Disability-and-Health Books

The reality of the abuse of the ADA by our Federal Circuit Courts as it pertains to persons with documented grave mental conditions is finally brought to light in this well-written book by Susan Stefan. To think that a mentally ill worker has to prove that he is disabled (severely) but can do the job with little or no accommodations and is totally mitigated by medications to the point of being non-disabled is absolute foolishness by the current Federal Circuits. They claim to be under the responsibility of judging litigation on a case by case basis, yet have continued to make qualified mentally ill workers dance on prongs so small that Tinkerbell would surely fall! Ms Stefan SHOWS the disparity demonstrated by the Circuit Courts when dealing with mental disabilities and highlights the absolute redundancies in case law when dealing with bipolar illness or any other mental disability. The 5TH Circuit will soon get a case that they will be FORCED to be just...fair and equal under our laws...as my personal situation exceeds their favorite word "egregious". Let's all hope that the spirit of the ADA does not get trashed in political correctness and absurd logic...and the 5TH Circuit shows guts in recognizing the obvious fact that mental illness is equal to physical illness in disabling an individual in the work place. That the mentally ill need not be forced to endure harassment and disparate treatment at the workplace and employers are given a clear mandate to treat the mentally ill fairly and equally at the workplace. Jeffrey S. Philo, Brownsville, TX

Perskes book was given to me after the birth of my
son who experiences Down Syndrome. It has been a source
of hope and inspiration even ten years later. This is a book
that should be passed out to parents and professionals
of special needs children, and required reading for anyone
going into a teaching or health related field where they will
have the pleasure of working with differently abled
people.

,Soc. Sci. Med. Vol. 47. No. 12. pp2139-21471998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved Printed in Great Britain 0277-

I Can't Remember: Family Stories of Alzheimer's Disease, edited by Esther Strauss Smoller. Temple University Press, Philadelphia, PA, 1994. 134 pp. $24.95 (cloth).

The power of photography is revealed in this book of 4 photo essays about families who suffer from Alzheimer's Disease (AD). As the author makes clear in pictures and narrative. it is families and not just the Alzheimer's victim who experience the anxiety, fear, denial, uncertainty, pain and myriad losses that go hand-in-hand with AD. Smoller. a psychotherapist turned photographer. takes us into the lives of Lillian, her mother-in-law; Jim who has early onset AD; Sherry, Jim's wife and Jean, caregiver for her mother Louise. The four stories, told in the first person, provide narratives of the health problem; AD in a family fraught with discord; AD in a fairly young, large, active family who were able to live reasonably comfortably with Jim's AD; and AD in a family of two, mother and daughter, who counted their long-time good friends, another mother with AD/daughter combination, as family. In spite of the marital problems of Lillian and her husband and the un-camouflaged stress and strain of the other families. the story line of family love, dedication and devotion predominates. As good photo journalism should be able to do. the photos and the narrative can stand alone. each revealing a perspective on AD. The stories and photos form a mosaic and as a whole provide a clear and accurate view of AD and its effects on victims and their families. Particularly poignant are the words of Lillian and Jim, AD victims, as they struggle with the pain of losing their minds. It is rare that the victims themselves have a voice. Smoller invites us to see and feel both the victims' and the caregivers' pain and love. This book. whose proceeds go to the St. Louis Chapter of the Alzheimer's Association, should be appreciated by professionals and families alike. The sights and sounds of AD speak to all of us.

University Of Florida College Of Nursing 653 West 8th Street Jacksonville FL 32209 USA PII: S0277-9536{98)00227-5

Sally Hutchinson

Temple University Press

This book is a great resource for speech language pathologists who serve students with Down Syndrome. As a professional new to the field of speech language pathology, I found myself serving two students with Down Syndrome in the elementary school setting and making decisions about their communication. Jon Miller's book explains old theories about Down Syndrome, and introduces new research findings in an easy-to-read format. It covers speech intelligibility and language comprehension and production patterns.

If you are a speech language pathologist who does not know a lot about Down Syndrome, this is the book to help you learn about it and how you can approach speech therapy with this population. It has greatly influenced my decisions regarding the overall communication abilities and potential in my students.

I really understood the explanations about insurance, some for
the first time in my life.....Everyone should have it for a
quick insurance reference guide.

For persons with handicaps, the term integration has taken more and more complex meanings over the past decade. Understanding current integration practices is fundamental to training in special education; actually having the tools to implement integration is even more important.

This book, the first integration text focusing on teaching strategies, describes pupils, settings, materials, procedures, evaluation, design, and practical techniques for successful integrating individuals with handicaps into school, work, and community settings.

Special features of this valuable text include study questions for each chapter, illustrative case studies, educational models and specific strategies, integration tools for preschool education through vocational training, individual coverage of specific disabilities, exploration of the controversial regular education initiativee (REI) movement, new roles for computers and technology in special education, and a parent's perspective on integration. -- from book's back cover

EXCELLENT book!!!! A good book for those going into the social service field!!!! Easily understood. Gives good examples!!!!

There are so many whiners and complainers in this world and unfortunately they are the ones given promotional time. But that is this world. Joni serves as a true model of what it means to have faith in God through Christ and overcome even the harshest of obstacles without even a whimper. This book should grace every household with a young adult or child.

This is a great book! Second-grader Cindy held a view most kids and even adults hold--children who are slow learners in school are retarded. After calling Ashley a name, Cindy is invited to spend a few days in Ashley's classroom, a classroom for special needs children. There Cindy learns that kids who can't add as fast as she can aren't necessarily retarded (Ashley has a learning disability.) The book also mentions Autism, Down's Syndrome, and ADHD, with easy to understand definitions and real-life pictures. Truly a great book to read.

Any parent of a child diagnosed with a language disorder who needs to generate or review an IEP for their school program would find this book required reading.
This has been my primary source for information on nonverbal language disorder, NLD.