Miracle Run
Cover image courtesy of Berkley Books
By Corrine Morgan-Thomas with Gary Prozek; 325 pages. Subtitle: Watching My Autistic Sons Grow Up -- and Take Their First Steps Into Adulthood
Bottom Line: If you saw the Lifetime TV movie of the same name from a few years back, starring a pre-High School Musical Zac Efron as an autistic runner and Mary-Louise Parker as his mom, you know the basic outlines of the story told in this book. As is usually the case with real life, though, the full story is more complex and messy than the made-for-TV version. You'll find plenty of inspiration in it all the same, though, and maybe all the more.
Bottom Line: If you saw the Lifetime TV movie of the same name from a few years back, starring a pre-High School Musical Zac Efron as an autistic runner and Mary-Louise Parker as his mom, you know the basic outlines of the story told in this book. As is usually the case with real life, though, the full story is more complex and messy than the made-for-TV version. You'll find plenty of inspiration in it all the same, though, and maybe all the more.
The Mislabeled Child
Cover image courtesy of Brock Eide, M.D., M.A.
By Brock Eide, MD, MA, and Fernette Eide, MD; 510 pages. Subtitle: How Understanding Your Child's Unique Learning Style Can Open the Door to Success.
Bottom Line: The authors, founders of the Eide Neurolearning Clinic, have seen plenty of children who have received diagnoses of ADHD, autism, and mental illness -- and discovered that in some cases, the real problem was a learning or language disability. They share their expertise here with parents, at great length and maybe excessive detail. But if you've worried that professionals just don't quite get your kid, this could be a lifeline.
Bottom Line: The authors, founders of the Eide Neurolearning Clinic, have seen plenty of children who have received diagnoses of ADHD, autism, and mental illness -- and discovered that in some cases, the real problem was a learning or language disability. They share their expertise here with parents, at great length and maybe excessive detail. But if you've worried that professionals just don't quite get your kid, this could be a lifeline.
Mixed Signals
Cover image courtesy of Woodbine House
By Mary Lashno, OT; 198 pages. Subtitle: Understanding and Treating Your Child's Sensory Processing Issues
Bottom Line: If you've ever wondered why occupational therapists do what they do, you'll enjoy reading all the secrets shared here by the OT author. Of course, you'd never know by the cover copy that this is what the book's going to be about -- or that it focuses on kids with sensory integration as part of an autism spectrum disorder. Misperceptions aside, it's worth adding to your SI library.
More Than a Mom
Cover image courtesy of Amy Baskin and Heather Fawcett
By Amy Baskin and Heather Fawcett; 487 pages. Subtitle: Living a Full and Balanced Life When Your Child Has Special Needs.
Bottom Line: Hurray for a book that makes special-needs parenting sound like something you can survive, even thrive with! Informed by a survey of over 500 moms who shared their worries, joys, tips and tricks, this book offers practical advice on topics as far-thinking as securing your child's financial future and as right-now as finding a good babysitter.
Bottom Line: Hurray for a book that makes special-needs parenting sound like something you can survive, even thrive with! Informed by a survey of over 500 moms who shared their worries, joys, tips and tricks, this book offers practical advice on topics as far-thinking as securing your child's financial future and as right-now as finding a good babysitter.
Mosaic of Thought
Cover image courtesy of PriceGrabber
By Ellin Oliver Keene and Susan Zimmermann; 255 pages. From the Book Cover: "How do students become thoughtful, independent readers who deeply understand what they read?"
Bottom Line: Wondering why your child's reading textbook is suddenly full of exercises asking kids to relate stories to their own experience? It's probably using the research outlined in this book, which examines strategies used by successful readers. Though meant for teachers, it's accessible to parents and actually pretty enjoyable.
Bottom Line: Wondering why your child's reading textbook is suddenly full of exercises asking kids to relate stories to their own experience? It's probably using the research outlined in this book, which examines strategies used by successful readers. Though meant for teachers, it's accessible to parents and actually pretty enjoyable.
My Kind of Sad: What It's Like to Be Young and Depressed
Cover image courtesy of Firefly Books
By Kate Scowen, art by Jeff Szuc; 168 pages. From the Book Cover: "No book can give you a quick fix for depression. But this one can help you understand that it is possible to get through it."
Bottom Line: It's depressing to think that kids need a book on depression, but there are plenty of sad statistics to show that it's so. Whether you're concerned about your child, or your child is concerned about a friend, this accessible little volume may be just the thing to get a conversation going.
Bottom Line: It's depressing to think that kids need a book on depression, but there are plenty of sad statistics to show that it's so. Whether you're concerned about your child, or your child is concerned about a friend, this accessible little volume may be just the thing to get a conversation going.
The Mystery of Risk
Cover image courtesy of NTI Upstream
By Ira J. Chasnoff, MD; 279 pages. Subtitle: Drugs, Alcohol, Pregnancy, and the Vulnerable Child
Bottom Line: If you're the parent of a child with prenatal alcohol exposure and you're looking to increase your understanding and your skill at behavior management, you'll find plenty of good material here. Unfortunately, you'll have to slog through a lot of the same old sad stories to get to it.
Bottom Line: If you're the parent of a child with prenatal alcohol exposure and you're looking to increase your understanding and your skill at behavior management, you'll find plenty of good material here. Unfortunately, you'll have to slog through a lot of the same old sad stories to get to it.
The Myth of the A.D.D. Child
Cover image courtesy of PriceGrabber
By Thomas Armstrong, Ph.D.; 305 pages. Subtitle: 50 Ways to Improve Your Child's Behavior and Attention Span Without Drugs, Labels, or Coercion."
Bottom Line: That title just seems designed to provoke, doesn't it? There are plenty of families for whom ADD is anything but a myth. As for drugs and labels, they do seem to work for many children, as a route to succeeding in school and receiving needed services. If you can overlook the title and some of the theory here, though, the 50 ways work pretty well, too.
Bottom Line: That title just seems designed to provoke, doesn't it? There are plenty of families for whom ADD is anything but a myth. As for drugs and labels, they do seem to work for many children, as a route to succeeding in school and receiving needed services. If you can overlook the title and some of the theory here, though, the 50 ways work pretty well, too.
Next Chapter Book Club
Cover image courtesy of Woodbine House
By Tom Fish & Paula Rabidoux, with Jillian Ober & Vicki L.W. Graff; 200 pages. Subtitle: A Model Community Literacy Program for People With Intellectual Disabilities
Bottom Line: Finding ways to learn and participate in the community after leaving school can be hard for adults with intellectual disabilities. Next Chapter Book Clubs offer a great opportunity to do both and have fun, and this book is a complete guide to understanding, starting, and facilitating these weekly get-togethers. It's a great idea, though one parents may have to find someone else to manage.
Bottom Line: Finding ways to learn and participate in the community after leaving school can be hard for adults with intellectual disabilities. Next Chapter Book Clubs offer a great opportunity to do both and have fun, and this book is a complete guide to understanding, starting, and facilitating these weekly get-togethers. It's a great idea, though one parents may have to find someone else to manage.
Not Even Wrong: Adventures in Autism
Cover image courtesy of Bloomsbury USA
By Paul Collins; 245 pages. From the Book Jacket: "A haunting journey into the borderlands of neurology -- a meditation on what 'normal' is, and how human genius comes to us in strange and wonderful forms."
Bottom Line: Collins is the father of a child with autism, but this isn't a standard diagnosis-struggle-triumph memoir. Interspersed with scenes of his son, Morgan, is the author's research on autistic figures from the past, especially an 18th-century "wild boy." It's a fascinating mix of relatability and research.
Bottom Line: Collins is the father of a child with autism, but this isn't a standard diagnosis-struggle-triumph memoir. Interspersed with scenes of his son, Morgan, is the author's research on autistic figures from the past, especially an 18th-century "wild boy." It's a fascinating mix of relatability and research.
Now What Do We Do?: How to Manage Your Child's Critical Medical Needs
Cover image courtesy of the Sladek/Ruffman Publishing Company
By Jill V. Ruffman, PhD, and Marjorie B. Sladek, MBA, PMP; 158 pages. Subtitle: A Guided Journal for Parents and Child Advocates.
Bottom Line: Don't let the word "journal" put you off. This handy spiral-bound book is less about sharing your feelings -- although there's room for that -- than about asking questions of medical professionals, recording their answers, and working your way through the process of learning and preparing and advocating. You'll never forget a question or an answer again.
Bottom Line: Don't let the word "journal" put you off. This handy spiral-bound book is less about sharing your feelings -- although there's room for that -- than about asking questions of medical professionals, recording their answers, and working your way through the process of learning and preparing and advocating. You'll never forget a question or an answer again.
