Alphabet Kids — From ADD to Zellweger Syndrome: a Guide to Developmental, Neurobiological and Psychological Disorders for Parents and Professionals. Robbie Woliver, $24.95

From ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder) to ZS (Zellweger Syndrome) there seems to be an alphabet disorder for almost every behavior, from those caused by serious, rare genetic diseases to more common learning disabilities that hinder children's academic and social progress. This comprehensive, easy-to-read go-to guide will help parents to sort through all the interconnected childhood developmental, neurobiological and psychological disorders and serve as a roadmap to help start the families' journey for correct diagnoses, effective treatment and better understanding of their Alphabet Kids.

The ‘Are’ Word: Helping Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities Deal with Bullying and Teasing. Dave Hingsburger, $10.50

People with intellectual disabilities are often the brunt of bullying and teasing – on the street, in the schoolyard and in the workplace. This practical and compassionate little booklet suggests new strategies for dealing with mean people, their remarks and actions. A great booklet for parents, family, educators and caregivers, THE 'ARE' WORD will help you better understand and support the person with an intellectual disability.

Autism Early Intervention: Fast Facts. Raun Melmed, $10.50

This practical and easy-to-use guide explains the evaluations, diagnoses and treatments for children with Autism Spectrum Disorders.

Autism Encyclopedia: the Complete Guide to Autism Spectrum Disorders. E. Amanda Boutot & Matt Tincani, $29.95

Concise, reader-friendly articles that provide answers to the most pertinent questions related to educating and parenting children with autism.

Autism in the Family: Caring and Coping Together. Robert Naseef, $26.95

How can parents provide the best support for their child with autism — and ensure that the whole family's needs are met? It's a question faced by every parent of a child on the autism spectrum, and this book answers it with keen insight, reassuring honesty, and practical guidance. A psychologist and father of an adult son with autism, Dr. Robert Naseef has both personal and professional expertise to share with overwhelmed families. Weaving wisdom from years of clinical practice with candid first-hand insights on parenting a child from birth through adulthood, Naseef helps parents:

• navigate the complex emotional journey to acceptance
• guide their child's behavior and development at every age
• maintain a strong and mutually supportive marriage
• understand the needs of siblings and provide sensitive support
• collaborate effectively with professionals
• address specific issues like meltdowns, food sensitivities, sleeping, and toileting
• manage stress
• build a strong circle of support with family and friends

Parents will benefit from chapters on navigating their child's adolescence and adulthood, and rare in-depth coverage of the needs, emotions, and parenting experiences of fathers. A warm, down-to-earth, and practical guide for parents — and an enlightening read for the professionals who work with them — this book will be a valuable companion as families love and support their child with autism.

Autism & the Grandparent Connection: Practical Ways to Understand and Help Your Grandchild with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Jennifer Krumins, $24.95

For many parents and grandparents a diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder is a jolt into a new and largely unknown world. One thing is for certain, parents of children with autism need support ... a lot of support. The role of grandparents cannot be overstated. Grandparents have the power to make life more manageable for your children and your grandchild. You have the potential to enhance the whole family's ability to cope and to build a beautiful relationship with your grandchild.

Filled with practical information, this book will undoubtedly give you the tools you need to provide stability, support and strength to your grandchild with autism. You will be empowered to be the best you can be.

Autism Handbook for Parents: Facts and Strategies for Parenting Success. Janice Janzen, $18.95

AUTISM HANDBOOK FOR PARENTS provides families with the information needed to help them advocate for their child and make decisions on the various treatments and educational interventions available. This is a practical guide for those looking to be an effective advocate, teacher and parent for their child with autism.

The Beauty of Love: a Memoir of Miracles, Hope and Healing. Laura Posada & Jorge Posada, $27.99

Jorge and Laura Posada were accustomed to being on top of the world. But all of that changed when their first-born was diagnosed with craniosynostosis, a birth defect that causes an abnormally shaped skull. Their priorities swiftly changed, as Jorge and Laura navigated their way through the challenges of their son's diagnosis and eventual treatment, which has included eight major surgeries. Laura stayed home with her son, while Jorge suffered in silence as he tried to stay strong under the pressure to perform as a Yankees baseball player.

Amid their fear, confusion, and anxiety as young parents, they decided to keep their son's sickness a secret to protect him from a media frenzy, but in time they realized it was this very celebrity status that would allow them to make a difference. They decided to open the Jorge Posada Foundation to help kids with the same condition, a decision that gave new meaning to their lives.

THE BEAUTY OF LOVE is more than a memoir about dealing with childhood illness — it is a heartfelt and uplifting illustration of how a couple can endure stress and strife and come out stronger on the other side.

Believe in My Child with Special Needs! Helping Children Achieve their Potential in School. Mary Falvey, $21.95

The Boy in the Moon: a Father's Search for His Disabled Son. Ian Brown, $21.00

Walker Brown was born with a genetic mutation so rare that doctors call it an orphan syndrome: perhaps 300 people around the world also live with it. Walker turned twelve in 2008, but he weighs only 54 pounds, is still in diapers, can’t speak and needs to wear special cuffs on his arms so that he can’t continually hit himself. “Sometimes watching him,” Brown writes, “is like looking at the man in the moon — but you know there is actually no man there. But if Walker is so insubstantial, why does he feel so important? What is he trying to show me?”

In a book that owes its beginnings to Ian Brown’s original Globe and Mail series, he sets out to answer that question, a journey that takes him into deeply touching and troubling territory.

Breakthrough Parenting for Children with Special Needs: Raising the Bar of Expectations. Judy Winter, $17.99

BREAKTHROUGH PARENTING FOR CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL NEEDS challenges families and professionals to help children with special needs to reach their full potential by using a proven motivational, how-to approach. This groundbreaking and inspiring book provides detailed information on how to let go of the “perfect-baby” dream, face and resolve grief, avoid the no-false-hope syndrome, access early intervention services, and avoid the use of limiting and outdated labels. Also included are specific guidelines for working with professionals, understanding the law and inclusion and planning for the future.

Building a Joyful Life with Your Child Who has Special Needs. Nancy Whiteman & Linda Roan-Yager, $26.95

All parents want the best for their child, and for parents of children with special needs, this can mean that their own well-being is neglected … This book considers the challenges of caring for children with physical, developmental and mental health disorders and proposes methods such as learning to see events through your child's own eyes, celebrating their strengths and achievements and recognizing how others can help your child. BUILDING A JOYFIL LIFE warns against parents neglecting their own needs, and a range of exercises to be completed by parents will help them to find ways of regaining balance in their lives.

Chasing Miracles. John Crowley, $27.95

This is the moving memoir of the family that inspired the film Extraordinary Measures. When John and Aileen Crowley learned that their two youngest children had Pompe disease, a rare and little understood genetic disorder, they didn’t hope for miracles — they made them happen. 

Chicken Soup for the Soul Celebrates Children with Special Needs: Stories of Love and Understanding for Those Who Care for Children with Disabilities. Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, Heather McNamara, & Karen Simmons. $16.95

Honest and uplifting stories from adults and children living with a variety of special needs, including autism, ADD, ADHD, Asperger’s syndrome, bipolar disorder, and paralysis. This is a collection of powerfully moving stories of resiliency, love, and promise told by family members, teachers, and people who have special needs.

The Common Sense Guide to Your Child’s Special Needs. Louis Pellegrino, $26.95

What does it mean when a child is having difficulty with developmental milestones like walking, talking, and learning to read and write? What are the signs that a disability might be present, and what next steps can parents take to help their child?

Pediatrician Louis Pellegrino gives you clear and down-to-earth answers in this new version of the trusted bestseller When Your Child Has a Disability. Now streamlined and reorganized by key developmental milestones rather than by disability, this book responds perfectly to the needs of parents who don't have a diagnosis yet or want to explore challenges common across disabilities. With reassuring warmth, good humor, and candor, Dr. Pellegrino offers practical guidance on what it means and what to do next when a child struggles with:

• speech and language development
• motor skills development
• daily living skills
• social skills
• behavioral control and attention
• learning and cognitive development
• vision, hearing, and sensory processing
• special medical issues

A go-to guide for families, and a highly accessible resource for professionals, this book will be a mainstay reference for everyone who picks it up. Keep it at your fingertips for a great developmental primer and the guidance you need to take first steps toward resolving a child's challenges.

Different Dads: Fathers' Stories of Parenting Disabled Children. Jill Harrison, Matthew Henderson & Rob Leonard, editors, $24.95

DIFFERENT DADS is a collection of inspiring personal stories written by fathers of children with a disability who reflect on their own experiences and offer advice to other fathers and families on the challenges of raising a child with a disability.

The fathers featured represent a broad spectrum of experience: Their contributions reflect a wide range of cultures and parenting perspectives: single fathers, married fathers and adoptive fathers. What they all have in common are the challenges that face them and their families in raising a child with a disability. Issues explored include the reactions of family, friends and colleagues, how to deal with the organizations and professionals that support families with a disabled child and the difficulty of being open about feelings in a culture that doesn't always expect men to have a sensitive or nurturing role.

Offering direct and thoughtful reflections, this book will be a valuable source of support and information for families with disabled children, and also for health and social care professionals who work with these families.

A Different Kind of Perfect: Writings by Parents on Raising a Child with Special Needs. Edited by Cindy Dowling, Neil Nicoll & Bernadette Thomas, $22.95

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.

Divorce and the Special Needs Child: a Guide for Parents. Margaret "Pegi" Price, $34.95

Going through a divorce is always tough, but when a child with special needs is involved it can be especially challenging. This book takes a clear and comprehensive look at every aspect of the legal divorce process, and addresses all of the legal issues that divorcing parents of children with special needs face. From agreeing upon child custody arrangements that meet the particular needs of the child, to making provision for child support payments, gathering together the documentation needed to prove a case, and dealing with financial issues such as debts and property distribution, no aspect of divorce is left uncovered. A set of checklists is included to ensure that parents consider everything they need to, and the book concludes with a useful list of further resources.

Written by an experienced family lawyer and divorced mother of a child with autism, this book offers much-needed guidance to divorcing parents of children with a variety of special needs.

The Elephant in the Playroom: Ordinary Parents Write Intimately and Honetly about Raising Kids with Special Needs. Denise Brode, $17.50

In THE ELEPHANT IN THE PLAYROOM, ordinary parents write intimately and honestly about the extraordinary highs and heartbreaking lows of raising kids with special needs. Candid, passionate, personal, and heartbreakingly funny, THE ELEPHANT IN THE PLAYROOM offers a superb view from within the whirlwind of parenting a child with special needs.

The Everything Parent’s Guide to Children with Special Needs. Lynn Moore, $16.95

A reassuring, informative guide to your child’s well-being and happiness.

Far From the Tree: Parents, Children and the Search for Identity. Andrew Solomon, $39.99

Solomon’s startling proposition is that diversity is what unites us all. He writes about families coping with deafness, dwarfism, Down syndrome, autism, schizophrenia, multiple severe disabilities, with children who are prodigies, who are conceived in rape, who become criminals, who are transgender. While each of these characteristics is potentially isolating, the experience of difference within families is universal, as are the triumphs of love Solomon documents in every chapter.

All parenting turns on a crucial question: to what extent parents should accept their children for who they are, and to what extent they should help them become their best selves. Drawing on forty thousand pages of interview transcripts with more than three hundred families, Solomon mines the eloquence of ordinary people facing extreme challenges. Whether considering prenatal screening for genetic disorders, cochlear implants for the deaf, or gender reassignment surgery for transgender people, Solomon narrates a universal struggle toward compassion. Many families grow closer through caring for a challenging child; most discover supportive communities of others similarly affected; some are inspired to become advocates and activists, celebrating the very conditions they once feared. Woven into their courageous and affirming stories is Solomon’s journey to accepting his own identity, which culminated in his midlife decision, influenced by this research, to become a parent.

Elegantly reported by a spectacularly original thinker, FAR FROM THE TREE explores themes of generosity, acceptance, and tolerance—all rooted in the insight that love can transcend every prejudice. This crucial and revelatory book expands our definition of what it is to be human.

From Isolation to Intimacy: Making Friends without Words. Phoebe Caldwell, $24.95

If you have no language, how can you make yourself understood, let alone make friends? Phoebe Caldwell has worked for many years with people with severe intellectual disabilities and/or autistic spectrum disorder who are non-verbal, and whose inability to communicate has led to unhappy and often violent behaviour. In this new book she explores the nature of close relationships, and shows how these are based not so much on words as on the ability to listen, pay attention, and respond in terms that are familiar to the other person. Her simple methods are accessible to anyone who lives or works with such people, and can transform lives and introduce a sense of fun, participation and of intimacy, as trust and familiarity are established.

Get Out, Explore and Have Fun! How Families of Children with Autism or Asperger Syndrome Can Get the Most out of Community Activities. Lisa Jo Rudy, $19.95

Many families with a child with autism or Asperger Syndrome feel that involvement in the community is not for them. This book sets out to change that, with a rich and varied menu of suggestions for how families can take full part in community life and support the strengths and interests of their child at the same time. GET OUT, EXPLORE AND HAVE FUN is a guide to what's out there, how to find it, and how to make it work for your family. The book includes hints and tips for involving your family in the right community activities, from sport to science; information on museums, arts organizations and science institutions as venues for an enjoyable and enriching day out for the family. Handouts about autism are included, as well as handouts suggesting ways in which organizations and institutions can successfully include young people with autism in their activities.

Gifts: Mothers Reflect on How Children with Down Syndrome Enrich Their Lives. Edited by Kathryn Lynard Soper, Foreword by Martha Sears, $23.95

In this candid and poignant collection of personal stories, sixty-three mothers describe the gifts of respect, strength, delight, perspective, and love, which their child with Down syndrome has brought into their lives. Their diverse experiences point to a common truth: The life of a child with Down syndrome is something to celebrate. These women have something to say--not just to other mothers but to all of us.

Grandparenting a Child with Special Needs. Charlotte Thompson, $22.95

When a new baby is born into a family, grandparents are excited about having a baby to enjoy and love. If the child is born with a disability, it can be difficult to know how to react and how best to help the child and the family as a whole. This book provides guidance on how to grandparent a child with special needs and give every grandchild the love and care they deserve and parents the added support they need.

How to Detect Developmental Delay and What to Do Next: Practical Interventions for Home and School. Mary Mountstephen, $22.95

If a child is not meeting expected milestones it can be a source of great anxiety for parents and teachers. This forthright guide offers practical advice on how to recognize the signs of developmental delay, address difficulties effectively, and help the child to flourish. By clearly explaining how children develop, drawing on the expertise of a number of specialists in the field and detailing straightforward interventions, the author enables parents and teachers to identify a wide range of problems and empowers them with the information they need to take action. Concise and accessible, this book provides a wealth of useful advice on how to address developmental delay, and will prove invaluable to parents, teachers and other professionals working with children.

Immortal Bird: a Family Memoir. Doron Weber, $18.99

A family’s love lies at the heart of this gifted boy’s fight to survive. Born with a congenital heart defect that required surgery when he was a baby, Damon Weber lives a big life with spirit and independence that have always been a source of pride to his parents, Doron and Shealagh. But when Damon is diagnosed with a new illness as a teenager, his triumphant coming-of-age tale turns into a darker and more dramatic quest: his family’s race against time and a flawed heath care system.

IMMORTAL BIRD is a searing account of a father’s struggle to save his remarkable son, a story of a young boy’s passion for life, and a tribute to his family’s love. It is also a story of the perils of modern medicine and the redemptive power of art in the face of the unthinkable.

Jesse: a Mother’s Story. Marianne Leone, $17.00

Jesse Cooper was an honor-roll student who loved to windsurf and write poetry. He also had severe cerebral palsy and was quadriplegic, unable to speak, and wracked by seizures. He died suddenly at age seventeen.

In fiercely honest, surprisingly funny, and sometimes heartbreaking prose, Jesse's mother, Marianne Leone, chronicles her transformation by the remarkable life and untimely death of her child. An unforgettable memoir of joy, grief, and triumph, JESSE: A MOTHER'S STORY unlocks the secret of unconditional love and speaks to all families who strive to do right by their children.

Life Beyond the Classroom: Transition Strategies for Young People with Disabilities, Fourth Edition. Paul Wehman, $82.50

This fourth edition of LIFE BEYOND THE CLASSROOM brings together current, comprehensive information on facilitating transitions for young people with mild, moderate, or severe disabilities. Readers will also get updated information throughout the book on transition planning, ensuring access to the general education curriculum, pursuing post-secondary education, helping individuals secure housing, meeting the specific needs of young people with a range of disabilities, and navigating the complex challenges of transition.

Married with Special Needs Children: a Couple’s Guide to Keeping Connected. Laura Marshak & Fran Prezant, $28.95

This book looks at the ways in which having a child with special needs can impact the parents and how a child's challenging needs can alter the structure of a relationship. For parents looking for ways to strengthen their bond and to prevent or resolve conflict, this guide offers practical and compassionate guidance and expertise. Mental health professionals and allied professionals working with special needs families will also benefit from the insights offered in MARRIED WITH SPECIAL NEEDS CHILDREN.

The Mom’s Guide to Asperger Syndrome and Related Disorders. Jan Johnston-Tyler, $22.95

THE MOM'S GUIDE TO ASPERGER SYNDROME AND RELATED DISORDERS is written primarily for parents of children who have newly been diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome. It is especially a great resource for the preschool through elementary school years … Above all else, the book arms parents with basic, sound information empowering them to seek out the very best services and programs for their child. From dealing with sensory issues and bullying to staying on top of homework, THE MOM'S GUIDE TO ASPERGER SYNDROME AND RELATED DISORDERS offers easy-to-use suggestions.

More Than a Mom: Living a Full and Balanced Life When Your Child Has Special Needs. Amy Baskin & Heather Fawcett, $27.50

MORE THAN A MOM addresses the universal concerns and questions of all mothers, coupled with the added intensity of raising children with disabilities. This how-to guide looks at the challenges mothers face at home, at work, and within themselves, with special attention paid to:

• Staying healthy both physically and emotionally
• Keeping friendships
• Parenting your other children
• Staying organized
• Maintaining your marriage
• Nurturing interests and goals
• Seeking flexible work options
• Changing careers or starting a business
• Rejoining the workforce
• Finding specialized childcare
• Advocating for your child

MORE THAN A MOM explores how women can lead rich, fulfilling personal lives while parenting a child with special needs. The authors’ skillful blend of research, personal experiences, and feedback from over 500 mothers across North America results in a book that is jam-packed with practical strategies, advice, and reassurance for mothers trying to create more manageable and fulfilling lives. Husbands, extended family, friends, support organizations, and service providers will also want to read this insightful and fact-filled book.

Mothering Special Needs: a Different Maternal Journey. Anna Karin Kingston, $33.95

This book explores the lived experience of mothers raising a child with a learning disability, through interviews with mothers of children with autistic spectrum disorder (ASD), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and Down syndrome.

MOTHERING SPECIAL NEEDS encourages other women who have children with special needs to recognize and express their own aspirations and needs for self-fulfillment. It addresses the social construction of motherhood, discussing issues such as mother-blame and society's images of the self-sacrificing mother, in the context of raising a child with a learning disability.

My Baby Rides the Short Bus: the Unabashedly Human Experience of Raising Kids with Disabilities. Yantra Bertelli, Jennifer Silverman & Sarah Talbot, Editors. $22.50

Featuring works by “alternative” parents who have attempted to move away from mainstream thought--or remove its influence altogether--this anthology, taken as a whole, carefully considers the implications of parenting while raising children with disabilities. This assortment of authentic, shared experiences from parents at the fringe of the fringes is a partial antidote to the stories that misrepresent, ridicule, and objectify disabled kids and their parents.

My Child Has Autism, Now What? 10 Steps to Get You Started. Susan Larson Kidd, $17.95

This concise, no-nonsense book will enable parents to regain control of the situation and take the first practical steps towards a calm and happy life with their newly-diagnosed child.

Dr. Larson Kidd's approach draws from the vast amount of information available on parenting a child with autism and distils it into ten manageable steps. It covers the key aspects of life with a child on the autism spectrum, including the basics such as sleeping, eating, and toileting, through adapting the home, creating routines, and exploring therapy. Ready-to-implement strategies are outlined simply and clearly, and are firmly grounded in the author's extensive experience of supporting children with autism.

No More Meltdowns: Positive Strategies for Managing and Preventing Out-of-Control Behavior. Jed Baker, with a foreword by Carol Stock Kranowitz, $15.50

Meltdowns are stressful for both child and adult. Author of the award-winning Social Skills Picture Book series, Dr. Jed Baker offers parents and teachers strategies for understanding, 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.

"Jed Baker, in this excellent book, gives us the tools to deal with and prevent out-of-control behavior. Wisely, he leads us grown-ups to understand how to change our own behavior in order to help our children change theirs."

- Carol Stock Kranowitz, Author of best-seller “The Out-of-Sync Child”

Not My Boy! A Father, a Son and One Family’s Journey with Autism. Rodney Peete, $32.99

Rodney Peete offers not only a heartrending, candid look inside his personal journey with his son’s autism but a first-of-its-kind, inspirational road map that will help families facing similar challenges to move forward. Effectively woven throughout Peete’s moving account of his life with his son R.J. are the powerful voices, insights, and dreams of other fathers, high-profile figures as well as unsung heroes, who’ve traveled this difficult path.

1001 Great Ideas for Teaching and Raising Children with Autism Spectrum, 2nd Edition. Veronica Zysk & Ellen Notbohm, $26.50

Parents and professionals can now bypass countless hours spent seeking answers to the mystifying day-to-day challenges of autism. In a snappy, can-do format, this book offers page after page of try-it-now solutions that have worked for thousands of children grappling with sensory, communication, social, behavioral, and self-care issues. Not only does it provide ideas and activities that can be put into action immediately, but it also explains WHY these methods work so that adults can better understand the children they are working with. Revised and expanded, more than 600 fresh ideas join tried and true tactics from the original edition, while many ideas pick up where the first edition left off – offering modifications for older kids.

Opening Doors, Opening Lives.  Jennifer Greening, $15.95

Have you ever wondered what it takes to educate your child with special needs in their neighborhood school? In OPENING DOORS, OPENING LIVES, author Jennifer Greening tells the story of her personal experiences related to getting her daughter integrated into the general education system. Written in a style that is gentle and friendly, OPENING DOORS, OPENING LIVES will encourage parents of children with special needs with practical ways they can support their own child's educational journey.

Optimizing Care for Young Children with Special Health Care Needs. Elisa Sobo & Paul Kurtin, $44.95

Primary care physicians and other health care providers can help families get the best care and services for young children with special health care needs (CSHCN) in this one-of-a-kind field guide to the critical issues, policies, and practices affecting medical care for CSHCN from birth to age 5.

Ordinary Families, Special Children: a Systems Approach to Childhood Disability, 3rd Edition. Milton Seligman & Rosalyn Benjamin Darling, $43.95

Now in a revised and expanded third edition, this popular clinical reference and text provides a multi-systems perspective on childhood disability and its effects on family life. The volume examines how child, family, ecological, and socio-cultural variables intertwine to shape the ways families respond to disability, and how professionals can promote coping, adaptation, and empowerment. Accessible and engaging, the book integrates theory and research with vignettes and firsthand reflections from family members.

Parenting Your Complex Child: Become a Powerful Advocate for the Autistic, Down Syndrome, PDD, Bipolar, or Other Special-Needs Child. Peggy Lou Morgan, $19.95

The unique tracking and documentation tools in PARENTING YOUR COMPLEX CHILD help parents adapt to their child’s challenges, create routines that support the child’s needs, communicate those needs to busy professionals and be taken seriously by them. The book also helps parents lay the groundwork for care to continue after they themselves can no longer provide it. Compassionate, practical, and proven, PARENTING YOUR COMPLEX CHILD helps parents ensure that life-changing decisions are based on the best interests of the child — and on the best information available.

The Pocket Occupational Therapist for Families of Children with Special Needs. Cara Koscinski, $22.95

If you are unsure about what occupational therapy (OT) is and how it can help your child, this accessible overview is for you. Answering all of the common questions about the issues an occupational therapist might address with a child with special needs, including core muscle strength, feeding, fine motor skills, sensory sensitivities, transitions and life-skills, this book also offers simple activities to practice at home that are inexpensive, fun and, most-importantly, OT-approved.

This will be an illuminating and essential guide for parents and carers of children with physical and developmental disabilities or parents of children in rehabilitation from illness or injury. Professionals who want to learn more about the principles and practicalities of occupational therapy will also find it useful.

Positive Discipline for Children with Special Needs: Raising and Teaching All Children to Become Resilient, Responsible and Respectful. Jane Nelsen, Steven Foster & Arlene Raphael, $19.00

Every child deserves to lead a happy and fulfilling life. For parents and teachers of children with special needs, helping their child to not only negotiate daily challenges, but to live fulfilling, meaningful lives, can be the most difficult challenge they will face. Over the years, millions of parents and teachers have come to trust Jane Nelsen’s classic Positive Discipline series for its consistent, commonsense approach to childrearing. Now, the bestselling series addresses the specific challenges that parents and teachers of children with special needs face, and offers them straightforward advice for supporting them in positive ways. In these pages are practical solutions to challenges such as:

Learning to look beyond diagnostic labels • Believing in each child's potential regardless of his/her stage of development • Helping children integrate socially and interact with their peers • Coping with the frustration that inevitably occurs when a child is being difficult • Strengthening a child's sense of belonging and significance • And Many More!

Raising Special Kids: a Group Program for Parents of Children with Special Needs, Facilitator's Manual. Jared Massanari & Alice Massanari, $15.95

Raising Special Kids: a Group Program for Parents of Children with Special Needs, Parent Guidebook. Jared Massanari & Alice Massanari, $21.95

This eight-session group program is a mutual support program that allows parents to share stories and explore what works and what doesn't in their unique relationships between their children and families. Each chapter presents a central theme that weaves together their own needs and the needs of their child. The program focuses on:

• Encouraging parents to explore their own very intense emotional responses to raising a child with special needs.
• Helping parents identify their lost dreams, express feelings that accompany loss, and, at the same time, deeply love the child now in their lives.
• Helping parents experience the gifts that their child offers.
• Encouraging parents to practice self-care and appreciate all that they do for their child.
• Strengthening both the parent-child connection and the family as a whole.
• Improving family communication and developing skills to help children reach optimal potential.

RAISING SPECIAL KIDS offers insights and guidance for any parent facing the challenges of raising a child with physical, developmental, behavioral, or emotional special needs.

Ready, Set, Potty! Toilet Training for Children with Autism and Other Developmental Disorders. Brenda Batts, $18.95

Potty training a child with developmental disorders can be a real challenge, and sometimes the extra difficulties make you feel as though you've tried everything, and failed.

Bursting with ideas on how to see past conventional strategies and adapt toilet training to suit your child, this book outlines methods that have helped even the most despairing of parents and caregivers. Examples of success stories range from two-year-olds to adults aged 20, and show that no matter how difficult it may seem, a little creativity and adaptation can get anyone toilet trained, even when all previous attempts have failed. The program itself is supported by plenty of helpful hints and tips, and covers all you need to get your child past the diaper stage and help them to achieve a big step towards independence.

When Jennifer Groneberg and her husband learned they'd be having twin boys, their main concern was whether they'd need an addition on their house. Then, five days after Avery and Bennett were born, Avery was diagnosed with Down syndrome.

Here, Jennifer shares the story of what followed. This book is a resource, a companion for parents, and above all, a story of the love between a mother and her son, as she learns that Avery is exactly the child she never knew she wanted.

School Success for Children with Special Needs: Everything You Need to Know to Help Your Child Learn. Amy James, $15.50

SCHOOL SUCCESS FOR CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL NEEDS offers parents a guide for understanding and navigating the often-confusing special education system to ensure that your child gets the best education possible. It tells you:

• How to know if your child has a physical, learning, or emotional disability
• How to help formulate your child’s Individualized Education Program (IEP)
• Information on the many ways schools and teachers can accommodate for children with disabilities
• How to assess our child’s progress
• How can you help your child be successful at school and in life by reinforcing basic skills at every age
• How to plan for transitioning your child to the wider world

The Shape of the Eye: a Memoir. George Estreich, $18.00

When Laura Estreich is born, her eyes present a puzzle: Does their shape indicate Down syndrome, or simply the fact that she has a Japanese grandmother? In this powerful memoir, poet George Extreich reflects on his daughter’s inheritance — from the family history that precedes her to the legacy of her genes, to mistaken portrayals of Down syndrome today. Against this backdrop hew shows us a child who is quirky and real — and loved for everything ordinary and extraordinary about her.

Leaving a child with a paid respite care worker, friend, neighbor, or even an extended family member, represents a potentially stressful situation for parents of children who have an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or any other developmental challenge. SHARING INFORMATION ABOUT YOUR CHILD WITH AUTISM eases some of the apprehensions associated with parents communicating their child’s behavior, daily living patterns and food rituals to a person who is not familiar with the child. A caregiver might forget important verbal suggestions from the parents, but if the information is written down, the caregiver has a backup resource to aid his or her memory recall while the parents are away.

• Describes how parents can document their child’s medical issues, preferences, skill levels, and other information
• Short handouts that can help respite workers understand general topics such as the importance of routines or relaxation strategies
• Case studies illustrate how information about behavior and positive behavior supports might be shared, in a written format, between a parent and respite worker
• Blank forms for parents to use for paper-and-pencil preparation of information material. In addition, an accompanying CD allows parents to use their computer to prepare the information sheets and to print the supplementary handouts.
• References and suggested reading or viewing material

While it is very challenging to prepare someone for the task of childcare, this book helps parents to remember to share the important “stuff” about their particular child.

Small Steps Forward: Using Games and Activities to Help Your Pre-School Child with Special Needs, 2nd edition. Sarah Newman, $24.95

SMALL STEPS FORWARD includes up-to-date research and practice, providing parents and caregivers with the information they need and a host of ideas to encourage their child's development. The games and activities use toys and materials which most children will already have, and involve no special preparation. Sarah Newman divides skill development into six areas — cognitive, linguistic, physical, sensory, social and emotional — for convenient reference. The book also deals with issues like behavior management, toilet-training and sleep problems.

Special Needs Kids Go Pharm-Free. Judy Converse, $20.00

At last — nutrition strategies designed to lessen dependence on prescription medications and to help your child thrive. The book’s nutrition-focused tools help minimize meds and maximize health and well-being. Covers autism, asthma, ADHD, allergies, mood disorders and learning problems.

The Special Needs Planning Guide: How to Prepare for Every Stage of Your Child's Life. John Nadworny & Cynthia Haddad, $32.50

Developed by two financial planning experts who also have family members with special needs, this one-of-a-kind book includes all the tools families need to create an effective action plan for their finances. A book parents will use for the rest of their lives, this guide is also a valuable addition to the reference library of every service provider.

Spiritual Healing with Children with Special Needs. Bob Woodward, $24.95

SPIRITUAL HEALING WITH CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL NEEDS gives a fascinating account of individual healing sessions with children with complex special needs and moderate to severe learning difficulties. From his perspective as both spiritual healer and curative educator, the author demonstrates the benefits of spiritual healing for these children as a natural, non-invasive, holistic approach that restores balance and harmony to body, soul and spirit.

Supportive Parenting: Becoming an Advocate for Your Child with Special Needs. Jan Starr Campito, $27.95

When Jan Campito first entered the world of special needs, she trusted the experts to tell her how to proceed. An articulate, well-educated and confident person, she found she became passive and trusting when it came to assuming people would tell her what was wrong with her children's development and what to do to help them. Since no one else was stepping up to find appropriate help for her children, she realized that she needed to take on that responsibility. In SUPPORTIVE PARENTING, Jan Campito shares with other parents her experiences and offers valuable insight into the advocacy process for both parents and professionals.

Talking Teenagers: Information and Inspiration for Parents of Teenagers with Autism or Asperger's Syndrome. Ann Boushéy, $27.95

TALKING TEENAGERS covers everyday topics and explores the challenges of parenting across the spectrum during the teenage years. Parents will come away with a sense of empowerment and feeling that they are not alone, while professionals will gain a valuable and compassionate insight into the world of parenting a teenager on the autism spectrum.

Teaching Your Child with Love and Skill: a Guide for Parents and Other Educators of Children with Autism, Including Moderate to Severe Autism. Joyce Show, $27.95

Guided by love, faith and unwavering resolve, Joyce Show offers practical advice based on her experiences as both a mother and a physician. She takes the reader by the hand through all the steps of cognitive, social, and emotional development from initial engagement to abstract thinking, and provides straightforward primers for popular interventions such as Floortime and Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA). Parents will learn how to motivate play, build up communication, deal with challenging behaviors, and teach important everyday life skills, while growing in a trusting relationship with their child.

This book offers encouragement and guidance to the parents of any child on the autism spectrum whether high or low functioning, as well as the teachers, therapists, family members, and friends who support them.

Thrifty Nifty Stuff for Little Kids: Developmental Play Using Home Resources, Birth to 5. Dee Blose & Laura Smith, $56.50

Assist young children with special needs by adapting ordinary household objects into more than 230 creative activities. You'll have complete instructions for making inexpensive and easy-to-construct therapeutic toys. Use these in activities to improve language, fine motor, gross motor, and cognitive skills in young children. Plus, a description of typical development for each age range is included.

These fresh ideas enable professionals to develop new ways to build skills and to adapt toys, equipment and ideas for sensory-based activities.

Understanding Your Young Child with Special Needs. Pamela Bartram, $16.95

UNDERSTANDING YOUR YOUNG CHILD WITH SPECIAL NEEDS explores the developmental impact of disability on normal stages of child development, and examines the complex nature of the emotional bonds between parents and their children with special needs.

Unfolding the Tent: Advocating for Your One-of-a-Kind Child. Anne Addison, $22.95

UNFOLDING THE TENT is written for the parents of children with neurological and related disorders, introducing the concept of 'Life Maps' as a systematic approach to developing goals and strategies that guide an individual towards reaching their potential.

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.

This booklet has been designed by people with developmental delays for use by others with learning or cognitive disorders. The aim of the booklet is to guide them in learning to deal with their loss and to assist their caregivers in supporting them.

Where We Going, Daddy? Life with Two Sons Unlike Any Others. Jean-Louis Fournier, $14.00

Jean-Louis Fournier did not expect to have a disabled child. He certainly did not expect to have two. But that is precisely what happened to this wry French humorist and his attempts to live and cope with his Mathieu and Thomas, both facing extremely debilitating physical and mental challenges, is the subject of this brave and heartbreaking book. Fournier recalls the life he imagined having with his sons—but his boys will never really grow up, and he mourns the loss of every memory he thought he’d have.  Though a devoted father, he does not shy away from exploring the limits of his love, the countless times he is filled with frustration and disappointment with no relief in sight.

The Year My Son and I Were Born: a Story of Down Syndrome, Motherhood and Self-Discovery. Kathryn Lynard Soper, $14.50

How the birth of a disabled son led one mother to transcend her deepest fears and embrace life in all its glorious imperfections.

Yoga Therapy for Every Special Child: Meeting Needs in a Natural Setting. Nancy Williams, Illustrated by Leslie White, $22.95

Yoga therapy is gaining rapid recognition as a form of treatment that can improve the physical and mental wellbeing of children with a variety of complex needs. This book contains a specially-designed yoga program for use with children of all abilities, and provides both parents and professionals with the knowledge they need to carry out the therapy themselves.

The program consists of a series of postures, each of which is explained and accompanied by an illustration. The postures are designed to help children understand and use their bodies, and work towards positive changes such as realigning the spine, encouraging eye-contact, and promoting calm and steady breathing. Consideration is given to creating the right setting for carrying out the therapy, assessing an individual child's particular needs, and making the sessions fun using games and props. Sections on yoga therapy for specific conditions such as autistic spectrum disorder, Down syndrome, and cerebral palsy are included, and the book concludes with child and parent reports on how the program has worked for them, and a list of useful contacts and resources.

This practical book is a must for parents, teachers, therapists and other professionals, and anybody else who wants to help a child to develop through enjoyable and therapeutic yoga sessions.

Your Struggling Child: a Guide to Understanding & Advocating for Your Child with Learning, Behavior or Emotional Problems. Robert Newby, $17.99

Here is a practical, compassionate book parents can turn to when they first recognize that their child has a "problem" but aren't sure what it is or where to seek help. This book explains the different and overlapping symptoms of learning, mood, and behavior disorders and guides parents in getting the right diagnosis and treatment. Clear and comprehensive, this supportive guide will be every parent's first line of defense in helping a troubled child.