Special Needs Child

In one day four lives weave together in unexpected ways. Virgil Salinas is shy and kindhearted and feels out of place in his crazy-about-sports family. Valencia Somerset, who is deaf, is smart, brave, and secretly lonely, and she loves everything about nature. Kaori Tanaka is a self-proclaimed psychic whose little sister, Gen, is always following her around. And Chet Bullens wishes the weird kids would just stop being so different so that he can concentrate on basketball.

What is autism: a devastating developmental condition, a lifelong disability, or a naturally occurring form of cognitive difference akin to certain forms of genius? In truth it is all of these things and more - and the future of our society depends on our understanding it.

In How to End the Autism Epidemic, Generation Rescue’s cofounder J.B. Handley offers a compelling, science-based explanation of what’s causing the autism epidemic, the lies that enable its perpetuation, and the steps we must take as parents and as a society in order to end it.

You want your children to grow strong, healthy, and resilient, and become competent, happy, and fulfilled in their lives. You know you won’t always be around to be their safety net, so they need to become competent and effective in their own right, at some point. But adding ADHD into the mix means we need to bring a whole different level of thinking to our parenting strategies. It’s not just about managing what the rest of the world sees as naughty or bad behavior. It’s not just about getting them to sit still, be quiet, and obey. That kind of thinking went out with the Titanic!

In Off the Spectrum, cognitive neuroscientist Gina Rippon sheds light on how old ideas about autism leave women behind and how the scientific community must catch up. Generations of researchers, convinced autism was a male problem, simply didn’t bother looking for it in women, creating a snowball effect of biased research. Correcting a major scientific bias, Off the Spectrum provides a much-needed exploration of autism in women to parents, clinicians, and autistic women themselves.

Learn how to use mindfulness and cognitive behavior therapy to challenge fixations that are unhealthy by redirecting thought processes to special interests that are healthy. Use positive energy to focus your attention to avoid the negative energy of the fixation. If you love someone with autism, then this book will help you gain a better understanding of who a person with autism is and what their fixations, obsessions, and special interests mean to them.

In Focused Forward: Navigating the Storms of Adult ADHD, author and self-proclaimed "ADHD-er" James M. Ochoa, LPC, goes beyond the management and scheduling techniques most ADHD books focus on to deal with what really holds so many ADHD-ers back - the emotional fallout of ADHD.

Does your child seem to understand much more than he can say? Does he struggle to say words that other kids his age say effortlessly? If so, he may have childhood apraxia of speech (CAS), a neurological, motor-based speech disorder that is characterized by difficulty planning and organizing the speech movements necessary for intelligible speech. Fortunately, with early, intensive speech therapy, most children can have greatly improved or normal speech.

All thirteen-year-old Houston Stewart has ever wanted is to become an astronaut. His dreams feel like they're finally coming true when he's accepted to the highly-competitive Junior Astronaut Recruitment Program—if only he could bring his little brother, Robbie, with him. Ever since their dad left, Houston and Robbie have been inseparable. It's hard to tell where Houston's love of space ends and where Robbie's begins. But Robbie's cerebral palsy and epilepsy mean he needs medical attention at home, so Houston is forced to take this giant leap for the two of them all on his own.

Jennifer Giustra-Kozek is a therapist who practices in Connecticut, and is also the mother of a son with Autism Spectrum disorders. After treating Evan bio-medically, along with other healing practices, Jennifer witnessed the kind of improvements that every parent of a similarly diagnosed child dreams of: Evan no longer grunts and screams, throws toys, hits others, or has mood swings. He no longer throws himself into fits of uncontrollable rage; he now listens to his teachers and responds appropriately. He copes better with changes in routine and makes eye contact more often.

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (Also known as ADHD) presents itself in three main symptoms: inattention and hyperactivity or impulsivity. Hyperactivity and impulsivity are closely related and oftentimes coexist with inattention. Women and girls with ADHD most often go undiagnosed for several reasons. This is due in part because women tend do have less obvious or less misbehaved characteristics than men do.

It has never been easy for Cora to make friends. Cora is autistic, and sometimes she gets overwhelmed and stims to soothe her nerves. Adrien has ADHD and knows what it is like to navigate a world that isn’t always built for the neurodiverse. The two are fast friends until an accident puts Adrien in a coma.

Collin can't help himself. He has a unique condition that finds him counting every letter spoken to him. It's a quirk that makes him a prime target for bullies, and a continual frustration to the adults around him, including his father. When Collin asked to leave yet another school, his dad decides to send him to live in Minnesota with the mother he's never met.

My friend Zack has a disability called autism. But that doesn’t matter to us. We talk about airplanes, build models, and enjoy hanging out at each other’s house. I’m glad Zack is my friend!

My friend Sarah has a disability called Down Syndrome. But that doesn’t matter to us. We tell jokes and laugh, go to ballet class together, and have a lot of fun. I’m glad Sarah is my friend!

Like many women of her generation, Heather Lanier did everything by the book when she was expecting her first child. But her daughter, Fiona, challenged all of Lanier's preconceptions. Born with an ultra-rare syndrome known as Wolf-Hirschhorn, Fiona received a daunting prognosis: She would experience significant developmental delays and might not reach her second birthday. Award-winning writer Heather Lanier's memoir about raising a child with a rare syndrome, defying the tyranny of normal, and embracing parenthood as a spiritual practice that breaks us open in the best of ways.

Do you ever feel like you’re all alone in this huge blob of chaos, looking for someone to save you? This is how many feel as parents to children who were diagnosed with ADHD. If there’s anything a parent in this situation needs, it’s a strong supportive network of individuals ready to jump in whenever they need them to. Listening to this book will help you create a web of people you can go to when you’ve found yourself in the middle of mayhem.

Starting at a new school is scary, especially with a giant hearing aid strapped to your chest! At her old school, everyone in Cece’s class was deaf. Here, she’s different. She’s sure the kids are staring at the Phonic Ear, the powerful aid that will help her hear her teacher. Too bad it also seems certain to repel potential friends.

Bixby Alexander Tam (nicknamed Bat) has been the caretaker for Thor, the best skunk kit in the world...but the last day of third grade is quickly approaching, and Thor is almost ready to be released into the wild. The end of school also means that Bat has to say good-bye to his favorite teacher, and he worries about the summer care of Babycakes, their adorable class pet. Not only that, but his best friend is leaving for a long vacation in Canada. Summer promises good things, too, like working with his mom at the vet clinic and hanging out with his sister, Janie.

If you're a parent of one of the more than one million children in this country with obsessive-compulsive disorder, you know how confusing, even frightening, the symptoms of OCD can be. You're terrified of losing your child and angry about the havoc this disorder has wreaked. More than anything, you want to be able to unlock the secrets of OCD, understand the cause, and help your child break free. In this book, Dr. Tamar E. Chansky creates a clear road map to understanding and overcoming OCD based on her successful practice treating hundreds of children and teenagers with this disorder.