Disabilities Books

This book was so riviting that I read it from cover to cover in four hours straight. I am a mother of a four year old high-functioning autistic boy. With the miriad of treatments now available I sometimes feel lost in my search to help my son. Reading Sound of a Miracle and other books told by mothers of autistic children and their struggles has helped educate me on what treatment options are available and where to focus my tedious research efforts. The author makes it clear that AIT does not produce miraculous results in every child, however, it did for her daughter and that's a story worth being told and read!

Georgiana (Georgie) was born on May 24, 1965. She made all developmental milestones within normal limits as did her older sister, Dotsy. Speech was the only major milestone that Georgie did not make during her early years. She was nonverbal until she was 4.

Georgie's mother had many overwhelming issues - a divorce when the girls were quite small; Georgie's aversion for any sound, music included and Dotsy's being diagnosed with leukemia at age 4.

Annabelle naturally has Georgie tested and sent to early intervention programs. The only place where Georgie appeared to have thrived was at Bellevue Hospital because, as Georgie explained years later, "it was quiet there." Dotsy's health plummets and she dies at the age of 8 in 1971. Georgie, then 6, was sent to a residential facility identified as "Childville."

Childville sounds like a genuine Chamber of Horrors. Georgie complains about the noise and staff dismiss her complaints. She is overmedicated and complains about how the medicines make her feel. She becomes hostile and displays aggression because she cannot tolerate noise. A social worker who sounded cruel and incompetent from the telling, identified as "Judith" seems determined to block and undermine any and all progress on Georgie's part. When Georgie shows an unusual balancing ability and begs for a skateboard, Judith refuses, telling Georgie's mother that Georgie is "overcompensating a fear." Fortunately Georgie gets her skateboard and is quite proficient on it.

Georgie is fortunate enough to have summers free of that institutional wasteland. Luckily for all, Annabelle marries Peter, a gentle, loving man. That union produces a brother and later a sister for Georgie. Peter has grown daughters from a previous marriage and it is in this loving, blended, extended family that Georgie blossoms.

Annabelle decides that Childville is just not the answer and withdraws Georgie in 1976. Peter had accepted a job in Switzerland, and naturally Georgie wanted to join her family. Childville staff threaten to keep Georgie by refusing to release her (how could this legally be done). Judith invokes just about every Freudian cliche possible to block Georgie's withdrawal from Childville. Fortunately, Peter and Annabelle withdraw Georgie and move to Switzerland. The medications are discontinued and for the next several years Georgie flourishes in Switzerland. She learns to ski, is mainstreamed and explains that her aversion for sound is due to having a heightened auditory sense. Luckily, she has been treated by several very humane doctors specially trained in Auditory Integration Therapy (AIT) and this treatment is continued during her years abroad. One can't help but cheer when Georgie dances in the rain, explaining that the rain "doesn't sound like a machine gun anymore." Georgie said AIT literally saved her life.

After several years abroad, the family returns to the United States. Georgie's records "mysteriously vanish" because the cruise ship she was on met with a disaster and several cartons had to be discarded. The disaster turned out to be a blessing in disguise.

Free of previous baggage, Georgie attends a public school in Connecticut. She graduates as class valedictorian in 1984 and is currently happily married. She is now fluent in 6 languages including Arabic; is a gifted artist and very spiritual. Georgie is also an author. She has chronicled her life story in "Overcoming Autism," in which she promises readers that upon reading her book they will have a very clear understanding of what it means to have autism. The book is currently available on her web site, but it is worth reading. It is a book you will cherish.

This book is filled with stories that wrench any parent's heart - and then fill it up again page after page - with new hope and inspiration!

These amazing recovery stories are a wonderful testimony to the devotion and unconditional love of unrelenting parents who will stop at nothing to recover their special needs child.

This is another extraordinary collection of personal accounts of people on the autism/Asperger's (a/A) spectrum who have been successfully treated with Auditory Integration Therapy (AIT). People with autism have trouble synthesizing sensory modes and have "hyper" sensitivity; that is, extraordinarily acute senses.

James, whose mother wrote about his spectacular progress in Stehli's previous book, "Dancing in the Rain" describes his personal experience with autism. A bright, well-rounded young man, James appears to be very accepting and open-minded. I like the way he was avidly interested in the "American Girls" series and saw no reason not to learn knitting; it was a real skill he had and he found it a soothing activity.

I loved it when James said, "...when you see your child lining up cards, for example, don't punish him for perseverating...don't see it as acting strangely. See him as the architecht or draftsman he could become, designing the strongest buildings or drawing the straightest lines." James speaks to hope and potential. He also addresses the very real problem of the word "perseverate" in any tense. While many professionals and parents might find it a helpful "shorthand," it is really just a negative and destructive word. It is highly damning, judgmental and has hurt many and done far more harm than any good.

James, like Stehli's daughter, Georgiana Thomas is an author. Articulate and insightful, James focusses his chapter on the positive aspects of having autism. Georgiana Thomas has written "Overcoming Autism," about her personal experiences and at the time of this review, her book is currently available only on her web site. Her book, together with James' work, "The Self-Help Guide for Special Kids and Their Parents" deserve places of honor along with this book.

This is one of the most inspiring and uplifting books about autism that I have ever read. Hats off to the people who shared their stories and for the Rays of Hope they have beamed each reader's way. We need this book!

I wish I had know about this book years ago. It has all of the equations you need to know while working in a clinical lab. It is easy to understand. I recommend this book to all clinical lab folks.

I received the book I ordered quickly and in best codition, as promissed. I highly recommend this seller.

This book is an excellent guide covering the different aspects of Special Education. This is a basic starter textbook. It covers the laws that govern Special Education in the classroom. It touches on the referral and placement process. It briefly describes the different characteristics of the Exceptional child in Special Education.Behavior modification and collaboration are also discussed. Overall this is an excellent starter guide for the beginning student to get a feel for the field they have chosen to pursue.

This book is an excellent guide covering the different aspects of Special Education. This is a basic starter textbook. It covers the laws that govern Special Education in the classroom. It touches on the referral and placement process. It briefly describes the different characteristics of the Exceptional child in Special Education.Behavior modification and collaboration are also discussed. Overall this is an excellent starter guide for the beginning student to get a feel for the field they have chosen to pursue.

Kenneth Shore has created a work of art for those of us who aren't always teaching overachievers. Bravo to him and I am eager to find his next book on the shelves.

It boils down all of the information teachers need to get a handle on student problems and presents that information in a straightforward and intelligent manner. The book's format makes it an ideal hands-on reference. This is a must-have for all teachers at every level of experience.

This is a remarkably moving book with heartfelt revelations from families who have truly"been there". Anyone who has struggled with the issues of disability in their life will feel seen by this reading. Anyone who is friends of families with these challenges would be well advised to read this book and gain a deeper understanding of "how they do it" and the trials and triumphs within.

This review appeared previously in Christian Library Journal (March 1997).

Tom Sullivan is well-known as a special correspondent for ABC's Good Morning America, a sometimes actor, and the author of his autobiography, If You Could See What I Hear. He is also blind.

Fascinated with his mother's account of the chalenges of raising a special-needs kid, Sullivan interviewed 200 parents and selected six remarkable families of children with disabilities. Special Parent, Special Child shares the stories of how these parents overcame their personal tragedies and became nurturers of and advocates for their children. The families dealt with diverse circumstances: cerebral palsy, blindness, leukemia, deafness, attention deficit disorder, and Downs syndrome. The insights the parents offer about dealing with educational bureaucracies and medical personnel are valuable to anyone who loves a differently abled or seriously ill child.

Sullivan records several guideposts along each family's journey: their reactions to the initial dignosis (and the professionslas who made them); phases of denial and grief; impact on the family unit; how the parents learned to "work the system," becoming their child's advocate; dealing with the loss of personal identity; socialization; relationships with professionals; and sources of strength and hope. The parents candidly open their hearts, sometimes confessing attitudes of which they are not proud, but which other parents in the same situation would acknowledge as real. But best of all, in sharing their stories, they serve as role models for parents facing the same challenges. They demonstrate how to persevere for the sake of the child, how to search out better alternatives when what's offered isn't satisfactory.

Sullivan's style reads like a transcript of a television interview. It's sparked with banter between him and his subjects, and it's occasionally circuitous and redundant.

Andrea R. Huelsenbeck, freelance writer

I can't understand why this book is no longer in print. I bought it soon after I suffered a severe spinal cord injury. This book describes so many ways that someone with a SCI can remain active, from sailboating to downhill skiing, handcycling, flying a glider, traveling, mountain climbing, sex, etc, etc, etc... It also gives the current state of medical research in stem cell therapy. It gives phone numbers and web site addresses to the experts where you can get more information and the book itself is FULL of practical information (for example, what to do if you need to urinate during a long airplane flight). I've mentored other new SCI patients and loaned out my copy of this book and found this to be an indispensible resource. It answers basic questions that aren't covered by rehab therapists.

For consumers who have succeeded for decades in living with their disability, "Spinal Network" has earned its reputation as a survival reference; for those who are coping with disability as a new lifestyle, SN provides coping strategies as well as time-proven resources for becoming independent and living each day to the max; for professionals and the curious community, SN provides the most grounded and accurate portrait of active people who have declared their disability an asset. Having survived my disability for 35 years, I can say with confidence -- for everyone -- that SN is the "Best Disability Read" available anywhere! Buy it.

This is a brilliant book! It offers deep, critical insights into our commonly accepted ideas about human bodies and their effects on all of us. The book's constructive work on the Spirit and Hope are also unique and enticing. Worth reading more than once.

A stunning breath of fresh air for Christians, the world and especially those who find themselves "other bodied," including poets, mystics and holy fools! The Rev. Dr. Betcher, speaking from a pastor's heart, but with a scholars bite, has managed to gnaw open the spine (as in Frieda Kahlo's cover art) and reveal the deep wounds of our society which still staggers under the flawed, arrogant notion of perfection being goal and disability somehow being other and surely invisible. If you're ready to join wisdon's song for our time, this is a must read.

I am a mother to a six year old boy just diagnosed with Very mild aspergers syndrome in December 2007.This book was recommended to me by autismnotes.com forums. What the doctor didn't explain to me this book did. And it was explained in very easy terms to understand I found myself exclaiming "so that's why he does that!" over and over again, it's wonderful. If you are an educator or have a child with this disorder and have questions this book will help you find answers.

In keeping with the tradition of all books written by Dr. Myles or Jill Hudson, Starting Points is brilliant, easily understandable and absolutely practical. Asperger Syndrome is a complex multi-faceted disorder and it is difficult to grasp "What exactly IS it?" Or, as the title implies, "Where do I start?" Starting Points is exactly that: you can pick it up without even basic knowledge of AS and come away with a pretty firm grasp on the basics after reading this short book. Even if you have an advanced understanding of AS you will find much to love in this book because it boils it all down, again point by point so that you can be reminded, "Yes, THIS is Asperger Syndrome." (Which, by the way, as I now recall, is a title of another of Dr. Myles' books.) This book would be a wonderful gift for extended family who do not understand what all the hub bub is about and why your child behaves as he does, or the teacher who is nervously anticipating your child in his class (accompanied by Simple Strategies...again, YET ANOTHER, of Dr. Myles' books...yes, she is both a brilliant...and shockingly prolific writer). It would be a compassionate gift to give to a parent of a child newly diagnosed if they are, for example, too overwhelmed to delve into a longer book on AS (such as my own ;-) Better yet, read it yourself first! In any case, it is wonderfully written and I highly recommend it.

Other useful titles from Dr. Brenda Smith Myles
Simple Strategies That Work! Helpful Hints for All Educators of Students With Asperger Syndrome, High-Functioning Autism, and Related Disabilities

The Comprehensive Autism Planning System [CAPS] for Individuals with Asperger Syndrome, Autism, and Related Disabilities

Other wonderful books by Jill Hudson
Out and About: Preparing Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders to Participate in Their Communities
Prescription for Success: Supporting Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders in the Medical Environment


Kristi Sakai, parent of 3 children with AS and author of:

Finding Our Way: Practical Solutions for Creating a Supportive Home and Community for the Asperger Syndrome Family

What a great resource! After reviewing it, I bought several more to give to my son's regular ed and special ed teachers. This condenses so much useful information and I know it will help the teachers work more successfully with children with autism. Thank you to the authors!!!

This unique book is color coded with specific tips and ideas for students on the autism spectrum in regard to transitions, field trips, general education and special education, assemblies, how to prepare ahead of time for fire drills, hints for riding the bus, how to communicate with home on a daily basis and transitions for when there is a substitute teacher or another aide.

There are visuals to help guide the professional. This is a handy reference tool for the novice as well as other professionals that work with the autism population.

At this great price it is perfect to get for teachers and paraeducators for new school year gifts while the parents can read over the summer break to get it all figured out, especially the transitions if moving onto middle school from elementary school.

I learned a lot for my son who will be riding the school bus for the first time come the fall and guidelines for assemblies and fire drills.