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
Helping Children With Complex Needs Bounce Back
Cover image courtesy of Jessica Kingsley Publishers
By Kim Aumann and Angie Hart; 223 pages. Subtitle: Resilient Therapy™ for Parents and Professionals.
Bottom Line: What makes a child resilient? How can we help our challenged children find a happy life, and maybe grab a little bit of that for ourselves? Resilient Therapy™ seeks to identify the elements that lead to resiliency in children and adults, and teach parents how to pass those on. For those stuck in despair, it's a cheerful helping hand; but if you've been adjusting to your child's challenges all along, it may serve as nothing more than an encouraging pat on the back.
Helping Teens Who Cut
Cover image courtesy of The Guilford Press
By Michael Hollander, PhD; 213 pages. Subtitle: Understanding and Ending Self-Injury.
Bottom Line: Teens who cut, burn, pick, or otherwise harm themselves are a source of concern, distress, and bafflement to their parents. Hollander, a psychotherapist who specializes in helping self-injuring adolescents, offers moms and dads a clue on why their kid does that, a therapy that can make it stop, and suggestions on how to parent in the meantime.
Bottom Line: Teens who cut, burn, pick, or otherwise harm themselves are a source of concern, distress, and bafflement to their parents. Hollander, a psychotherapist who specializes in helping self-injuring adolescents, offers moms and dads a clue on why their kid does that, a therapy that can make it stop, and suggestions on how to parent in the meantime.
The Hidden Gifts of the Introverted Child
Cover image courtesy of Workman Publishing
By Marti Olsen Laney; 302 pages. Subtitle: Helping Your Child Thrive in an Extroverted World.
Bottom Line: In a world where kids are supposed to be quick on the pick-up, over-involved, easily verbal and friend-heavy, a child who's deliberate, thoughtful, slow to warm up and quick to shut down can seem at serious risk. Is your quiet child anxiety-disordered, attention-defective, communication-impaired? Or is she just an introvert who's perfectly happy to be social and attentive, on her own careful terms? Hidden Gifts can help you see what's really going on, and value your child's unique personality.
Bottom Line: In a world where kids are supposed to be quick on the pick-up, over-involved, easily verbal and friend-heavy, a child who's deliberate, thoughtful, slow to warm up and quick to shut down can seem at serious risk. Is your quiet child anxiety-disordered, attention-defective, communication-impaired? Or is she just an introvert who's perfectly happy to be social and attentive, on her own careful terms? Hidden Gifts can help you see what's really going on, and value your child's unique personality.
Hope for the Autism Spectrum
Cover image courtesy of Jessica Kingsley Publishers
By Sally Kirk; 431 pages. Subtitle: A Mother and Son Journey of Insight and Biomedical Intervention.
Bottom Line: For those who are curious about or committed to biomedical interventions for kids on the autism spectrum, this book will serve as a sympathetic, accessible guide to the research behind it, the rationales for it, and the routines parents must adapt to make it work. Some parents will be empowered by the ability to take their children's health into their own hands -- but readers with other theories about autism may be horrified instead.
Bottom Line: For those who are curious about or committed to biomedical interventions for kids on the autism spectrum, this book will serve as a sympathetic, accessible guide to the research behind it, the rationales for it, and the routines parents must adapt to make it work. Some parents will be empowered by the ability to take their children's health into their own hands -- but readers with other theories about autism may be horrified instead.
How to Manage Your Child's Life-Threatening Food Allergies
Cover image courtesy of Plumtree Press
By Linda Marienhoff Coss; 208 pages. Subtitle: Practical Tips for Everyday Life.
Bottom Line: Doctors and other professionals are good for a lot of things, but experienced parents are the real experts when it comes to getting you through the nitty-gritty of your days with a food-allergic child. That practical wisdom fills this book, offering perspectives that can only be gained by living with caution 24/7. It may be overwhelming to realize how protective you really have to be, but Coss and the parents she quotes have been there, and do a lot to light the way.
Bottom Line: Doctors and other professionals are good for a lot of things, but experienced parents are the real experts when it comes to getting you through the nitty-gritty of your days with a food-allergic child. That practical wisdom fills this book, offering perspectives that can only be gained by living with caution 24/7. It may be overwhelming to realize how protective you really have to be, but Coss and the parents she quotes have been there, and do a lot to light the way.
How Well Does Your IEP Measure Up?
Cover image courtesy of Starfish Specialty Press
By Diane Twachtman-Cullen and Jennifer Twachtman-Reilly; 250 pages. From the Book Cover: "A step-by-step guide to help parents, educators, and clinicians get the right education plan/program in place from the outset, thereby avoiding the need for legal action."
Bottom Line: Don't be deceived by the title: This is not, sadly, a book about evaluating an existing IEP. It's about creating an IEP that measures up -- that is, has measurable goals. If you're past that point this year, start studying up for next time.
Bottom Line: Don't be deceived by the title: This is not, sadly, a book about evaluating an existing IEP. It's about creating an IEP that measures up -- that is, has measurable goals. If you're past that point this year, start studying up for next time.
Hurry Down Sunshine
Cover image courtesy of Other Press
By Michael Greenberg; 234 pages. From the Book Flap: "Hurry Down Sunshine tells the story of the extraordinary summer when, at the age of 15, Michael Greenberg's daughter was struck mad."
Bottom Line: The line past which creativity and brilliance and energy become mania and psychosis and a danger to others is the one that Sally crosses one summer day, sending her to a psychiatric hospital and her family into a dark period of doubt and fear and second-guessing. It's a good illustration of the fact that anyone can become a special-needs parent, in a flash.
Bottom Line: The line past which creativity and brilliance and energy become mania and psychosis and a danger to others is the one that Sally crosses one summer day, sending her to a psychiatric hospital and her family into a dark period of doubt and fear and second-guessing. It's a good illustration of the fact that anyone can become a special-needs parent, in a flash.
