Use this alphabetical index to find books that have been reviewed for the Harried Parent's Book Club.
A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J-L | M-N | O | P-Q | R | S | T | U-V | W-Z
The Facts of Life ... and More
Cover image courtesy of Brookes Publishing Company
By Leslie Walker-Hirsch; 298 pages. Subtitle: Sexuality and Intimacy for People With Intellectual Disabilities.
Bottom Line: What sort of life do you see for your child with intellectual disabilities? If it involves lifelong chastity and childishness, the authors of the essays in this book want you to know that you're probably dreaming. They argue -- on behalf of people with disabilities, and against well-meaning families and staff who think otherwise -- that sexuality is a part of life that should not be denied, and that denial will be circumvented in dangerous ways.
Bottom Line: What sort of life do you see for your child with intellectual disabilities? If it involves lifelong chastity and childishness, the authors of the essays in this book want you to know that you're probably dreaming. They argue -- on behalf of people with disabilities, and against well-meaning families and staff who think otherwise -- that sexuality is a part of life that should not be denied, and that denial will be circumvented in dangerous ways.
Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, Fetal Alcohol Effects
Cover image courtesy of PriceGrabber
By Diane Malbin, MSW; 43 pages. Subtitle: Strategies for Professionals.
Bottom Line: Don't let the subtitle fool you -- this booklet may have been written for chemical dependency professionals, but it's a topnotch resource for parents as well. Short, cheap and easy to read, it goes beyond a basic description of FAS to provide useful ways of thinking about and dealing with its challenges. Amazing how such a slim volume makes so much sense out of such a confounding disorder.
Bottom Line: Don't let the subtitle fool you -- this booklet may have been written for chemical dependency professionals, but it's a topnotch resource for parents as well. Short, cheap and easy to read, it goes beyond a basic description of FAS to provide useful ways of thinking about and dealing with its challenges. Amazing how such a slim volume makes so much sense out of such a confounding disorder.
Finding Perspective: Raising Successful Children Affected by FASD
Cover image courtesy of Liz Lawryk
By Liz Lawryk; 238 pages. Subtitle: A Parent's Guide to Creating Prevention Strategies and Intervention Techniques Using the OBD (Organic Brain Dysfunction) 3 Step Plan of Action.
Bottom Line: With so many sad, downbeat, hopeless books about parenting children with fetal alcohol exposure on the shelves, any volume that remains upbeat and provides a useful course of action gets a thumbs-up from me. The three-step plan is pretty good advice for other behavioral challenges, too.
Bottom Line: With so many sad, downbeat, hopeless books about parenting children with fetal alcohol exposure on the shelves, any volume that remains upbeat and provides a useful course of action gets a thumbs-up from me. The three-step plan is pretty good advice for other behavioral challenges, too.
The Floppy Sleep Game Book
Cover image courtesy of Patti Teel
By Patti Teel; 305 pages. Subtitle: A Proven 4-Week Plan to Get Your Child to Sleep.
Bottom Line: When your child can't sleep, it's hard on your child and hard on you. You don't want to refuse all help and support, but you also don't want to constantly respond to the pitter-patter of little feet tripping down the hall. This four-week plan will give you something constructive to do about the problem.
Bottom Line: When your child can't sleep, it's hard on your child and hard on you. You don't want to refuse all help and support, but you also don't want to constantly respond to the pitter-patter of little feet tripping down the hall. This four-week plan will give you something constructive to do about the problem.
Forced Exit
Cover image courtesy of Random House
By Wesley J. Smith; 291 pages. Subtitle: The Slippery Slope from Assisted Suicide to Legalized Murder.
Bottom Line: Those advocating euthanasia promote it as a way to help someone who no longer wishes to live find release -- but does that help ever come in the form of a push? Wesley Smith presents disturbing evidence that what may start out as a humanitarian impulse can quickly turn into survival of the fittest.
Bottom Line: Those advocating euthanasia promote it as a way to help someone who no longer wishes to live find release -- but does that help ever come in the form of a push? Wesley Smith presents disturbing evidence that what may start out as a humanitarian impulse can quickly turn into survival of the fittest.
For the Love of Rachel
Cover image courtesy of David Loewenstein
By David Loewenstein, PhD; 157 pages. Subtitle: A Father's Story.
Bottom Line: There are special-needs memoirs that specialize in endless detail, or black humor, or grief-tinged reflection, or fervent fact-finding. This isn't one of those. It's just a simple telling of one family's experience with premature birth, early health struggles, and long-term perseverance. If you're inspired by stories of how other families have handled their challenges, this book offers one in a quick-reading, heartfelt, and straightforward format.
Bottom Line: There are special-needs memoirs that specialize in endless detail, or black humor, or grief-tinged reflection, or fervent fact-finding. This isn't one of those. It's just a simple telling of one family's experience with premature birth, early health struggles, and long-term perseverance. If you're inspired by stories of how other families have handled their challenges, this book offers one in a quick-reading, heartfelt, and straightforward format.
Freaks, Geeks and Asperger Syndrome: A User Guide to Adolescence
Cover image courtesy of Jessica Kingsley Publishers
By Luke Jackson; 275 pages. From the Book Cover: "To those of you who feel that you don't belong, always remember that different is cool!"
Bottom Line: Temple Grandin and others have written eloquently about what it's like to grow up on the autism spectrum, but they've generally written from the perspective of a grown-up. Here's an account from a kid right in the thick of it, an adolescent with Asperger's who wants parents to know what it feels like, and other kids to know they're not the only ones who feel that way.
Bottom Line: Temple Grandin and others have written eloquently about what it's like to grow up on the autism spectrum, but they've generally written from the perspective of a grown-up. Here's an account from a kid right in the thick of it, an adolescent with Asperger's who wants parents to know what it feels like, and other kids to know they're not the only ones who feel that way.
Freedom From Meltdowns
By Travis Thompson, Ph.D.; 284 pages. Subtitle: Dr. Thompson's Solutions for Children With Autism.Bottom Line: Stopping your child from having a meltdown may seem about as likely as stopping a volcano from erupting, but Dr. Thompson, author of Dr. Thompson's Straight Talk on Autism, argues that it's possible if you figure out what triggers the tantrum and remove that from your child's environment and experience. That may involve anything from a change in routine to a change in decor, but if it decreases the flow of molten lava through your family life, it's certainly worth the trouble.
Freeing Your Child From Anxiety
Cover image courtesy of Random House
By Tamar E. Chansky, Ph.D.; 308 pages. Subtitle: Powerful, Practical Solutions to Overcome Your Child's Fears, Worries, and Phobias.
Bottom Line: It's natural for parents to worry about their kids. But when the kids are worrying more than the parents, that's cause for real concern. Stress is becoming more and more of a problem for our overworked, overbooked kids. When does stress become anxiety, and anxiety become a disorder? This book can help you figure that out, and give you an idea of what to do next.
Bottom Line: It's natural for parents to worry about their kids. But when the kids are worrying more than the parents, that's cause for real concern. Stress is becoming more and more of a problem for our overworked, overbooked kids. When does stress become anxiety, and anxiety become a disorder? This book can help you figure that out, and give you an idea of what to do next.
Freeing Your Child From Negative Thinking
Cover image courtesy of Da Capo Press
By Tamar E. Chansky, Ph.D.; 321 pages. Subtitle: Powerful, Practical Strategies to Build a Lifetime of Resilience, Flexibility, and Happiness.
Bottom Line: According to this friendly guide from a child psychologist, it's not negative thoughts that are the problem for some kids so much as the scope of those thoughts -- they believe every failure means they'll never succeed, every rejection means they'll never have another friend, every hard day means they're doomed to despair for eternity. Chansky offers specific exercises to get that bad voice to quiet down, and make your family life upbeat, too.
Bottom Line: According to this friendly guide from a child psychologist, it's not negative thoughts that are the problem for some kids so much as the scope of those thoughts -- they believe every failure means they'll never succeed, every rejection means they'll never have another friend, every hard day means they're doomed to despair for eternity. Chansky offers specific exercises to get that bad voice to quiet down, and make your family life upbeat, too.
