Three years ago, magazine editor Denise Brodey's precocious four-year-old son, Toby, was diagnosed with a combination of sensory integration dysfunction and childhood depression. As she struggled to make sense of her new, often chaotic, often lonely world, what she found comforted her most was talking with other harried, hopeful, and insightful parents of kids with special needs, learning how they coped with the feelings they encountered throughout the day.
In The Elephant in the Playroom, moms and dads from across the country write intimately and honestly about the joyful highs and disordered lows of raising children who are “not quite normal.” Laying bare the emotional, medical, and social challenges they face, their stories address issues ranging from if and when to medicate a child, to how to get a child who is overly sensitive to the texture of food to eat lunch. Eloquent and honest, the voices in this collection will provide solace and support for the millions of parents whose kids struggle with ADD, ADHD, sensory disorders, childhood depression, Asperger’s syndrome, and autism—as well as the many kids who fall between diagnoses.
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On December 8 1995, Elle magazine editor-in-chief Bauby suffered a stroke and lapsed into a coma.
He awoke 20 days later, mentally aware of his surroundings but physically paralyzed with the exception of some movement in his head and left eye.
Bauby had Locked-in-Syndrome, a rare condition caused by stroke damage to the brain stem.
Eye movements and blinking a code representing letters of the alphabet became his sole means of communication.
It is also how he dictated this warm, sad, and extraordinary memoir.
Bauby's thoughts on the illness, the hospital, family, friends, career, and life before and after the stroke appear with considerable humor and humanity.
Actor Rene Auberjonois's narration adds to the poignancy of the story.
Sadly, Bauby died of his condition in 1997.
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Millions of children suffer from Nonverbal Learning Disorder, a neurological deficit that prevents them from understanding nonverbal cues like tone of voice and facial expression. Though they are exceptionally bright and extremely articulate, these children often have difficulty in social situations-and can become depressed, withdrawn, or anxious. In Bridging the Gap, Rondalyn Varney Whitney-a pediatric occupational therapist and the parent of a child with NLD-offers practical suggestions that will help parents put their child on the path to a happy, fulfilling life.
Author Rondalyn Varney Whitney, a pediatric occupational therapist, is the mother of Zac, a child who suffers from nonverbal learning disorder, or NLD. By definition, NLD is a neurological defect in children who are unable to recognize the nonverbal clues that make up 50 percent of communication. In Bridging the Gap, Whitney seamlessly weaves practical professional advice throughout the account of her passionate involvement with her son. She writes, "I believe that NLD, now thought to be as prevalent as dyslexia, is a difference and not a flaw." She also warns parents and teachers that kids with NLD are likely to be misdiagnosed as lazy or defiant, so she urges readers to consider both the strengths (high intelligence and advanced verbal skills and memory) and weaknesses (low visual, spatial, and motor skills and deficits in social communication) of these kids.
Whitney focuses on NLD as a unique learning style, rather than a disability, offering a brilliantly realized account of a day in the life of a child with NLD. Other chapters address specific problems, including finding the right school, telling your child about the diagnosis, teaching social skills, negotiating the maze of interventions, and caring for self and spouse. Each chapter balances vivid case examples with thoughtful strategies. This is an exceptional book--moving, hopeful, and grounded in the wisdom of a seasoned professional and the love of a mother for her unique child. --Barbara Mackoff
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Best Practices in Occupational Therapy Education is a must-have resource that showcases effective methods and practices in occupational therapy education. It examines the effects of Level II fieldwork on clinical reasoning and the professional development of fieldwork students - in terms of occupational adaptation, clinical reasoning, and client-centeredness. It also illustrates ways to promote professional reflection through problem-based learning evaluations and activities, how OT students' personality types affect the teaching and learning strategies that work best with them; and how to integrate evidence-based practice into students' academic and fieldwork experiences.
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"Ellen Langer has succeeded in writing a book that, in one bite, manages to be scientifically interesting, immensely practical, and dramatically absorbing. It is about the mindsets that lead human beings - even the smartest of them - to become stupid and 'mindless.' Its power as drama is in demonstrating that mindlessness leads not only to the banality of dullness, but to a giving up of life itself. In a series of facinating research studies, Dr. Langer demonstrates that the young can be made more creative, the man in charge made more effective, and the elderly kept from giving in to and dying of their age."
-Jerome Bruner, author of Actual Minds, Possible Worlds
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How many times have you thought about starting a diet or quitting smoking without doing anything about it? Or lapsed back into bad habbits after hitting a rough spot on the road to recovery? A revolutionary six-stage program for overcoming bad habits and moving your life positively forward.
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This is a story of two battles, a battle to keep out "the world" and a battle to join it. It tells of the battles within my own world and the battle lines, tactics used, and casualties of my private war against others.
This is my attempt at a truce, the conditions of which are on my terms. I have, throughout my private war, been a she, a Donna, a me, and finally, an I. All of us will tell it like it was like it is.
If you sense distance, you're not mistaken; it's real. Welcome to my world.
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