. I have been searching for "home" for many years and now I know why.

Other helpful chapters were "The Snowball Effect of Addiction", "Anger" and "Codependent or Healthy Relationships" as well as "Codependent or Interdependent Relationships." We think codependency is something extreme but it is a matter of degree really. We all are somewhat codependent and is at the very least evident in the degree of emotion with which we respond to others. Also "The Roles People Play" in which I could recognize all my siblings at different times in one or more patterns behaving in response to our pain (hero, scapegoat, mascot, lost child, placater, rescuer, martyr etc.)

Finally key chapters were "The Stages of Recovery", "Leaving Home and Saying Goodbye," "Seeing Yourself in a New Light," "New Experiences and Reparenting."

I have recently bought the companion workbook I intend to work through.

I have also begun discussing a few concepts with my siblings and finding some reception and agreement.

Another book that's just as helpful is "Kids Who Carry Our Pain" by Hemfelt and Warren.

This is a must read for individuals with codependant issues. It is written from a biblical perspective by three Drs. Is uses scripture all the way through it. It is very easy reading and very simple to understand. The very best book on codependancy I have ever read. I use it to counsel people.

I bought this to read for a class, but was taken aback by how good this book was. An excellent read for anyone.

Like a lot of university educated folks, I heard in Psych 101 that once you hit your teens, your capacity to learn languages takes such a nosedive that if you haven't learned by then, you'll never be better than "Me Tarzan, you Jane" no matter how hard you try. I'm not ashamed of accepting this "language expiration date" -- there was no reason not to, and besides, it tracked with my own frustration learning foreign languages. For decades, I accepted this Psych 101 nugget without question.

When I started reading A Man Without Words, I had no idea my old Psych 101 nugget's days were numbered. I heard about the book as something a fan of Oliver Sacks would enjoy, and I associated it with Oliver Sack's book The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat, about neurological dysfunction, not Sacks's Hearing Voices, about the deaf. I assumed until I started reading that the "man without words" was aphasic -- had brain damage that prevented him from understanding language. Turns out, though, the book's namesake is deaf and poor and had simply, at 27, never been taught any language. No one had ever bothered. Susan Schaller then proceeded to overturn the Psych 101 sacred cow I never knew I had by describing how she taught this young man the beginnings of ASL over the course of a few weeks. Then, so I couldn't think of him as a freak or fraud, Schaller goes on to show that many deaf people receive no language training and can also be taught to sign long after the Psych 101 "language expiration date."

Schaller claims that almost every deaf teacher, and most hearing teachers, of ASL know of adults who have grown up without language. While her book is anecdotal and therefore fundamentally unscientific, she makes a passionate plea for academic study of the acquisition of language by adults, which makes her more plausible than those who would brush science aside where it does not prove their case. A Man Without Words is a powerful request, and a strong basis, for further research in this area.

A Man Without Words is also very well written. Schaller is both artful and precise in her descriptions of sign idioms and grammar, to the point that I, who know little of sign other than what I read here and in Hearing Voices, felt I understood what I needed to and enjoyed learning it. Her narrative case study is better written than many novels, and besides being fascinated by the information Schaller imparts, I also became submerged in the story.

Learning that something I believed for decades may be dead wrong gives me a feeling of loss of equilibrium (I got the feeling a lot when I first started reading about urban legends). No matter how skeptical I try to be, I always seem to be assuming something. A Man Without Words is a convincing argument for skepticism about the "language expiration date," and it raises concerns that the "expiration date" idea may make us give up up too quickly on languageless adults. It is also a fascinating read as a story, which makes the loss of equilibrium easier to take. Now I just hope that since this book was published in the nineties, someone in academia has taken the hint and done some study on linguistic development in adults. I'm off to cruise the Web to find out -- which, I'm sure, is just the kind of reaction Schaller was hoping for.

This book really opened my eyes to the world of adults without a communication system. I just took for granted the fact that everyone had a way of communicating when in fact, this book shows clearly that there are many who don't have just that. In addition, this book is a real page turner and packs a lot of interesting information in just a little over 200 pages.

Wow! A must-read for parents of deaf children, linguists, and SLP's. The author expertly describes the isolating effects life without a shared language. She tells the story of a deaf man who grew up in a poor town in Mexico. The man was never provided any education and was never taught how to communicate. At the start of the story, the man uses only gestures and miming to express himself. He lacks the concept of "language" --a system of symbols (spoken words, manual signs, or written text) that can be used to express an individual's thoughts & experiences and be understood by a whole community of people. The author recounts her struggle to figure out how to teach language and the man's struggle to learn. In addition, she clearly articulates the need for social change, the need to develop resources & programs for teaching the many languageless deaf adults who exist today. While I thoroughly enjoyed the story, I found that the numerous quotes throughout the book detract from the overall story. In this respect, the book seems somewhat like a hybrid --it is a positive & triumphant story of two people embarking upon a difficult journey with no map to guide them, AND it is an informal dissertation on the needs of an overlooked segment of the deaf population. Either way, it is a great story and is well-worth reading.

I've read many of the previous case studies of languagelessness in children. We studied Genie and the Wild Boy of Aveyron in an education class on language and it's place in education. This was my introduction to this particular group of disenfranchised, neglected, and abused people...except I thought it was all children usually discovered in late childhood (around age 13). From my neuroscience classes I remember being taught that the brain continues neuronal growth (to targeted synapses in the brain) until about age ten, then begins to cut back. This was supposedly an explanation for why language learning is so difficult later in life. So coming across this book, with its story concerning adults with no obvious psychiatric problems (just a physical difference in lacking hearing) who had managed to survive to adulthood with no language, came as a complete surprise.

This book got put aside as I had to read other books for school and work, but I picked it up again and finished it. Schaller basically is providing a qualitative study, a case study, to draw attention to this apparent problem. This method of educational research is used more and more in writing dissertations, and I actually didn't recognize what it was until I took a qualitative research class myself. The writing and book tend at first to repeat itself. I am not sure what Schaller was doing in writing this way. Perhaps the book had to be a certain length or she felt readers might not pay attention to the seriousness of this problem for Ildefonso and other adults without language. This repetition caused the first half of the book to drag a bit.

After I picked the book up again, I finished it in two days. The addition of the search for other adults with no primary language, Schaller's introduction to other adults like Ildefonso, and then her search for Ildefonso really added to the pace of the case study.

This book throws a bit of a wrench in much of the things I have been taught in both neuroscience and education. There are a few things the book illustrates better than any other book I've read on this topic. First, given the amount of adults who were deaf and had no language that Schaller found in Southern California really illustrates this has to be a major problem internationally. If we are finding such a large group in our nation which pushes education and literacy, what about in countries such as China where there are many deaf (due to overuse of gentamycin) and there are many people with no access to education. Second, again, we obviously don't know everything there is to know about the pliability of the brain. Third, I am very concerned about discrimination against this group, and the possibilities that there are many of these people in psychiatric wards or prisons or other institutions, merely because they have no way to assert their rights. This possibility would be criminal.

I'd like to see more books by Schaller on this topic, and hope to learn more about this in the future. For the most part, this is a great book, and it definitely is a great story which needed to be told.
Karen Sadler
Science Education
University of Pittsburgh