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
101 Reasons to Avoid Ritalin Like the Plague
Cover image courtesy of Howard Glasser
By Howard Glasser; 203 pages. Subtitle: Including 1 Great Reason Why It's Almost Always Unnecessary.
Bottom Line: If you're enraged when people compare giving a hyperactive child Ritalin to giving a diabetic child insulin, you'll probably enjoy the heck out of this book. If you're one of folks who makes that comparison and believes it, this book will likely enrage you. It's propaganda, pure and simple: but with so much pro-Ritalin propaganda filling TV and magazine ads, I'm willing to welcome some anti-.
Bottom Line: If you're enraged when people compare giving a hyperactive child Ritalin to giving a diabetic child insulin, you'll probably enjoy the heck out of this book. If you're one of folks who makes that comparison and believes it, this book will likely enrage you. It's propaganda, pure and simple: but with so much pro-Ritalin propaganda filling TV and magazine ads, I'm willing to welcome some anti-.
On Their Own
Cover image courtesy of Newmarket Press
By Anne Ford with John-Richard Thompson; 301 pages. Subtitle: Creating an Independent Future for Your Adult Child With Learning Disabilities and ADHD.
Bottom Line: Think learning disabilities stop when your child finally makes it out of school? Think again. Anne Ford, who first shared her daughter's story in the book Laughing Allegra, follows her into adulthood now with a look at the way problems with organization, focus and social skills just go on and on and on. Fortunately, parents can help -- once the kids are adults, and before they get there.
Bottom Line: Think learning disabilities stop when your child finally makes it out of school? Think again. Anne Ford, who first shared her daughter's story in the book Laughing Allegra, follows her into adulthood now with a look at the way problems with organization, focus and social skills just go on and on and on. Fortunately, parents can help -- once the kids are adults, and before they get there.
Optimizing Care for Young Children With Special Health Care Needs
Cover image courtesy of Brookes Publishing Co.
Edited by Elisa J. Sobo and Paul S. Kurtin; 291 pages. Subtitle: Knowledge and Strategies for Navigating the System.
Bottom Line: If you're up for a challenging read that's more technical than personal, written more for professionals than parents, this collection of essays holds some interesting thoughts about parents' perception of the health-care system and what doctors and insurers can do to provide better, more efficient, and more humane care. You'll just have to keep your eyes from crossing when you hit some of those passages full of dry statistics and medical terms.
Bottom Line: If you're up for a challenging read that's more technical than personal, written more for professionals than parents, this collection of essays holds some interesting thoughts about parents' perception of the health-care system and what doctors and insurers can do to provide better, more efficient, and more humane care. You'll just have to keep your eyes from crossing when you hit some of those passages full of dry statistics and medical terms.
Out and About
Cover image courtesy of PriceGrabber
By Jill Hudson and Amy Bixler Coffin; 78 pages. Subtitle: Preparing Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders to Participate in Their Communities
Bottom Line: Structure and preparation are essential to successful outings for children with autism and other special needs, but it's sometimes hard for parents to know how to do that. Out and About introduces a blueprint method that lets you fill in the blanks with cool tools that will help your child before, during, and after stressful out-of-home situations. The authors know that we could use a little structure to help us, too.
Out Came the Sun
Cover image courtesy of Academy Chicago Publishers
By Judith Scott; 270 pages. Subtitle: One Family's Triumph Over a Rare Genetic Syndrome.
Bottom Line: That subtitle's kind of a cheat. It makes the book sound like a feel-good inspirational ride of crusading parents and cured kids. While Emily, the little girl with Partial Trisomy 13, does fly far from the original dire prognosis, she's still young at the end of the story and still struggling in many areas. Her family doesn't so much beat the syndrome as beat against it and beat themselves up about it. If you're more in the market for commiseration than inspiration, you may appreciate the honesty.
Bottom Line: That subtitle's kind of a cheat. It makes the book sound like a feel-good inspirational ride of crusading parents and cured kids. While Emily, the little girl with Partial Trisomy 13, does fly far from the original dire prognosis, she's still young at the end of the story and still struggling in many areas. Her family doesn't so much beat the syndrome as beat against it and beat themselves up about it. If you're more in the market for commiseration than inspiration, you may appreciate the honesty.
The Out-of-Sync Child
Cover image courtesy of PriceGrabber
By Carol Stock Kranowitz; 322 pages. From the Book Cover: "If your child has been labeled with words like difficult, picky, oversensitive, clumsy, or inattentive ... there may be a new explanation -- and new hope."
Bottom Line: The Out-of-Sync Child was published when "sensory integration" was first being whispered about in parent support groups as an explanation for a grab-bag of confusing behaviors. DSI is now much more accepted as a diagnosis than it was then, and this book is revered as an essential parent resource.
Bottom Line: The Out-of-Sync Child was published when "sensory integration" was first being whispered about in parent support groups as an explanation for a grab-bag of confusing behaviors. DSI is now much more accepted as a diagnosis than it was then, and this book is revered as an essential parent resource.
The Out-of-Sync Child Has Fun
Cover image courtesy of PriceGrabber
By Carol Stock Kranowitz; 324 pages. Subtitle: Activities for Kids with Sensory Integration Dysfunction.
Bottom Line: Whether you're trying to augment therapy or compensate for the fact that your child's not good at "normal" kid games, this book is full of ideas for play activities that are SAFE -- Sensory-motor, Appropriate, Fun and Easy -- and tailored to particular sensory needs. Some require a fair degree of imagination, but don't panic: You can also just sit your kid atop the dryer and call it therapy.
Bottom Line: Whether you're trying to augment therapy or compensate for the fact that your child's not good at "normal" kid games, this book is full of ideas for play activities that are SAFE -- Sensory-motor, Appropriate, Fun and Easy -- and tailored to particular sensory needs. Some require a fair degree of imagination, but don't panic: You can also just sit your kid atop the dryer and call it therapy.
Overcoming Teen Depression: A Guide for Parents
Cover image courtesy of Firefly Books
By Miriam Kaufman, MD; 262 pages. From the Book Cover: "In clear and accessible language, [Kaufman] explains what teen depression is, and how it can be overcome. She gives parents a thorough overview with the most up-to-date medical knowledge, and includes many illustrative case histories."
Bottom Line: "Clear and accessible" are the watchwords here. This is a book that's more concerned with the facts of depression than with the feelings that can swamp families. It's a useful, if not wholly satisfying, approach.
Bottom Line: "Clear and accessible" are the watchwords here. This is a book that's more concerned with the facts of depression than with the feelings that can swamp families. It's a useful, if not wholly satisfying, approach.
