After Disability: a Guide to Getting on with Life. Lisa Bendall, $19.95

More than 3.6 million Canadians are living with some sort of disability, with mobility-related issues affecting nearly one in ten people. AFTER DISABILITY is the practical Canadian resource guide for living fully with a sudden disability. It is geared to the rising number of adults who have experienced injury, stroke, disease, arthritis or the effects of aging. In a positive and reader-friendly tone, author Lisa Bendall offers valuable information, strategies, suggestions, resources and stories from men and women who have experience with disability-related issues. Topics covered include:

• Assistive devices and technology
• Accessible housing
• Financial concerns
• Health and health care
• Self-advocacy and the law
• Education and employment
• Sexuality, family life and parenting
• Sports, recreation and the arts
• Transportation
• Travel

Informative, accessible and empowering, AFTER DISABILITY is the first book of its kind and is an essential and valuable resource for Canadians learning to live with a disability.

Another Alice. Alice Peterson, $16.00

An inspiring true story of a young woman — a rising tennis star — and her battle to overcome rheumatoid arthritis.

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

Best Friend on Wheels. Debra Shirley, illustrated by Judy Stead, $18.99 (gr. K-3)

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.

Dancing with Katya. Dori Chaconas, illustrated by Constance R. Bergum, $21.95

Anna loves to dance with her beloved sister Katya in the meadow of their family's Wisconsin farm. But during the summer in which Katya turns five she is suddenly overcome by a high fever. The doctor delivers a grim diagnosis: polio. Although she recovers from the lingering illness, Katya's legs are left weakened and twisted. Anna carries her to the meadow in a wheelbarrow now, and dances alone for her sister. Together they dream of a time when Katya will be able to join her in their ballerina game.

Don’t Get Cold Feet: Winter Fun is for Everyone! Bloorview Kids Rehab, DVD 12 minutes, $19.99

Winter provides loads of opportunities for getting out, having fun and enjoying different sensory experiences as well as participating in active family life. DON'T GET COLD FEET explores the variety of activities and adaptive equipment available for winter fun.

Helping Children and Adolescents with Chronic and Serious Medical Conditions: a Strengths-Based Approach. Nancy Boyd Webb (Editor), $69.50

Providing an innovative inter-professional model, Helping Children and Adolescents with Chronic and Serious Medical Conditions provides a multi-disciplinary approach so that practitioners from a diverse range of helping fields, working in hospitals, out-patient clinics, agencies and schools, may be better equipped to foster children's resilience and build on their emotional strengths. This is a vital tool for a broad range of health care professionals, including social workers, school counselors, play therapists, nurses, and many others.

How Come You Walk Funny? Tina Hahn, James Weyman, et al. Symmetree Media. DVD format, 79 minutes. $49.99

Finding a good school is tough, but finding a school that works for the Bowen twins is an even bigger challenge: Douglas is an able-bodied, bouncy 4-year old while brother Mark has cerebral palsy from oxygen deprivation when he was born. Their mother has worked hard to include Mark in all aspects of family life, but what happens when it's time for the boys to go to school and meet the real world?

The answer lies tucked away behind a quiet, well-kept neighborhood in North Toronto at the Bloorview MacMillan Centre School. Hailed by some parents as the utopia of kindergartens, the school's Integrated Kindergarten Program (IKP) is perhaps the only place in the world where committed parents and dedicated teachers deliver a bold childhood education program that marries academic exploration and self-discovery in a "reverse integration" setting that asks able-bodied kids to meet kids with physical challenges on their turf.

Enter a world where walkers and mobility equipment compete for space with scooters and trikes in the halls, where computer voices from communication devices mix with excited children's chatter. This is a place of laughter where achievement triumphs over differences — a world where anything is possible.

Watch a rambunctious class of 4 to 6 year-olds discover the common ground that unites them as they learn to milk a cow, parade in a dragon dance, find their perfect Valentine's match and dig for dinosaur bones in the Alberta Badlands. And witness the challenges and inspiration their parents discover as they try to extend inclusion beyond the classroom.

Imagine a Rainbow: a Child's Guide for Soothing Pain. Brenda Miles, Illustrated by Nicole Wong, $10.95

When a child is in pain, imagining scenes that are soothing or uplifting may help reduce the discomfort. IMAGINE A RAINBOW is a beautiful tool for introducing children to the idea of using their imaginations to cope with pain, whether by itself or as part of a more comprehensive pain management plan.

The book also includes an extensive Note to Parents that explains the techniques of imagery and deep breathing, and how to help children use them.

It’s OK to Be Me! Just Like You I Can Do Almost Anything! Jennifer Moore-Mallinos, $8.50

From a child’s point of view, life can often seem difficult, but this brightly illustrated book encourages children never to be afraid of a challenge. It’s all right to be a little scared about things that seem hard to do, but whatever the challenge, determination and practice can get them through. The child in this story must stay in a wheelchair. Sometimes, he feels bad because he is left out of things by his classmates. One day, watching his friends play basketball, he has an idea. He decides that even while remaining in his wheelchair, he too can learn to play the game.

Life Disrupted: Getting Real about Chronic Illness in Your Twenties and Thirties. Laurie Edwards, $16.95

LIFE DISRUPTED is a personal and unflinching guide to living well with a chronic illness: managing your own health care without letting it take over your life, dealing with difficult doctors and frequent hospitalizations, having a productive and satisfying career that accommodates your health needs, and nurturing friendships and a loving, committed relationship regardless of recurring health problems.

MY HEART VS. THE REAL WORLD is an extraordinary photo essay that explores the lives of children with congenital heart disease through striking photographs and interviews with subjects and their families. These are stories of how CHD patients and their families cope with and overcome extraordinary obstacles—and learn about themselves during the process. MY HEART VS. THE REAL WORLD is sometimes funny, sometimes sad, always thought–provoking, and altogether human.

Author Max Gerber is a professional photographer who was born three months premature with bradycardia (an abnormally low heart rate). He has had a pacemaker since the age of eight.

Raising a Child with Arthritis: from Infancy to Young Adulthood. Charlotte Huff, $16.50

RAISING A CHILD WITH ARTHRITIS provides solutions for the daily challenges in your child’s life.

For parents concerned about their child's growth, this authoritative resource presents comprehensive information to reassure and guide them in seeking help. Two of America's leading pediatric endocrinologists present reliable guidance on the diagnosis and treatment of growth disorders, from helping parents determine whether their child's height is normal to understanding when it's necessary to seek the advice of a specialist. Parents will also learn about the role of genetics, nutrition, and hormones in their child's growth as well as medical conditions that cause short stature. THE SHORT CHILD includes current research on treatment; including the controversial use of growth hormone, so you and your physician can decide what's right for your child.

Some Kids Use Wheelchairs. Lola Schaefer, $6.95 (Preschool to Grade 2)

Text and photographs discuss why some children cannot walk, how wheelchairs help them, and the everyday activities of children who use wheelchairs.

Some Kids Wear Leg Braces. Lola Schaefer, $6.95 (Preschool to Grade 2)

Describes some of the reasons children may wear leg braces and how they are helpful.

Starting a Conversation: School Children with Congenital Heart Disease. Jillian Roberts & Sheryle MacMath, $26.95

This book is for everyone who would like to learn about congenital heart disease. This book will inspire people to see the child, rather than the illness. This is the dream of these children. Starting a Conversation provides accessibility to the wealth of knowledge that has been generated by researchers so that teachers, school personnel, and parents can work together to create the best school environment possible. Together, a school environment can be established that supports, guides, and enriches the lives of children with congenital heart disease. Often, it is just a matter of starting a conversation.

Stickler Syndrome: Learning the Facts, DVD. Symmetree Media, $20.00 (29 minutes)

Stickler Syndrome is an under-diagnosed disease with profound medical consequences particularly with respect to vision and mobility. A genetic malfunction in the collagen found in bones, eyes, ears and the face, can lead to blindness, hearing loss, degenerative joint disease, chronic pain and facial effects. This new DVD, Stickler Syndrome: Learning the Facts aims to increase awareness of what can happen, the possible treatment options and provides support to those with and affected by Stickler Syndrome.

Written by an experienced physical therapist who is also the mother of a child with cerebral palsy, this comprehensive guide examines the physical characteristics of cerebral palsy and similar conditions — muscle tightness and weakness, increased or decreased flexibility, abnormal reflexes, impaired sensory perception — that affect a child's ability to sit, crawl, stand, and walk. Teaching Motor Skills offers dozen of easy-to-follow exercises with accompanying photos that parents may incorporate into many daily routines at home with the guidance and support of their child's physical therapist. This user-friendly guide helps parents and professionals coordinate their efforts to achieve the best possible outcome for the child.

You, Me and My OT. Paulette Bourgeois, illustrated by Kristi Bridgeman, $11.95

Emma wants to be an astronaut for a school project. She also has a disability. So Emma and her occupational therapist make plans to help her blast off with the rest of her class!

Your Child with Inflammatory Bowel Disease: a Family Guide for Caregiving. Edited by Maria Oliva-Hemker, David Ziking & Athos Bousvaros, $21.95

In this book, an expert team of pediatric gastroenterologists explains the symptoms, diagnoses, and treatments associated with Crohn disease, ulcerative colitis, and indeterminate colitis to help parents and children cope with the challenges of IBD. The book also provides parents with practical advice on how to tell their children about their IBD and discusses the challenges children may face at school and in their social lives, especially as they grow older. Additional information on IBD medications, complementary treatments, and further reading round out this comprehensive and reliable resource.