Stories cover everything from the serious side and the challenges, to the lighter side and the positives, of having a special child on the autism spectrum.

    Their addictions, learning disabilities, or emotional/behavioral issues have brought you to a moment of decision. Heartsick, anxious, and exhausted, questions bounce endlessly around your mind, “Will this work? Was this really necessary? Will she ever forgive me? Can we handle him at home when the time comes?” Dr. Tim Thayne delivers the answers in his groundbreaking book Not by Chance. As an owner/therapist of wilderness and residential programs, Thayne was frustrated when young people made monumental progress, only to return home where things quickly unraveled. His mission became to vastly improve long-term success by crafting and proving a model to coach parents on their power to lead out through full engagement during treatment and management of the transition home. Not by Chance engages readers through solid research, simple exercises, and captivating stories taken from Thayne’s own life and the living rooms of hundreds of American homes. This book serves up concrete tools, hope, confidence, and stamina for families, professionals and mentors. Topics include: • Why good programs work • How to boost—not undermine—treatment • Nine dangers waiting after discharge • How to identify natural mentors for your teen • What to do when the testing begins • When and how to grant back privileges and freedoms • How to ease your young adult’s transition from treatment to independent living • When you know you’ve succeeded If you are even considering out-of-home treatment for your teen, do not gamble with the outcomes. Not by Chance should claim its rightful place on your nightstand.

    But adjusting to this new life can seem especially difficult when you're on the Autism Spectrum. Drawing on her experiences, Lynne Soraya, one of ThAutcast.com's Most Inspiring Autistic People and author of Psychology Today's Asperger's Diary, will provide you with valuable advice as she guides you through each step of your transition into adulthood. These real-life strategies will help you cope with the feelings brought on by this change as well as deal with common challenges, like:Budgeting and handling bills.Finding the right residence and/or roommates.Discovering a career path that complements your talents.Interacting with coworkers and clients.Building relationships with friends and potential partners. With Living Independently on the Autism Spectrum, you will gain the confidence, support, and guidance you need to finally experience life on your own.

    They are autism parent bloggers, well-known poets and authors, people just like you, and some on the spectrum themselves, including one cute-as-a-button 6-year-old whose simple yet beautiful prose depicts his love for bacon, his family, and love for mixing colors. Contributors collectively share their hopes, humor, dreams, fears & feelings, along with the honest ups & downs of living with autism, while encouraging, uplifting, and inspiring readers with a sweet message: You are not alone!

    Now, she must convince people, including her previous incarnation’s husband, that she is not the same person that they think she is. As she struggles to overcome the romantic and sexual expectations of her predecessor's husband, the new, digital Lynn Vargas must also contend with his mercurial attitude. Bill has a tendency to limit the functions of her body when he thinks she's “acting out.” Her only options are to either placate Bill or to somehow force his staff to openly acknowledge the implications of his behavior. Will they listen? Or will guilt cause them to shut their ears and their hearts? Every time Lynn confides in someone, they immediately run roughshod over her wishes, rebooting her without permission and adding software patches that change the way her senses work. The result is that all the other people in her life control what she can do with her body. As this truth sinks in, Lynn realizes that she has to face the only question that will ever matter: What makes a life worth living?

    An introvert is not someone who just needs to 'get out more' and 'learn to not be so shy' but a person with a separate philosophy of life from the noisy majority. Introverts are not just people who are shy or talk less. They are an altogether different culture with different values. Many of the books and websites about introversion are about how not to be introverted, as if all our natural proclivities were some kind of disease. As an expression of human desire, the market readily tells us that being an introvert is a difficult place to be. Most introverts want out. Or at least we think we do... For those who have never belonged, involvement with the orthodoxy continues because they have no choice. They feel helpless, confined, and coerced through all of life. Worse still, they must suffer silently while surrounded by people who can never understand them. Everyone has a basic human need to belong somewhere! I've tried to define the essential elements and values of this introvert culture. I have tried to form the foundations of a Kingdom for the Introvert, a culture that offers pride and belonging where the birth culture offered shame and exclusion.

    

    Jennifer O'Toole provides parents with all the help they need in planning their home environment to encourage their Asperkid superheroes to soar.The Asperkid's Launch Pad is a visually-led guide to preparing a home environment that supports the development of children with Asperger syndrome. From a bedroom light switch that the child can easily reach, to a tucked-away safe place that he or she can retreat to when feeling overwhelmed or anxious, small changes in the home can boost the child's self-confidence, independence, comfort and life skills. Award-winning author Jennifer O'Toole gives readers a walk-through tour of the home, showing, room by room, how physical surroundings affect Asperkids and highlighting the learning opportunities in every space and object.Beautifully presented with color photographs throughout, this functional and fun book will win a place in the homes and hearts of all parents of children with Asperger syndrome.

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