Ahead of the Game: the Parents’ Guide to Youth Sports Concussion. Rosemarie Scolaro Moser, $19.95

Sports-related concussions, also known as mild traumatic brain injuries, have become a national epidemic. New research has shown that there is no such thing as a simple “bell-ringer,” and that sending a child back on the field too soon puts his or her physical and emotional health at risk. Yet it is all too easy to miss the warning signs of concussion, or to encourage kids to “walk off” a potentially devastating injury. AHEAD OF THE GAME is the first book to give parents of school-aged athletes the tools they need to keep kids safe on the field, court, diamond, or rink.

AHEAD OF THE GAME clearly lays out the basics of identification, management, and treatment of concussion in kids, and details the vital steps we can take to protect their most vital organ — the brain — before an injury occurs.

Psychiatrist and psychoanalyst Norman Doidge traveled the country to meet both the brilliant scientists championing neuroplasticity and the people whose lives they’ve transformed—people whose mental limitations or brain damage were seen as unalterable … Using these marvelous stories to probe mysteries of the body, emotion, love, sex, culture, and education, Dr. Doidge has written an immensely moving, inspiring book that will permanently alter the way we look at our brains, human nature, and human potential.

Can I Tell You about Dementia? A Guide for Family, Friends, and Carers. Jude Welton, $13.95

Meet Jack — an older man with dementia. Jack invites readers to learn about dementia from his perspective, helping them to understand the challenges faced by someone with dementia and the changes it causes to memory, communication and behaviour. He also gives advice on how to help someone with dementia stay as mentally and physically active as possible, keep safe and continue to feel cared for and valued.

With illustrations throughout, this useful book will be an ideal introduction to dementia for anyone from child to adult. It will also guide family, friends and carers in understanding and explaining the condition and could serve as an excellent starting point for family and classroom discussions.

Crooked Smile: One Family’s Journey Toward Healing. Lainie Cohen, $19.95

A mother struggles to keep her family together after her eldest son suffers a brain injury in a car crash. Within months, her youngest son becomes involved with drugs and his sister suffers a physical collapse that puts her in a wheelchair. A moving and inspiring memoir written with emotional honesty, filled with hope and celebration for life's small successes.

Lainie Cohen lives in Toronto and has been published in the Globe and Mail, The Canadian Jewish News, and Parchment. All proceeds from the sale of Crooked Smile will go to the Bloorview MacMillan Children's Foundation.

With brief encyclopedic introductions, up-to-date terminology and detailed illustrations, this unique and practical reference allows you to name and describe objects accurately and easily.

Head Cases: Stories of Brain Injury and Its Aftermath. Michael Paul Mason, $18.95

Head Cases takes us into the dark side of the brain in an astonishing sequence of stories, at once true and strange, from the world of brain damage. Michael Paul Mason is one of an elite group of experts who coordinate care in the complicated aftermath of tragic injuries that can last a lifetime. On the road with Mason, we encounter survivors of brain injuries as they struggle to map and make sense of the new worlds they inhabit.

Underlying each of these survivors’ stories is an exploration of the brain and its mysteries. Mason gives us a series of vivid glimpses into brain science, the last frontier of medicine, and we come away in awe of the miracles of the brain’s workings and astonished at the fragility of the brain and the sense of self, life, and order that resides there.

Islands of Genius: the Bountiful Mind of the Autistic, Acquired and Sudden Savant. Darold Treffert, $27.95

Savant syndrome is a rare condition in which individuals with developmental disorders, including autism spectrum disorders, have one or more areas of expertise, ability, or brilliance — "islands of genius" — that exist in contrast with their overall limitations. In this fascinating book, Dr. Darold Treffert looks at what we know about this remarkable condition, and at new discoveries that raise interesting questions about the hidden brain potential within us all.

Dr. Treffert explores the phenomena of genetic memory — instances in which individuals somehow "know" things they never learned; and sudden genius or "acquired savantism" — where a neuro-typical person unexpectedly and spectacularly develops savant-like abilities following a head injury or stroke. Showing that these phenomena point convincingly towards a reservoir of untapped potential — an inner savant capacity — within us all, he looks both at how savant skills can be nurtured, and how they can help the person who has them, particularly if that person is on the autism spectrum. A central colour section contains the extraordinary artwork of some of the savants who are mentioned in the book.

Islands of Genius will intrigue anyone who has ever wondered what makes the mind of a savant tick, as well as clinicians, parents, teachers, therapists, and others who care for and about, individuals with savant syndrome.

Mild Traumatic Brain Injury in Children and Adolescents: From Basic Science to Clinical Management. Michael Kirkwood & Keith Owen Yeates, Editors, $82.50

A cutting-edge synthesis of science and practice, this book covers everything from sports-related concussions to less common types of mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) and related complications. Preeminent authorities review what is known about mTBI in childhood and adolescence—including its biomechanics, pathophysiology, and neurological and neurobehavioral outcomes—and showcase evidence-based clinical evaluation tools and management strategies. Challenging areas such as evaluating complicated mTBI and treating persistent problems after injury are discussed in detail. Also addressed are forensic issues, injury in very early childhood, and other special-interest topics.

Music Therapy and Traumatic Brain Injury: a Light on a Dark Night. Simon Gilbertson & David Aldridge, $40.95

Music Therapy and Traumatic Brain Injury demonstrates how music therapy can be used to attend to the holistic, rather than purely functional, needs of people affected by severe head trauma. Divided into three parts, the first section provides an introduction to the effects brain injury has on a person's livelihood. The second is a comprehensive review of available literature on the use of music therapy in the neurorehabilitative setting. The final section examines three case studies designed according to 'therapeutic narrative analysis', an adaptive research method that uses interviewing and video, which focuses on the unique relationship between the professional and the patient.

This book will give clinicians key notes for practice and a vision of the integral role music therapy can have in the successful rehabilitation from brain injury.

My Holly: a Story of a Brother’s Understanding and Acceptance. Julie Leavitt Wolfe, $16.99

This is a story about a young boy named Jack, and the feelings he’s had about his little sister who has special needs due to an infant stroke. Jack sometimes feels sad because he wants his mom and dad to play with him, but they are busy taking Holly to therapy or doctor’s appointments. Jack begins to understand that his parents also try to make sure he knows he’s important and loved, and begins to believe, just like his mom, that one day Holly will be able to do anything she wants!

My Stroke of Insight: a Brain Scientist’s Personal Journey. Jill Bolte Taylor, $18.50

On December 10, 1996, Jill Bolte Taylor, a 37 year old Harvard-trained neuroscientist, experienced a massive stroke in the left hemisphere of her brain. Over the next four hours, Dr. Bolte Taylor observed her mind deteriorate to the point that she could not walk, talk, read or recall her life. It would take her eight years to recover.

My Stroke of Insight is a unique and inspiring tale that brings personal experience together with professional understanding. This is a valuable recovery guide for those touched by brain injury and trauma.

Non-Accidental Head Injury in Young Children: Medical, Legal and Social Responses. Cathy Cobley & Tom Sanders, $39.95

Non-accidental head injury is often referred to as being synonymous with 'shaken baby syndrome' (SBS) – a term which has attracted a great deal of controversy in recent years due to both disagreement about its cause and the reliability of eyewitness testimony. The authors investigate the existing evidence surrounding SBS and its recognition and construction, including medical versus social explanations and the difficulties involved in proving abuse. The authors argue for an examination of non-accidental head injury rather than SBS, as this term encompasses other forms of abuse as well as shaking, and caution against a blind acceptance of medical testimony, arguing that this may impede child protection agencies' ability to assess cases objectively and accurately. They also consider the effectiveness of prevention strategies in reducing the incidence of child abuse cases.

This insightful book will be essential reading for social workers, lawyers, health professionals, and those working with child protection agencies.

Solving Behavior Problems in Autism: Improving Communication with Visual Strategies. Linda Hodgdon, $44.95

Communication and behavior are intertwined. Using visual strategies to improve communication can significantly improve behavior situations. This book is packed with lots of samples and examples of visual tools that have worked for students with autism spectrum disorders and others with moderate to severe communication or behavior challenges — including aphasia, brain injury, processing disorders and more.

Understanding Behaviour in Dementia that Challenges: a Guide to Assessment and Treatment. Ian Andrew James, $29.95

Behaviours that challenge can significantly interfere with the quality of life of a person with dementia, as well as that of those who live with and care for them. Yet there is a great deal of confusion surrounding how such behaviours should be addressed. This book provides theory and practical guidance on the assessment and treatment of behaviours that challenge in dementia. The author describes the different categories and causes of challenging behaviour, and provides tried-and-tested models which will aid identification, assessment and treatment. A thorough evaluation of the use of psychotropic medication is provided, as well as of a wide range of psychological and biopsychosocial interventions.

This will be an invaluable resource for any professional involved in the assessment and treatment of behaviours that challenge in people with dementia, including psychiatrists, psychologists, community psychiatric nurses, GPs and occupational therapists. It will also be of interest to those involved in commissioning, providing and managing services.

Understanding Facial Recognition Difficulties in Children: Prosopagnosia Management Strategies for Parents and Professionals. Nancy Mindick, $22.95

Can you imagine not being able to recognize those you know if they wore glasses, changed their hairstyle, or perhaps put on a hat? Prosopagnosia is a severe facial recognition disorder that is thought to impact around two per cent of the population. Frequently found in children on the autism spectrum, those with the condition have difficulties distinguishing between one face and the next, meaning that they may not recognize even those who are closest to them.

Nancy Mindick provides parents, teachers, and other professionals with an accessible explanation of the different types, causes, and characteristics of prosopagnosia. Providing an insider's perspective on the condition, she suggests ways to recognize the signs of facial recognition difficulties in children, and offers specific ideas for ensuring that they are properly supported in their learning and social development. The issues of diagnosis and disclosure are explored, and the author offers practical management strategies for helping children to cope with the condition and to navigate the many different social situations they will encounter at home, at school, and in the community.

This book offers specific, practical information for parents, teachers, child psychologists, and anyone else who wishes to support the learning and development of a child with a facial recognition disorder.

Visual Impairment in Children Due to Damage to the Brain. Gordon Dutton & Martin Bax, Editors, $156.00

The increased awareness of cerebral visual impairment in children, combined with improved recognition of its wide ranging manifestations, has led to its recognition as the most common cause of visual impairment in children in the developed world.

This ambitious book links the work of authors from many of the major research teams in this field, who have made significant contributions to the literature on the subject of cerebral visual impairment and provide a structured amalgam of the viewpoints of different specialists.  The book will be of great practical value to those who care for children with visual impairment due to brain injury.

Visual Strategies for Improving Communication: Practical Supports for School and Home, 2nd Edition. Linda Hodgdon, $44.95

This revised and updated edition of this bestseller is the most comprehensive book to explain the use of visual strategies to improve communication for students who experience moderate to severe communication challenges. It is full of easy-to-use techniques and strategies that will help these students participate more effectively in social interactions and life routines.

The Water Giver: the Story of a Mother, a Son and Their Second Chance. Joan Ryan, $17.00

Both a medical drama and meditation on motherhood, The Water Giver is Joan Ryan's honest account of her doubts and mistakes in raising a learning-disabled son and the story of how his near-fatal accident gave her a second chance as a parent.

What's Up with Jo? Medikidz Explain BRAIN TUMORS. Kim Chilman-Blair & John Taddeo, $11.99 (ages 8-15)

Jo is usually the star of her baseball team, so when the symptoms of her brain tumour start to put her off her game she quickly needs an explanation in order to help her understand what is going on. 

Luckily the Medikidz come to the rescue! They take Jo on a journey inside the brain to learn all about the roles of neurons and glial cells, and to see exactly how brain tumours are caused when these cells start behaving badly. The Medikidz use their expert knowledge and special brand of edutainment to explain to Jo how the various treatments like chemotherapy and radiotherapy can work inside the body to help her get better. 

When Your Child Has a Disability: the Complete Sourcebook of Daily and Medical Care, 2nd Edition. Mark Batshaw, $31.95

This easy-to-read guide is a proven resource for helping parents meet the demands of raising a child with a disability. You'll get updated, expert advice on a wide range of medical and educational issues as well as detailed coverage of the daily and long-term care requirements of specific disabilities, including brain trauma and illnesses. New to this edition are chapters exploring nutrition, dental care, and the transition to adulthood, as well as information on development and commonly used medications. Answers to frequently asked questions follow the chapters, addressing common parent concerns like sleep, behavior, medication, and potential complications.