Narrated by two "imperfect" sisters with "special" children, the book features a collection of entertaining and heartwarming stories from parents of children with a wide range of disabilities. It will have any parent laughing out loud and viewing the positive side of raising an "imperfect" child with humorous chapters like: Us vs. Them battle: "It's hard to hear about how good their kid is on the baseball field, when yours would rather catch real flies." Medication: "We've met parents who feel guilty for putting their kids on meds for not putting their kids on meds even for taking their kids' meds. ("That Ritalin really helped; you should have seen me organize those closets.") Food: "Yes, my daughter would like a Happy Meal. Just hold the meal and she'll be happy." Marriage: "You can remember the name of Beaver Cleaver's first grade teacher, but you can't remember the name of your child's disability?" Sports: "Do we have to follow the ball Mom? It's more fun following a bee!" Everyday life: "Sorry I missed the bus Mom; I was practicing funny faces in the mirror."

    Sound familiar? When the disorganized child meets the departmentalized structure of middle school, everything can fall apart. Even the academically successful child will start to falter if she misses deadlines, loses textbooks, or can’t get to class on time. This practical book is full of hands-on strategies for helping parents identify and teach organizational skills. Educational consultant Donna Goldberg has developed these methods by working with hundreds of students and in this book she provides: -Assessments to gather information about your child’s learning style, study habits, and school requirements -Guidelines for taming that overstuffed binder and keeping it under control -PACK—a four-step plan for purging and reassembling a backpack or locker -Instructions for organizing an at-home work space for the child who studies at a desk or the child who studies all over the house -Ways to help your child graduate from telling time to managing time -Special tips for kids with learning disabilities and kids who have two homes...and more The Organized Student is a must for any parent who has heard the words, “I can’t find my homework!”

    

    In 1982, when he was four years old, Kamran Nazeer was enrolled in a small school in New York City alongside a dozen other children diagnosed with autism. Calling themselves the Idiots, these kids received care that was at the cutting edge of developmental psychology. Twenty-three years later, the school no longer exists.Send in the Idiots is the always candid, often surprising, and ultimately moving investigation into what happened to those children. Now a policy adviser in England, Kamran decides to visit four of his old classmates to find out the kind of lives that they are living now, how much they've been able to overcome—and what remains missing. A speechwriter unable to make eye contact; a messenger who gets upset if anyone touches his bicycle; a depressive suicide victim; and a computer engineer who communicates difficult emotions through the use of hand puppets: these four classmates reveal an astonishing, thought-provoking spectrum of behavior.Bringing to life the texture of autistic lives and the pressures and limitations that the condition presents, Kamran also relates the ways in which those can be eased over time, and with the right treatment. Using his own experiences to examine such topics as the difficulties of language, conversation as performance, and the politics of civility, Send in the Idiots is also a rare and provocative exploration of the way that people—all people—learn to think and feel. Written with unmatched insight and striking personal testimony, Kamran Nazeer's account is a stunning, invaluable, and utterly unique contribution to the literature of what makes us human.

    Games can be used to encourage people to modify their behavior, increase interaction with others, start discussions, address issues and build relationships. This book contains 104 games and activities that address the topics of teamwork, self-esteem, communication, coping skills, anger management, and self-discovery. If you have a small group, large group or even one-on-one sessions there is something useful in 104 Activities That Build for you. Games that can be used in any setting with minimal resources and on any budget! It's more than pen/pencil worksheets; it's interactive and fun.

    And at fifteen, her son Chase entered an unremitting psychosis—pursued by terrifying images, unable to recognize his own mother, unwilling to eat or even talk—becoming ever more tortured and unreachable.Beautifully written and profoundly moving, this is the heartbreaking yet triumphant story of how Randi Davenport navigated the byzantine and broken health care system and managed not just to save her son from the brink of suicide but to bring him back to her again, and make her family whole.In The Boy Who Loved Tornadoes, she gives voice to the experiences of countless families whose struggles with mental illness are likewise invisible to the larger world.

    Although labeled, at times, deaf, retarded, or disturbed, Donna Williams is autistic--afflicted by a baffling condition of heightened sensory perception that imprisons the sufferer in a private, almost hallucinatory universe of patterns and colors. Nobody Nowhere is Donna's story in her own words--a haunting, courageous memoir of the titanic struggles she has endured in her quest to merge "my world" with "the world."

    Over the years Luke has learned to laugh at such names but there are other aspects of life which are more difficult. Adolescence and the teenage years are a minefield of emotions, transitions and decisions and when a child has Asperger Syndrome, the result is often explosive. Luke has three sisters and one brother in various stages of their adolescent and teenage years but he is acutely aware of just how different he is and how little information is available for adolescents like himself. Drawing from his own experiences and gaining information from his teenage brother and sisters, he wrote this enlightening, honest and witty book in an attempt to address difficult topics such as bullying, friendships, when and how to tell others about AS, school problems, dating and relationships, and morality. Luke writes briefly about his younger autistic and AD/HD brothers, providing amusing insights into the antics of his younger years and advice for parents, carers and teachers of younger AS children. However, his main reason for writing was because "so many books are written about us, but none are written directly to adolescents with Asperger Syndrome. I thought I would write one in the hope that we could all learn together."

    At nine he started working on an original theory in astrophysics that experts believe may someday put him in line for a Nobel Prize, and at age twelve he became a paid researcher in quantum physics. But the story of Kristine’s journey with Jake is all the more remarkable because his extraordinary mind was almost lost to autism. At age two, when Jake was diagnosed, Kristine was told he might never be able to tie his own shoes. The Spark is a remarkable memoir of mother and son. Surrounded by “experts” at home and in special ed who tried to focus on Jake’s most basic skills and curtail his distracting interests—moving shadows on the wall, stars, plaid patterns on sofa fabric—Jake made no progress, withdrew more and more into his own world, and eventually stopped talking completely. Kristine knew in her heart that she had to make a change. Against the advice of her husband, Michael, and the developmental specialists, Kristine followed her instincts, pulled Jake out of special ed, and began preparing him for mainstream kindergarten on her own. Relying on the insights she developed at the daycare center she runs out of the garage in her home, Kristine resolved to follow Jacob’s “spark”—his passionate interests. Why concentrate on what he couldn’t do? Why not focus on what he could? This basic philosophy, along with her belief in the power of ordinary childhood experiences (softball, picnics, s’mores around the campfire) and the importance of play, helped Kristine overcome huge odds. The Barnetts were not wealthy people, and in addition to financial hardship, Kristine herself faced serious health issues. But through hard work and determination on behalf of Jake and his two younger brothers, as well as an undying faith in their community, friends, and family, Kristine and Michael prevailed. The results were beyond anything anyone could have imagined. Dramatic, inspiring, and transformative, The Spark is about the power of love and courage in the face of overwhelming obstacles, and the dazzling possibilities that can occur when we learn how to tap the true potential that lies within every child, and in all of us.

    Bucket filling and dipping are effective metaphors for understanding the effects of our actions and words on the well being of others and ourselves.

    His mouth is a volcano! But when others begin to interrupt Louis, he learns how to respectfully wait for his turn to talk.My Mouth Is A Volcano takes an empathetic approach to the habit of interrupting and teaches children a witty technique to help them manage their rambunctious thoughts and words. Told from Louis’ perspective, this story provides parents, teachers, and counselors with an entertaining way to teach children the value of respecting others by listening and waiting for their turn to speak.

    Childhood should be a happy and carefree time, yet more and more children today are exhibiting symptoms of anxiety, from bedwetting and clinginess to frequent stomach aches, nightmares, and even refusing to go to school. Parents everywhere want to know: All children have fears, but how much is normal? How can you know when a stress has crossed over into a full-blown anxiety disorder? Most parents don’t know how to recognize when there is a real problem and how to deal with it when there is. In Freeing Your Child From Anxiety, a childhood anxiety disorder specialist examines all manifestations of childhood fears, including social anxiety, Tourette’s Syndrome, hair-pulling, and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, and guides you through a proven program to help your child back to emotional safety. No child is immune from the effects of stress in today’s media-saturated society. Fortunately, anxiety disorders are treatable. By following these simple solutions, parents can prevent their children from needlessly suffering today—and tomorrow. www.broadwaybooks.com

    ... and the world! 80,000 registered members worldwide, 3,000,000 YouTube views, 10,000,000 pages of free ebooks downloaded from WholeBrainTeaching.com, one of the world's largest, free, education websites! If your rambunctious kids are driving you batty, read this book. Guffaw with delight as your class, guided by the Guff Counter, halts back talking students in their tracks! Weep with joy at the power of the Independents that turns rebel cliques against each other. Gasp in awe as you discover Mirror, the simple technique that makes every lesson magnetically engaging. Chortle with merriment as the magical Scoreboard transforms classroom management into a living video game. Whole Brain Teaching, a grass roots, education reform movement, begun in 1999 by three Southern California teachers, has attracted an astonishing following among educators across the U.S. and in 30 foreign countries. Based on cutting edge scientific research, Whole Brain Teaching recognizes that students learn the most when they are engaged in lessons that involve seeing, hearing, doing, speaking and feeling. Join the revolution! Transform your students from passive receivers of information to dynamic creators of high energy lessons. "In my 38 years in education, I have never seen a more successful classroom management system than Whole Brain Teaching. It's simple, effective and powerful. Chris Biffle and his colleagues have developed a strategy that works for all students." Dominic F. Mucci, Superintendent of Schools, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey

    Now this new edition of The Read-Aloud Handbook imparts the benefits, rewards, and importance of reading aloud to children of a new generation. Supported by delightful anecdotes as well as the latest research, The Read-Aloud Handbook offers proven techniques and strategies—and the reasoning behind them—for helping children discover the pleasures of reading and setting them on the road to becoming lifelong readers.

    Oh, and you want a book that is concise and easy to understand, right? This book is what you're looking for. Think of this book as a collection of sparks. Real sparks ignite fires. The sparks in this book will ignite ideas in your head about how to teach your child with autism. Here's an overview of what you will learn in this book: How children with autism are wired differently, and how that affects the way they learn. Why Intensive Play is so important to everything else. Why it's so hard to get your child's attention, and what you can do about it. How visual tools can help your child, and how you can use them easily. Why focusing on well-being is so important, and some simple steps you can take to ensure you do. What general strategies will help you teach your child. Why behavior difficulties happen, and some ways you can help. Why today's technology is making it easier for children with autism to communicate, learn and much more besides.This book will give you ideas and strategies that you can use immediately with your child. Many of the strategies are made clearer by the inclusion of examples from the author's own experience. You will see echoes of your own child in some of the examples, and they are sure to provide lots of light bulb moments for you.