Disabilities Books

If ever there were a story of ultimate courage in modern-day life, this is it. Steven Sharp lost both his arms in a farming accident when he was just a teenager, and years later he sued the Case farm equipment company and won. It was an accident that should not have happened. Steven was very careful about safety while doing farm work. The machine with which he was bailing hay suddenly started up and both of his hands were pulled in. He managed to sever both of his arms in one of the most courageous acts that one can imagine, then he walked back to a farm house for help. The agony is difficult to imagine. This is a story not just about Steven, but also about a company which deserved to be sued. Steven moved on with his life without feeling sorry for himself. This is a true story of bravery written by William Mishler, who died in December, 2003 following a brief illness. It's sad that Mishler could not have lived to write more stories of real life events. I can't say enough about the pleasure I got from reading this book. The pleasure came from knowing that there are still good people in this world such as Steven Sharp.

If ever there were a story of ultimate courage in modern-day life, this is it. Steven Sharp lost both his arms in a farming accident when he was just a teenager, and years later he sued the Case farm equipment company and won. It was an accident that should not have happened. Steven was very careful about safety while doing farm work. The machine with which he was bailing hay suddenly started up and both of his hands were pulled in. He managed to sever both of his arms in one of the most courageous acts that one can imagine, then he walked back to a farm house for help. The agony is difficult to imagine. This is a story not just about Steven, but also about a company which deserved to be sued. Steven moved on with his life without feeling sorry for himself. This is a true story of bravery written by William Mishler, who died in December, 2002 following a brief illness. It's sad that Mishler could not have lived to write more stories of real life events. I can't say enough about the pleasure I got from reading this book. The pleasure came from knowing that there are still good people in this world such as Steven Sharp.

This is an extraordinary narrative in its subject matter and in its writing. As the author, William Mishler, says, it is "a contemporary American story well worth telling, " and he relates this true drama with a sympathy and an energy that do full justice to the enduring courage and resilience of its hero. We are carried along vividly from a quiet, small town in Oregon to a contentious courtroom in Wisconsin, where a dramatic trial takes place. Steven Sharp lives in aptly named Eagle Valley in Eastern Oregon, where the rhythms of country life and hunting and fishing form his character and his destiny. He suffers a horrendous accident with a defective tractor and baler, in which he loses both arms in an attempt to clear some hay from the baler. His agony is described in stark detail as he desperately yet deliberately uses razor-sharp metal in the machine to sever both arms that are being mercilessly pulled into the baler; he then finds the courage to cauterize the stumps on one of the red-hot rollers. Steven tells his story to the author and in the courtroom with a calm and modest conviction that he did what had to be done to save his life and his sanity. He earns our immense admiration and empathy for this act of bravery and for his persistence in helping his team of lawyers bring a successful lawsuit against the Case Corporation of Wisconsin. Case brought all their wealth and power in an attempt to deny Steven his due, but owing to a committed team of Minneapolis lawyers and Steven's and his family's perseverance, Case lost in court and in subsequent appeals. A note at the end of the book indicates that three years after the final verdict, Case has done absolutely nothing to warn their customers of the life-threatening dangers of their machine. William Mishler, a fine poet and writer, becomes deeply involved in the human and legal aspects of the drama, which he describes with a superb attention to detail in an intensely absorbing narrative of great imaginative power

I have been using Presley-Reed Medical Disability Advisor for several years now. It is the best resource on the market and I have used them all. This resource allows me to talk with patients in a language they understand. It allows me to communicate with physicians and other care givers. This resource has not only helped the companies I have worked with save money. It has helped employees to better understand their illnesses and procedures. I highly recommend this resource for any health professional!

The Medical Disability Advisor, Fourth Edition is the most comprehensive, respected, and user friendly disability guideline I have ever used. I highly recommend it.

Evonn Hopkins, RN, COHN-S/CM

This book is awesome and very comprehensive. We use it where we work as case managers for worker's compensation and it is extremely useful.

It is for a layperson like myself - as well as the professional person - a very good and rewarding book to read. I learned a lot from what I read - and wanted to continue - because it is not too technical - well, there is some chapters of defining the terms and the framework to relate to. However it never takes over - and there is so much LOVE and CARE in her work. I like the brilliant way in which the author brings in the voices and experiences of 13 individuals.

What struck me most was that the skills used by the individuals in meeting the challenge of LD could be a guideline and a necessity of us the majority without LD to incorporate. So I shall read it again.

I reviewed this book in the Annotated Bibliograpy of Learning A Living; A Guide to Planning Your Career and Finding a Job for People with Learning Disabilities, Attention Deficit Disorder and Dyslexia. Here is what I wrote:

Through quotations from people with learning disabilities and attention deficit disorder, this book describes the experience of having these disabilities and ways to cope with them. Includes information on dating, marriage, work, home, and friendship. The last chapter outlines a progressive agenda for improving the well-being of adults with learning disabilities.

As the parent of a 22 year old learning disabled daughter I can attest to the validiy of everything written in this book.

The format is easy to read and understand. I liked the paragraphs written by the author and then followed up by quotes from the interviewed adults. This book is not jargon filled and is a great resource for people with little knowledge about adults with learning disabilities as well as those who have spent many years in the field on learning disabilities.

What a great help this book will be to the general population in understanding the struggles of adults facing the difficult challenges learning disabilities impose on living a successful, joyfilled life.

Every employer should have this book as a resource.

My Dad is hard of hearing so I was looking for a book that would inform me about it. This book has information about how to talk to a deaf person (slowly, facing them, light on face) as well as all the technology options available at the time.

Having grown up in a deaf home, this sociology professor takes on this cultural area for her research, and finds much that she passes on in this well written book.

Especially productive in reading this is the insights given about the differences in hearing aids, with their telecoils and zoom features and the audio coil systems, etc. There is plethora of fine discussion of other technologies that assist the hearing impaired and their families and social contacts.

Since communication is critical to us humans, missed connections is a terrible thing to live with, and this fine work provides many helpful discussions and suggestions on overcoming or minimalizing them.

There are absolutely some awesome things to be grasped from this book: Helen Keller said that rather be blind than deaf; the almost impossibility of proficient lipreading or speechreading; the pingpong paddles signal system to either speak up, or that's good.

This is great resource to be turned to and recommended.

I think this is one of the best books on the market for understanding people that are hard-of-hearing. I is easily read, and very complete. I think everyone who works along side a HOH person should read it. It explains what we hear and what we don't. I really liked the two charts that were included. It helped me to show my boss and co-workers just where my hearing level is and what sounds I don't hear. Anyone that lives or works with someone that is either hard-of-hearing or deaf should read this book. I would sure help us if others understood what they could do to make comucation easier for us.

This is a book that my 5 year old son and I both love and we revisit it over and over again. I usually let him choose the 2 books I'll read before bed and this book is chosen many times. The story is engaging for him and me, the illustrations have a surreal quality that make you feel like you've been there. There is even the lesson about working hard, teamwork, and not underestimating anyone. A great childs book that adults can enjoy also. The illustrations are dreamlike, and the story is one of determination and working to make your dreams come true that is sure to delight any kid (or Dad!).

This was a really good book. I liked the characters.
I really wish they lived in my neighbourhood. I would
join them at the outdoor rink near my house. I'm not
not sure I would be able to keep up with Marcel though, and
Danny seems pretty hard to score on, but I would try.
The pictures in the book are very nice. They make
you imagine what the players were going through.
This is an exciting book.
I can't wait until The Final Game is published.


Paul H. Age 7

This is a book that my 5 year old son and I both love and we revisit it over and over again. I usually let him choose the 2 books I'll read before bed and this book is chosen many times. The story is engaging for him and me, the illustrations have a surreal quality that make you feel like you've been there. There is even the lesson about working hard, teamwork, and not underestimating anyone. A great childs book that adults can enjoy also.

This book is a very good help to anyone who has a child with Aspergers. I did not know that much about this syndrome until I read this book. It is very easy to read and gives many helpful hints and suggestions.

This book is a wonderful guide and handbook for anyone dealing with an Asperger child. It covers recognizing the signs, diagnosis, helpful hints on how to deal in difficult situations and best of all how to enjoy your child who has this disorder. She tells of the many problems one faces trying to get help in schools and much, much more. It is as easy to read as a humorous novel. Every aspect of what one can encounter with an Asperger's child has been explored. This is a publication that has been needed for years. Kudos to the author!

this book is fabulous. It is written in a style easy and fast to read. There are many, many Moms who really need this book because there is very little help on this subject.

Helpful in a very practical way, full of life and humor, precisely the two things one needs in order to do right by a child on the autism spectrum. I have an 11 year old son who was diagnosed with Autism, but who is actually probably an "Aspy". This book has wonderful ideas to help in many situations; QUICK, easy to execute plans of action. The book made me re-think some old notions about Autism and Asperger Syndrome. This book also contains a ton of information for parents with a newly diagnosed child. Man, I wish this book had been around 6 years ago when my son was diagnosed. I had a thousand questions about IEPs, therapies, interventions, disciplines.......the list goes on. Here are virtually all the answers in one place. A great book to get whether you have been dealing with this subject for years, or if you are just starting on the journey and have no idea what to do next.

After reading this book, I passed it along to my mother. She has also enjoyed it. I feel that Dr. Stone portrays a part of her feelings that really involve you and true feelings in life. Sometimes its hard to deal with the facts and family. Sharing this with everyone can sometimes help others deal better with it. I strongly recommend this book. The book not only involves personal feelings and got me worked up, but it also involves sympathy for Dr. Stone herself. I was given the book to read by Dr. Stone herself, I had no idea that she had ever undertaken this kind of horrific event. There is not a week that goes by that I do not think "How did this women survive?" I am only thankful that her husband was there to help her through such a tragic event. If only every family was like that. There for each other.

"More than love" offers a personal view of the devastating effects of physical, mental and sexual abuse. Dr. Stone shares her heartbreaking experience of adopting Attachment Disorder children, and allows the reader to see the many difficulties that parents in every community will face. This book is a wonderful educational tool for every member of society.

Impossible to put down!! WOW!!! Everyone should read this book, even if you never plan to adopt children. As a matter of fact, I highly suggest that anyone that has children, works with them, and or is around them read this book, including Parents, Teachers, Doctors, Psychologist, Sociologist, Police Officers, Adoption Agencies, and Government officials. It will really open your eyes. While reading "More Than Love...", I was filled with every emotion possible, sadness, anger, and yes even happiness. I could not help crying, laughing, smiling, and empathizing with Dr. and Mr. Stone. I take my hat off to them.

WOW! There's another book, "Damn! Why Didn't I Write That?" which is what I was thinking when I read this book. It does an awesome job of telling a kid's view of having a very misunderstood condition and the fears that so often accompany a young mind when questions are unasked and unanswered. I spent my entire childhood terrified that "hydro" was something no one else had, and as I grew older, still without info, I indeed feared it would kill me. Perez does a beautiful job of explaining from an 8 yo point of view what it's like to live with a "difference" and the often-resulting ignorance and ostracism from peers. The book is written with true empathy for the child who has determined that s/he is "different" and in need of honesty and help with issues related to hydrocephalus.

I have some similar issues to the ones she does (weak, short leg due to long-undiagnosed and untreated hip dysplasia and scoliosis), and it was refreshing to see physical issues brought up in the story. I just wish I'd had this book 35 years ago! It's a must for every parent who has a child with "hydro."

There is a mention of a term that often bothers those of us who have/love someone who has hydro: "water on the brain." In this context, though, it works, as "Annie's" mom says that it's the simplest way to explain "hydro" to her. There is a more sophisticated explanation at the end of the book.

Thank you, Annette, for this wonderful book! My 14 yo son is autistic, and I really needed something more in-depth and "older" than the Barney the Beagle book. Even another book I also love, "All About Me (and My Shunt)" doesn't go into quite as much detail, so even though he'll also outgrow this one, I think it's a valuable tool to help him understand Mom's brain. Please consider writing additional books for older children. You have a true gift!

This is a wonderfully written book. There are so many features that make this book to be owned by anybody. For one, the book is bilingual. You can read the Spanish portion and learn from the English text as you go along. The pictures in the book, make this a book that is fun while dealing with serious content. And once you read this book, you will forever remember Annie. Her story is uplifting and helps reinforce the idea that no matter what differences we may have, with help and the will to overcome challenges, we can use our differences to better ourselves. This is a great book for the classroom and is a wonderful resource for anybody wanting to learn a little bit about a condition called hydrocephalus. Once you read this book, you will want all your friends and family to read it as well.

A BOOK EVERY CHILD (AND PARENT) SHOULD READ
By Constance Castaneda, Speech and language pathologist, New York


Imagine that you are born with a disability that affects your motor skills and makes your body do odd things. It makes one of your hands smaller than the other and nearly useless, and makes one of your legs weaker.
Imagine that due to this condition, simple tasks become difficult and hard tasks become practically impossible.

What if that disability made you the target of ridicule as a child, and now as an adult it still makes people stare at you, or pretend not to see you when you walk down the street?

What would you do?
Perhaps you should do what Annette Perez did; you write a funny, uplifting children's book about your experiences.

The New York City native of Puerto Rican descent, and York College (City University of New York) graduate, just released a children's book titled My Brain Won't Float Away (Campanita Books, New York) based on one key event in her childhood that changed her life forever, for the better I should add.

It's the story of Annie, an eight-year-old girl who, realizing there is something "wrong" with her, gathers the courage to ask her mom what is going on, leaving her mother with the tough job of explaining to her daughter that she has a condition called hydrocephalus (also referred to as "water on the brain," even though as you learn in the book, it has nothing to do with water). Her first reaction, as I am sure we all can imagine, is fear. Annie is scared of that strange-sounding label her mother has just placed on her, and terrified when she hears that she has "water on the brain." But knowledge is usually a good way to dispel fear, and with her newfound information Annie embarks on a journey of discovery that teaches her about hydrocephalus, but also teaches her about love, friendship, and courage. The book is a pleasure to read, and Ms. Pérez gives Annie a voice that sounds fresh, and authentic. As a person with a disability, she knows first-hand the daily struggle that so many adults and children have to go through to do what most of us take for granted. She writes about the time and determination that it takes to learn to live with a body that sometimes will not, and at other times cannot do what you wish it to do.
And she does it while telling a story that reads more like an adventure (which it is). That she also writes on the subject of being ostracized as a child for being "different" and how important it was for her physical and emotional well-being to be accepted by her peers, is a lesson that any child reading the book will relate to, without the need for lectures or a preachy tone. You have to read the book to understand how well it was written, and how much fun it is. Yes, fun.

Ms Pérez, who based the story on her own experiences growing up with hydrocephalus has covered so many bases that it feels like My Brain Won't Float Away is the only book that you'll need to buy for your kid this year. Funny? Yes. Suspenseful? Yes. Uplifting? Yes. Educational? Yes. Does it help you practice a foreign language? ¡Sí! I forgot to mention, My Brain Won't Float Away is also called Mi cerebro no va a salir flotando. The book is 100% bilingual in English and Spanish! That means it is also a perfect tool for any bilingual program. And it is a jewel in any language.

Recommended for all Parents, Elementary Teachers, Special Education Teachers, ESL Teachers, Librarians, Counselors, and Occupational Therapists. A must have for Character Education Curriculum Collections. Children 6 to 10

Next Door Lived a Girl is an intelligent, provocative story about a group of young boys and their exploits in Germany. It had real, in-depth characters, who are put into extraordinary, and complicated situations. Kiesbye's telling of the story is intriguing and very entertaining. I would recommend this book very highly.

The writing in Stefan Kiesbye's perfectly pitched novella (its actually a short novel at 110 pages) is at once stark yet filled with wonderfully cast images and a story which draws the reader in from the first page. 'We are the Badgers. My name is Moritz. Thomas and I are the oldest. Johannes is the only boy whose father does not work at the candy factory. His family lives on the property of the slaughterhouse.' It is an oversimplification to say the story in NEXT DOOR LIVED A GIRL is one of incest and violence. There is ever so much more to this book; the narrative voice filled with compassion and care for even its bleakest characters. Set in working class Germany, the book is at once intimate to its time and landscape and transcendent of such, like a great fable. In my capacity as a writer and reviewer, my work is often complicated in that I can't help meeting and getting to know many other writers. I come clean then here and say that I have recently gotten to know Stefan Kiesbye. Those who know me, however, understand that I would never write a review for a friend if I did not truly find his work worthy. There is no question of this with Stefan's wonderful achievement in NEXT DOOR LIVED A GIRL.

Stefan is my friend. That is fair to say up front. He and I have studied together, fought with each other and been good friends for a number of years. But that should in no way diminish the validity of this claim: I believe this novella is one of the finest pieces written in recent years.

An old hand at writing (Stephen King, no less) has said that a basic definition of art is that it gives back more than you give it. This is a useful definition in many ways, and Stefan's book is proof of the claim. 110 pages of terse, startling prose yields returns on par with equisitely rendered poetry. It is a stark landscape, not unlike the tightly wound world of Hitchcock's Psycho, and it will pay you back many times over for each moment you pay it by lingering with its words.

This is a very gratifying momoir of Linda Bidabe, an educator for children with severe disabilities and her corageous strive to implement a curriculum. She had me hooked at page one! Linda Bidabe was born a leader. She is a very determined individual and demonstrates this throughout her memoir. She has the strength to overcome obstacles during her life; obstacles I hope I never face.
While reading this book, I developed a high level of respect and admiration for this woman. She not only gives credit for her accomplishments, but she does not hesistate to mention how she was not able to succeed with every student. She demonstrates skills of a servant leader as she willingly sets aside her aspirations to ensure that others fulfill their dreams. Linda finds great joy out of helping others reach their goals, a virtue which deserves applauding.
I recommend this book to anyone looking for a well-written autobiography and who is ready to be inspired.

I read this book months ago and simply could not put it down. It is inspiring from Bidabes account of her encounter with a dyslexic boy whom she automatically feels the instinct to rescue, to her childhood home catching on fire, straight to how she came to form MOVE and greived every time she lost a child. Linda Bidabe is not only a leader but has so much compassion for those less fortunate than she is and this is what lead her to help chidren with severe physical disabilities, the children who were dismissed and forgotten by a system. She wanted to give these children a chance. I believe the most profound thing she said in her memoir is near the end of her story." What Good is MOVE and all our efforts to help children with disabilities learn to sit,stand and walk, if we use it to push aside a childs dream, and in its stead, impose our on so-called discernment? Our business is to discover the dream in each child, and to believe in it until it becomes a reality" What more can be said? No ordinary move is no ordinary memoir. I highly recommend it to those who want to be moved by a book.

This is a very gratifying momoir of Linda Bidabe, an educator for children with severe disabilities and her corageous strive to implement a curriculum. She had me hooked at page one! Linda Bidabe was born a leader. She is a very determined individual and demonstrates this throughout her memoir. She has the strength to overcome obstacles during her life; obstacles I hope I never face.
While reading this book, I developed a high level of respect and admiration for this woman. She not only gives credit for her accomplishments, but she does not hesistate to mention how she was not able to succeed with every student. She demonstrates skills of a servant leader as she willingly sets aside her aspirations to ensure that others fulfill their dreams. Linda finds great joy out of helping others reach their goals, a virtue which deserves applauding.
I recommend this book to anyone looking for a well-written autobiography and who is ready to be inspired.