Disability-and-Health Books

When Julian Orchard was born in late 1976, more knowledge about autism was available. What makes this book so distinct is that it is the first book that I know of to focus on autism resources in Canada and of one family's efforts in Canada to help their son who had autism.

In addition to having autism, Julian was developmentally delayed; his language skills lagged and he engaged in self injurius behaviors (SIB). He was taken to specialists from infancy and one doctor, believing that the boy's family would never read the records she kept described him and his sister, 5 years his senior in very racist terms.

Julian made progress in the special classes he attended and the ancillary activities, such as the special olympics and the summer camps and baseball teams he participated in. Sadly, his speech remained echolalic and once he reached puberty, he became violent. He referred to himself in the third person; threatened to kill various members of the family and was put on medications. In 1993, Julian had a bad reaction to the medications he was taking. He suffered neck spasms and somatic pains; he became more and more violent. After one especially alarming attack, the boy had to be committed. To top off this family's challenges, daughter Polly was diagnosed with Hodgkins in 1995. One wonders how Polly is and if she made a full recovery as this was never stated in the book.

After years of searching for appropriate placements, the Orchards were directed to Dr. Joseph Huggins. A bright, progressive man, Dr. Huggins worked tirelessly on Julian's behalf. He worked with the family instead of denying them access to information; obtained their permission to write about Julian's reaction to the pharmaceutical cocktail he had been prescribed and took a personal interest in Julian and never once talked down to him. Dr. Huggins, through time, dedication and effort was able to prescribe medication and adjust it (which other doctors were loath to do, insisting that they were right when it was obvious Julian was having adverse reactions) based on Julian's needs.

Over time, Julian was able to graduate from his special needs program and obtain jobs in the community. Photographs show how Julian evolved from a cute, Beatle-coiffed boy and Beatle mopped (Lennon Look) teen into a very nice looking man who appears to be at home in his world and of the limitations he has to work from.

This is an excellent book that also provides a history of care and treatment of people with a myriad of special needs in Canada and the growing need for these resources.

This book goes hand in hand with "Spinning Straw: The Jeff Apple Story," a book about another young man with autism; severe developmental lags and a history of SIBs. These two books (interestingly, the two young men have linked or similar themed surnames) go well together, like Lennon & McCartney.

Thelma Wheatley clearly describes the heartache and terrors of raising a child with special needs : Julian's was autism. Her son became a worry as a toddler and an uncontrollable teen. My Sad Is All Gone documents how Thelma and her family fought the medical system of her area in Ontario, Canada, which pushed to put Julian into an institution. They struggled to get placement in proper schools and therapy for him. Thelma Wheatley did much research and home schooled Julian for much of the time.
Exhausting as this caring route was, the Wheatleys did finally meet Dr. Joseph Huggins in Toronto. Gradually, the best medications and routine for Julian were found. After nearly 20 years of determined searching, their son now works contentedly and shares happy family times again.
This book will inspire other parents, family members and friends to continue to seek answers for ways to improve the life of their special needs child - whatever each one's handicap or disease may be. New solutions are a great reward for all.
Read this book, then follow Thelma Wheatley's steps and be a winner in your child's life.

Bernice Lever

This book inspires me some ideas for activity design. The group procedure described inside also provides me a more fluent and efficient teatment session.

This book inspires me some ideas for activity design. The group procedure described inside also provides me a more fluent and efficient teatment session.

This is a great book for teens that have spina bifida or their sibs. It explains things that can be confusing.

I recommend this book not only for teens, but parents, because it explains spina bifida in very easy to understand terms, and can help parents of younger kids think about things they can do now to help their children grow into independent adults.

This book has been used by families throughout the world for a number of years. It provides helpful educational activities that can be performed by parents to aid their child's development. A classic in the field.

This book comes highly recommended, and in fact provides a comprehensive curriculum for children age 0 - 24 months with DS with much helpful advice. However, the format is difficult to follow -- with a list of several unstructured activities at the beginning of each area and followed by a list of structured activities to help children reach goals, it seems like life is nothing but therapy! I recommend that if readers use this resource that they couple it with a good resource on play or activity based intervention, especially if you are a professional. Parents would probably do better with the Woodbine series (Fine, Gross, and Communication Skills for Children with Down Syndrome).

This book removes the clichés and media distortions about ADHD and the use of Ritalin. Dr Shaya (et al) carefully annotates every fact with the source of that fact. As a parent of an ADHD teenager, this book has provided me with a strategy to manage the ADHD situation.

If your child is "diagnosed" as AD(H)D, chances are someone is going to encourage you to consider Ritalin. You can dig in your heels and say, "Absolutely not! I would never DRUG my child." OR you can become informed about the nature of the condition knows as AD(H)D, its possible short-term and long-range effects, the pros and cons of Ritalin, and other approaches to treatment, and you can then make an informed decision about what your child needs. If you choose "OR," then this book is for you. The title of this book is a bit of a misnomer, because it is more about ADHD and its treatment than it is exclusively about Ritalin. The authors express the opinion, more than once, that the most effective approach to treating ADHD is a combination that includes drug therapy, education and counseling (for affected individuals and their families), and educational support. Two of the strengths of this book are that it is written by a team that includes an MD and a psychologist, and that it is comprehensive. A minor criticism: I wished for more detail in the section on psychotherapy. Additionally, fuller case studies, rather than short case examples, would have been helpful. All in all, as the mother of a child newly diagnosed as ADD, I was grateful for the sane and balanced approach of this book.

This book is very helpful as a special education teacher. It follows along with the push for research based best practices and response to intervention.

This book was developed from the proceedings of the first major professional symposium of aging with a spinal cord injury (held in Denver in 1991). The content is very comprehensive and focuses on different body systems and how normal aging of these systems effects the person with SCI, and how SCI may modify the aging process. While this book was published a number of years ago, it contains most of the research to date, and is based on collaborative data from major SCI centers in both the USA and England. While heavily focused on the medical model, it can be a valuable resource for both professionals working with people with SCI as well as those with SCI and their families.

This book helped me to understand my situation better. I had been assigned to write about Alcoholism and it's effects on families in my English Comp. I class. As a coincidence, my uncle is an alcoholic. I got this book and not only did it help me with my paper but it made me understand that my uncle can't help what has happened to him. He is chemically dependant on it. He had become dependant on the alcohol to deal with everyday situations and interactions. I would recomend this book to anybody who knows or once knew an alcoholic. It will make you want to go and give them a hug, and reassure them.

This is a must resource for people dealing with individuals with disabilities and computers. It is the Definitive manual to help individuals with disabilities find the most appropriate way to access a computer.

I think it is CRUCIAL and paramount for people to know what their "undefined differences" are that are causing them problems, e.g. social difficulties. I can think of nothing more cruel and counterproductive than to withhold diagnoses and direct requests for information from a person. It always seemed so stupid to keep vital parts of a person's life from them and does not appear to have served anyone well.

There is no one answer. Adolescence is a time of identity quest and for those on the autism/Asperger's (a/A) spectrum, it is an act of kindness and honesty for them to know if they have Asperger's. It is up to the individual to decide whether or not they want to disclose that information with others. As for professionals who are in direct contact with adolescents on the spectrum, I think they are the ones who most need to look beyond the label.