Assistive technology has radically changed the lives of persons with disabilities, enabiling them to work and perform in ways they might never have dreamed possible for themselves. While these devices do improve physical capabilities, the functional gain is not synonymous with enhanced quality of life. The larger questions are too often ignored: What does the individual define as rehabilitation success? How does a given device fulfill that person's needs? Are environmnetal factors - from psychological resistance to insufficient training for use - compromising the effectiveness of the device?

Assistive technology has radically changed the lives of persons with disabilities, enabling them to work and perform in ways they might never have dreamed possible for themselves. But while these devices do improve physical capabilities, this functional gain is not synonymous with enhanced quality of life. The larger questions are too often ignored: What does the individual define as "rehabilitation success"? How does a given device contribute to fulfilling that person's needs? Are environmental factors -- from psychological resistance to insufficient training for use -- compromising the effectiveness of the device?

Assistive technology is radically changing the lives of people with disabilities. Here, Dr. Scherer sets the background for this radical transformation and discusses the implications of assistive technology for the lives of those born disabled, or who become disabled later in life. In the author's words, "this book shows, how, paradoxically, the more technology became available and the more free from limitations individuals became, the more stuck they seemed." A severe disability no longer need prevent a person from attaining the same educational, personal, and career goals as other adults. Scherer details assistive devices that enhance the quality of their lives, mobility, speech, and ability to work. But while these devices may enhance independence, Scherer explains how friends and relatives can better understand the personal issues and needs that arise from living with a disability and 'needing' these devices. This is a unique, well-researched account that will help anyone - disabled or not - deal with the physical and emotional aspects of adjusting to a life with assistive technology.

This "intense reading experience"* is a Printz Honor Book. Shawn McDaniel's life is not what it may seem to anyone looking at him. He is glued to his wheelchair, unable to voluntarily move a muscle—he can't even move his eyes. For all Shawn's father knows, his son may be suffering. Shawn may want a release. And as long as he is unable to communicate his true feelings to his father, Shawn's life is in danger. To the world, Shawn's senses seem dead. Within these pages, however, we meet a side of him that no one else has seen—a spirit that is rich beyond imagining, breathing life. *Booklist starred review

Ketchvar III's mission is simple: travel to Planet Earth, inhabit the body of an average teenager, and determine if the human race should be annihilated. And so Ketchvar—who, to human eyes, looks just like a common snail—crawls into the brain of one Tom Filber and attempts to do his analysis. At first glance, Tom appears to be the perfect specimen—fourteen years old, good health, above average intelligence. But it soon becomes apparent that Tom Filber may be a little too average—gawky, awkward, and utterly abhorred by his peers. An alien within an alien's skin, Ketchvar quickly finds himself wrapped up in the daily drama of teenage life—infuriating family members, raging bullies, and undeniably beautiful next-door neighbors. And the more entangled Ketchvar becomes, the harder it is to answer the question he was sent to Earth to resolve: Should the Sandovinians release the Gagnerian Death Ray and erase the human species for good? Or is it possible that Homo sapiens really are worth saving? Wickedly wry and hysterically skewed, David Klass's take on teen life on our fabulously flawed Planet Earth is an engrossing look at true friends, truer enemies, and awkward alien first kisses. Stuck on Earth is a 2011 Bank Street - Best Children's Book of the Year.

Tackling relationships, career, and family issues, John Kim, LMFT, thinks of himself as a life-styledesigner, not a therapist. His radical new approach, that he sometimes calls “self-help in a shot glass” is easy, real, and to the point. He helps people make changes to their lives so that personal growth happens organically, just by living. Let’s face it, therapy is a luxury. Few of us have the time or money to devote to going to an office every week. With anecdotes illustrating principles in action (in relatable and sometimes irreverent fashion) and stand-alone practices and exercises, Kim gives readers the tools and directions to focus on what's right with them instead of what's wrong. When John Kim was going through the end of a relationship, he began blogging as The Angry Therapist, documenting his personal journey post-divorce. Traditional therapists avoid transparency, but Kim preferred the language of "me too" as opposed to "you should." He blogged about his own shortcomings, revelations, views on relationships, and the world. He spoke a different therapeutic language —open, raw, and at times subversive — and people responded. The Angry Therapist blog, that inspired this book, has been featured in The Atlantic Monthly and on NPR.