To raise a typical toddler is no joke. So what do you do when your child happens to be ‘different’? What if he’s hyperactive and can’t pay attention? What if you suspect that she might be autistic? What can be done about low muscle tone and poor pencil grip? What if his language development is not on par, or he lisps or stutters? And what if she doesn’t have learning difficulties, but suffers from anxiety? In Help! My Child is Atypical a team of experts answer these and many other questions that parents struggle with daily. Is therapy really essential or is it just a money-making scheme? And where do you begin when you suspect something’s amiss? In 30 gripping case studies, parents and therapists relate their true stories of determination and hope. Psychologists, speech therapists, audiologists, occupational therapists, physiotherapists, play therapists and other medical practitioners share their knowledge, experience and secrets. Help! My Child is Atypical is a practical guide that equips you with the tools needed to make you and your child a champion team!

Finalist for a Books for a Better Life Award A pediatric neuropsychologist presents strategies to help parents of special-needs children navigate the emotional challenges they face. As diagnosis rates continue to rise for autism, ADHD, learning disabilities, and other developmental differences, parents face a maze of medical, psychological, and educational choices – and a great deal of emotional stress. Many books address children’s learning or behavior problems and advise parents what they can do to help their kids, but until Not What I Expected: Help and Hope for Parents of Atypical Children there were no books that explain what the parents are going through - and how they can cope with their own emotional upheaval – for their own sake, and for the wellbeing of the whole family. With compassion, clarity, and an emphasis on practical solutions, Dr. Rita Eichenstein's Not What I Expected: Help and Hope for Parents of Atypical Children walks readers through the five stages of acceptance (similar to the stages of grief, but modified for parents of special-needs kids). Using vivid anecdotes and suggestions, she helps readers understand their own emotional experience, nurture themselves in addition to their kids, identify and address relationship wounds including tension in a marriage and struggles with children (special-needs and neurotypical), and embrace their child with acceptance, compassion and joy.

It’s time to say NO to trying to fit square-peg kids into rounds holes, and YES to raising them from a place of acceptance and joy. Today millions of kids are stuck in a world that doesn’t embrace who they really are. They are the one in five “differently wired” children with ADHD, dyslexia, giftedness, autism, anxiety, or other neurodifferences, and their challenges are many. And for the parents who love them, the challenges are just as numerous, as they struggle to find the right school, the right support, the right path. But now there’s hope. Differently Wired is a revolutionary book—weaving together personal stories and a tool kit of expert advice from author Deborah Reber, it’s a how-to, a manifesto, and a reassuring companion for parents who can so often feel that they have no place to turn. At the heart of Differently Wired are 18 paradigm-shifting ideas—what the author calls “tilts,” which include how to accept and lean in to your role as a parent (#2: Get Out of Isolation and Connect). Deal with the challenges of parenting a differently wired child (#5: Parent from a Place of Possibility Instead of Fear). Support yourself (#11: Let Go of Your Impossible Expectations for Who You “Should” Be as a Parent). And seek community (#18: If It Doesn’t Exist, Create It). Taken together, it’s a lifesaving program to shift our thinking and actions in a way that not only improves the family dynamic, but also allows children to fully realize their best selves. “In this generous and urgent book, Deborah Reber lets the light in. She helps parents see that they’re not alone, and even better, delivers a positive action plan that will change lives.”—Seth Godin, author of Linchpin “Differently Wired will help parents of children who think differently to accept their child for who they are and facilitate their successful development.”—Temple Grandin, author of Thinking in Pictures and The Autistic Brain

Do you sense things aren't quite right with your child's school experience? Maybe your child is clearly struggling or, perhaps, your child is doing all right, but you believe something is lacking? Instead of trying to force your child to fit into school, perhaps it is time to consider finding educational options that fully address your child's academic and emotional needs.In Making the Choice, Corin Barsily Goodwin, Executive Director of the Gifted Homeschoolers Forum (GHF), and Mika Gustavson, MFT, discuss how giftedness and twice exceptionality (gifted plus learning differences or "invisible disabilities") might affect the educational needs of your child. They also consider a variety of options regarding educational choices and the path to making them. Finally, they provide some questions (and hopefully answers) intended to help you make your way along this path.

The poignant, funny, and truly unique observations of a young writer diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome. "Please be forewarned that you are about to read the observations and life lessons of someone who entertains himself by farting in public and conversing in gibberish with his cats." Thus begins the charming, insightful, and memorable story of Jesse Saperstein. Diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome, a mild form of autism, Jesse has struggled since childhood with many of the hallmark challenges of his condition-from social awkwardness and self-doubt to extreme difficulty with change and managing his emotions. He has also worked hard to understand and make the most of his AS- developing his keen curiosity and sense of humor, closely observing the world around him, and most of all, helping others with AS to better cope and even thrive. Told with endearing and unflinching honesty, Jesse brings his unique perspective to the circumstances of his life and his condition.

After decades of research most scholars generally agree that language acquisition is a complex and multifaceted process that involves the interaction of innate biologically-based mechanisms devoted to language, other non-linguistic cognitive and social mechanisms, linguistic input, and information about the social and physical world. Theoretical work in the field of language acquisition now needs to focus in greater depth and detail on some specific aspects of this general model, which is the main goal of this book. The chapters in this volume provide some new insights into one of the most remarkable accomplishments achieved by almost all children. The particular questions that are raised by contributors include: * What kinds of constraints operate on the process of language development? * Which aspects of the acquisition process depend on language-specific mechanisms? * Are there critical brain structures necessary for the acquisition of language? * What role do cognitive and social mechanisms play in language development? * How critical is perceptual input about the physical and social world? * What is the specific role played by linguistic input in the child's construction of a linguistic system? Questions are addressed from the perspective of children who come to the task of acquiring language with many hurdles to overcome, including deafness and blindness, mental retardation, autism, and prenatal or perinatal brain damage involving the left hemisphere. Each section contributes some insight on how an innate language-specific biological substrate interacts with cognitive and social factors, as well as external information, to support the child's construction of a linguistic system. Studies of atypical children offer a singular contribution to this enterprise by allowing us to see the specific influences of each component, and in turn, they shed new light on how all children are able to acquire language so effortlessly and during such a brief period of development.

This book focuses on the development of self and intersubjectivity in infants, and the parent-child and family interactions that help facilitate it. A unique, step by step account of how these capacities emerged and developed in a child with atypical neurodevelopment over his first four years is examined in the light of theory and research about these issues in normal children as well as in infants and children with various developmental disabilities.