Special Kids Need Special Parents


Book Description

Parents of children with special needs face unique emotional and practical challenges that are seldom addressed by the medical community. In Special Kids Need Special Parents, Judith Loseff Lavin -- herself the parent of a child with special needs -- draws on interviews with health care professionals, nationally recognized authorities, and other parents to give readers the answers, advice, and comfort they crave.-- Coping with chronic pain, sleep problems, and frequent hospitalizations -- Dealing with feelings of grief and anger -- Choosing a therapist -- Finding suitable, reliable childcare -- How to cope with teasing -- The impact a special needs child can have on a marriage, siblings, and grandparents -- Finding cosmetic, prosthetic, and orthotic help -- and more.




Unbroken Faith


Book Description

When a parent hears that their child has a disability, hearts and hopes are often broken. But faith doesn't have to be. In Unbroken Faith, Dianne Dokko Kim comes alongside you as a fellow special needs parent to help you reconcile the premise of a good God with the devastating realities of raising a disabled child. Kim courageously articulates deep-seated, unspoken doubts and fears you may have but are afraid to voice: Will my child still have a full life? Can I do this? Where is God in all this? As you are adjusting to your new normal, Kim's biblical-based encouragement will help you understand that you are not alone, that God gets it, and that God's Word is entirely relevant to the raw and messy yet hallowed spaces of special needs parenting.




Special Children, Challenged Parents


Book Description

Dr. Robert A. Naseef, a psychologist and father of a son with autism, details the daily blessings and challenges of raising a child with disabilities, offering sensitive, real-world advice along the way.




We've Got This


Book Description

How do two parents who are blind take their children to the park? How is a mother with dwarfism treated when she walks her child down the street? How do Deaf parents know when their baby cries in the night? When writer and musician Eliza Hull was pregnant with her first child, like most parents-to-be she was a mix of excited and nervous. But as a person with a disability, there were added complexities. She wondered: Will the pregnancy be too hard? Will people judge me? Will I cope with the demands of parenting? More than 15 per cent of Australian households have a parent with a disability, yet their stories are rarely shared, their experiences almost never reflected in parenting literature. In We’ve Got This, twenty-five parents who identify as Deaf, disabled or chronically ill discuss the highs and lows of their parenting journeys and reveal that the greatest obstacles lie in other people’s attitudes. The result is a moving, revelatory and empowering anthology. As Rebekah Taussig writes, ‘Parenthood can tangle with grief and loss. Disability can include joy and abundance. And goddammit – disabled parents exist.’ Contributors include Jacinta Parsons, Kristy Forbes, Graeme Innes, Jessica Smith, Jax Jacki Brown, Nicole Lee, Elly May Barnes, Neangok Chair, Renay Barker-Mulholland, Micheline Lee and Shakira Hussein. We’ve Got This will appeal to readers of Growing Up Disabled in Australia and other titles in the Growing Up series.




What I Would Tell You


Book Description




Optimistic Parenting


Book Description

Happier lives. Less stress. Family harmony. That's what all parents of children with challenging behavior want. Learn how to get there with this groundbreaking guide to confident, skillful, and positive parenting. A book you'll want to share with every family you know, Optimistic Parenting helps moms, dads, and other caregivers develop more positive thoughts and perceptions--a key ingredient of successful parenting and effective behavior management. One of the most highly regarded experts on challenging behavior--and a parent himself--Dr. V. Mark Durand delivers both philosophical hope and practical help to parents of children with a wide range of challenges. With keen insight, gentle humor, and practical tools and strategies, Durand guides parents step by step through the process of pinpointing the "why" behind challenging behavior tuning in to their own thoughts, emotions, and self-talk understanding how their thoughts affect their interactions with their child interrupting negative thoughts and replacing them with positive, productive ones achieving a healthy balance between taking care of their own needs and their child's needs using effective emergency strategies when quick behavior intervention is needed implementing long-term strategies for lasting behavior improvements weaving functional communication training into everyday routines and interactions addressing the most common problem areas, such as sleep and transitions increasing mindfulness and parenting "in the moment" Engaging stories from the author's extensive experience illustrate how parents and other caregivers can develop more effective behavior management techniques. And practical tools and exercises, developed and tested during Durand's decades of work with thousands of parents, help families on their own journey to better parenting and happier lives. A lifeline for overwhelmed parents--and a great source of insight for the professionals who work with them--this highly motivating guidebook will help families reduce children's challenging behaviors and approach the future with optimism and confidence.




Aching Joy


Book Description

When his oldest son was diagnosed with severe autism, pastor Jason Hague found himself trapped, stuck between perpetual sadness and a lower, safer kind of hope. This is the common struggle for those of us walking through the Land of Unanswered Prayer. Life doesn’t look the way we expected, so we seek to protect ourselves from further disappointment. But God has a third path for us, beyond sadness or resignation: the way of aching joy. Christ himself is with us here, beckoning us toward the treasures hidden in the darkness. Aching Joy is an honest psalm of hope for those walking between pain and promise: the aching of a broken world and the beauty of a loving God. In this place, rather than trying to dodge the pain, we choose to feel it all—and to see where Jesus is in the midst of struggle. And because we make that choice, we feel all the good that comes with it, too. This is Jason’s story. This is your story. Come, find your joy within the aching.




A Different Kind of Perfect


Book Description

Every parent dreams of having a happy, healthy child. What happens when these dreams are shattered by a physical or cognitive disability? A Different Kind of Perfect offers comfort, consolation, and wisdom from parents who have been there—and are finding their way through. The writings collected here are grouped into chapters reflecting the progressive stages of many parents' emotional journeys, starting with grief, denial, and anger and moving towards acceptance, empowerment, laughter, and even joy. Each chapter opens with an introduction by Neil Nicoll, a child and family psychologist who specializes in development disorders.




Parents Have the Power to Make Special Education Work


Book Description

Written by parents who have been through the US special education system, this book cuts through the jargon to provide other parents with a no-nonsense road map full of valuable first-hand insights and tried-and-tested advice. The authors clearly describe: · the special education process, including the school hierarchies parents are likely to encounter and etiquette to be aware of when dealing with school personnel · the information parents should expect to see in school evaluations and Individualized Education Programs (IEPs), and what to do when this information is missing or insufficient · problems parents may encounter when the needs of the school conflict with the needs of a child, including how to deal with such situations and when to seek legal advice · the importance of organizing special education documentation and establishing a 'paper trail', and how to begin this process · why transition planning is so important, and transition services parents may want to consider for their child. Demonstrating that parents really do have the power to make special education work for their child, this empowering guide is essential reading for parents of children with disabilities who are new to the special education system in the US, as well as those who feel frustrated with the system.




Faith, Family, and Children with Special Needs


Book Description

It’s hard enough for today’s parents to raise faith- filled children. But for the parents of kids with special needs, the challenges can be almost overwhelming; these parents’ own spirituality may suffer amidst the daily obstacles of raising a child with disabilities, and they may wonder how—or even if—their child can ever experience a meaningful spiritual life. In Faith, Family, and Children with Special Needs, David Rizzo—whose 12-year-old daughter has autism—offers great hope for parents who want to grow in their own spirituality while helping their children with disabilities experience God in a deeper way. Throughout the book, Rizzo’s abiding though sometimes tested Catholic faith is made clear as he thoughtfully explains everything from the practical, such as how parents can maintain sanity during Mass when the child with special needs becomes disruptive, to the profound, such as how parents can understand God in a way that is relevant to their predicament. At other times, Rizzo’s advice is intended to help the child grow in his or her own faith, as when he explains how kids with special needs can participate meaningfully in the Eucharist. By looking at big-picture issues of faith while also providing speci fic tips to nurture spiritual growth in parents and in their children with disabilities, Faith, Family, and Children with Special Needs will serve as a highly useful and inspiring resource for anyone in the community of faith who interacts with children with disabilities.