Book picks similar to
An Unexpected Joy: The Gift of Parenting a Challenging Child by Mary Sharp
autism
parenting
relationship-help
shelf3b
No More Meltdowns: Positive Strategies for Dealing with and Preventing Out-Of-Control Behavior
Jed Baker - 2008
At a restaurant. At school. At home. Meltdowns are stressful for both child and adult, but Dr. Baker can help! Author of the award-winning Social Skills Picture Book series, Dr. Jed Baker offers parents and teachers strategies for preventing and managing meltdowns. His 20+ years of experience working with children on the autism spectrum, combined with his personal experiences raising his own children, have yielded time-tested strategies, and results! Dr. Baker offers an easy-to-follow, 4-step model that will improve your everyday relationships with the children in your life: 1) Managing your own emotions by adjusting your expectations, 2) Learning strategies to calm a meltdown in the moment, 3) Understanding why a meltdown occurs, and 4) Creating plans to prevent future meltdowns. Helpful chapters include:Meltdowns: When rewards and punishments are not enough What are meltdowns made of? Accepting and appreciating our children De-escalating a meltdown Understanding why repeat problems occur Creating a prevention plan Demands Waiting Threats to self-image Unmet wishes for attention
Mom Connection: Creating Vibrant Relationships in the Midst of Motherhood
Tracey Bianchi - 2012
They want to have a part in the bigger scheme of things, to have real friends, and to make the world their children will inherit a better place.In this witty, encouraging book, Tracey Bianchi guides moms on a journey toward celebrating and discovering the underlying rhythm of their lives and how that rhythm pulls them into vibrant relationships. Through stories of her own life as a mom and the experiences of others, she shows moms how to gracefully engage the people who cross their paths rather than viewing others as tasks on a list. She also offers a way to find balance in this busy exercise called motherhood.
I Dream He Talks to Me: A Memoir of Learning How to Listen
Allison Moorer - 2021
In the years since his autism diagnosis, Allison and John Henry have embarked on an intense journey filled with the adventure, joy, heartbreak, confusion, and powerful love lessons that are the hallmarks of a quest for understanding.In I Dream He Talks to Me, Allison details the meltdowns and the moments of grace, and how the mundane expectations of a parent turn into extraordinary achievements. The saying goes, “If you know one person with autism, you know one person with autism”; no two stories are alike, and yet there are universal truths that apply to all parent-child relationships. With gorgeous prose, Allison shares her and John Henry’s experience while also creating a riveting narrative that will speak to anyone who parents—and who has questioned their own ability to do so. An exploration of resilience and compassion—both for ourselves and for others—I Dream He Talks to Me is also a moving meditation on our place in the world and how we get there; what words mean, what they don’t; and, ultimately, how we truly express ourselves and truly know those whom we love.
The Children of Tomorrow: A Monk's Guide to Mindful Parenting
Om Swami - 2019
On their tender shoulders rests a great nation, a baffling world and a beautiful planet. It is, therefore, my dharma to share what I know so a parent's hand is raised only to protect their child." Penning his thoughts on the art of spiritual and mindful parenting, Om Swami sheds light on many a scenario where parents and children don't always see eye-to-eye. Believing that the right guidance at the right time can make any child recognize their true potential, the author shares some extraordinary insights based on his own knowledge gleaned from experience and various psychological studies that can help steer your child in the right direction. Touching upon parenting challenges, building the right pillars of guidance and nurturing core values, this book has all you need to raise happy, healthy children.
A Friend Like Henry: The Touching True Story of an Autistic Boy and His Dog
Nuala Gardner - 2007
Dale was still a baby when his parents realised that something wasn't right. Worried, his mother Nuala took him to see several doctors, before finally hearing the word 'autism' for the first time in a specialist's office. Scared but determined that Dale should live a fulfilling life, Nuala describes her despairat her son's condition, her struggle to prevent Dale being excluded from a 'normal' education and her sense of hopeless isolation. Dale's autism was severe and violent and family life was a daily battleground. But the Gardner's lives were transformed when they welcomed a gorgeous Golden Retriever into the family. The special bond between Dale and his dog Henry helped them to produce the breakthrough in Dale they had long sought. From taking a bath to saying 'I love you', Henry helped introduce Dale to all the normal activities most parents take for granted, and set him on the road to being the charming and well-adjusted young man he is today. This is a heartrending and fascinating account of how one devoted and talented dog helped a little boy conquer his autism.
The ADHD-Autism Connection: A Step Toward More Accurate Diagnoses and Effective Treatments
Diane M. Kennedy - 2002
Help for frustrated ADHD patients and their families. (As well as those with autism, PDD, Asperger’s syndrome, and other related conditions.) Attention deficit/hyperactive disorder (ADHD) is one of the most rapidly growing diagnoses of our generation. Often the diagnosis fails to provide real help, leaving patients, doctors, and families at a loss to know what to do next. But for the first time ever, new insights into the overwhelming number of similarities between Autism and ADHD are giving those with ADHD genuine hope. For years, the label of Autism has carried a negative connotation. Parents were afraid to admit the diagnosis and banished the term from discussion. Finally, The ADHD-Autism Connection gives parents, educators, and doctors a reason to embrace autism with a renewed sense of hope and understanding. This book will show how these understandings can minimize the frustration, misdiagnoses, and misunderstandings ADHD sufferers and their families face.
Hot Mess to Mindful Mom: 40 Ways to Find Balance and Joy in Your Every Day
Ali Katz - 2015
But it is important to slow down and take a minute to focus on the things that matter most—and the first step is to connect with yourself again. This book will show women that by caring for themselves first, they can better care for everyone they love.In her first book, Ali has woven together a compilation of all the tools she used to transform herself from “hot mess” to “mindful mom,” and is divided helpfully into three parts:• Everyday practices• Tools used as needed• Attitude adjustments made along the wayReaders will learn how small tweaks and changes can lead to huge results, and that they too can leave stress behind in favor of calm and peace. With humor, grace, and an extremely relatable manner, Ali gives women the tools to make the same changes in their own lives.
Look Me in the Eye: My Life with Asperger's
John Elder Robison - 2007
It was no wonder he gravitated to machines, which could, at least, be counted on.After fleeing his parents and dropping out of high school, his savant-like ability to visualize electronic circuits landed him a gig with KISS, for whom he created their legendary fire-breathing guitars. Later, he drifted into a “real” job, as an engineer for a major toy company. But the higher Robison rose in the company, the more he had to pretend to be “normal” and do what he simply couldn’t: communicate. It wasn’t worth the paycheck.It was not until he was forty that an insightful therapist told him he had the form of autism called Asperger’s syndrome. That understanding transformed the way Robison saw himself—and the world.Look Me in the Eye is the moving, darkly funny story of growing up with Asperger’s at a time when the diagnosis simply didn’t exist. A born storyteller, Robison takes you inside the head of a boy whom teachers and other adults regarded as “defective,” who could not avail himself of KISS’s endless supply of groupies, and who still has a peculiar aversion to using people’s given names (he calls his wife “Unit Two”). He also provides a fascinating reverse angle on the younger brother he left at the mercy of their nutty parents—the boy who would later change his name to Augusten Burroughs and write the bestselling memoir Running with Scissors.Ultimately, this is the story of Robison’s journey from his world into ours, and his new life as a husband, father, and successful small business owner—repairing his beloved high-end automobiles. It’s a strange, sly, indelible account—sometimes alien, yet always deeply human.
The Loving Push: How Parents and Professionals Can Help Spectrum Kids Become Successful Adults
Temple Grandin - 2016
Best-selling author, autism advocate, and animal science professor Dr. Temple Grandin joins psychologist and autism specialist Dr. Debra Moore in spelling out the steps you can take to restore your child's hope and motivation, and what you must avoid. Eight life stories told by people on the autism spectrum, including chapters on subjects such as how to get kids off their computers, how to build on their strengths and get back to caring about their lives, and how to find a path to a successful, meaningful life make this a -MUST-READ BOOK.-
Autism Goes to School (School Daze, #1)
Sharon A. Mitchell - 2012
That fact that he'd even fathered a child was news to him. Not only does this mean restructuring his sixty-hour work week and becoming responsible for another human being, but also Kyle has autism.Enter the school system. Under the guidance (and bullying) of a gifted teacher, Ben and Kyle take tentative steps to becoming father and son.Teacher Melanie Nicols sees Ben as a dead beat dad, but grudgingly comes to admire how he hangs in, determined to learn for his son’s sake. Her admiration grows to more as father and some come to rely on Melanie being a part of their lives.
My Single Mom Life: True Stories and Practical Lessons for Your Journey
Angela Thomas - 2007
In that decision, the faith she had always talked about became the faith she was going to learn how to live. In the years since, God has given Angela a passionate desire . . . to live an amazing life, even while raising four kids as a single mom. In this book she shares her hard-earned wisdom on loneliness, dating, finances, and parenting, encouraging every solo mom. "As a gift to our children," she says, "we can become healthy moms who are strong and amazing women in spite of our circumstances."
Ten Things Every Child with Autism Wishes You Knew
Ellen Notbohm - 2005
Framed with both humor and compassion, the book defines the top ten characteristics that illuminate the minds and hearts of children with autism. Ellen's personal experiences as a parent, an autism columnist, and a contributor to numerous parenting magazines coalesce to create a guide for all who come in contact with a child on the autism spectrum. Don't buy just one of this book- buy one for everyone who interacts with your child! Give the gift of understanding. Helpful chapters include:My sensory perceptions are disordered Distinguish between won’t and can’t I am a concrete thinker. I interpret language literally Be patient with my limited vocabulary Because language is so difficult for me, I am very visually oriented Focus and build on what I can do rather than what I can’t do Help me with social interactions Identify what triggers my meltdowns
Calm the F*ck Down: The Only Parenting Technique You’ll Ever Need
David Vienna - 2015
This book is for you. Based on his viral blog post and addressing concerns from “my baby won’t poop” to “my boy likes girl toys” to “everything costs too much,” David Vienna‘s wise and funny parenting advice will amuse and inform—and remind you that (almost) nothing is worth freaking out about.-Includes advice from actual experts!-Great new dad gift that’ll keep him calm, cool, and collected-Paperback; 5.5 x 7.75 inches; 112 pagesEditorial Reviews“Step 1: Buy this book. Step 2: There is no second step.”—Farah Miller, editor Huffington Post Parents“If Vienna’s CTFD had been available four years ago, the money I could have saved on antacid and Grecian Formula would easily fund my daughter’s first year of college.”—Dave Engledow, author of World’s Best Father
Mommy! I Have to Go Potty!: A Parent's Guide to Toilet Training
Jan Faull - 1996
She also suggests when to switch toilet-training methods. The anecdotes in each chapter's "Stories from the Bathroom" illustrate how different approaches can make toilet training successful and trouble-free for both parents and children. And if you're on the receiving end of criticism regarding your child's toilet-training (you know, the "But all my children were potty-trained by the time they were..."), you'll appreciate Faull's tips on handling unsolicited advice.
The Spark: A Mother's Story of Nurturing Genius
Kristine Barnett - 2013
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.