Disabled Books

We took these books to South Africa and gave them away at the first ever Conference on Ministering to Children with Disabilities. They were "door prizes" and were very well received.

I am the Nursery Coordinator and serve on the Ministries Committee at our reformed Presbyterian church. I am also the mother of a 13 year old son with special needs. We are utilizing this valuable resource teaching children at our church about disabilities in general and how to befriend special needs' kids not just tolerate them.

One of the best things about this book is that it is a simple read and very easy to implement. In my opinion, it's a great starting point for introducing a special needs ministry.

September 1955. Six-year-old Mark O'Brien moved his arms and legs for the last time. He came out of a thirty-day coma to find himself enclosed from the neck down in an iron lung, the machine in which he would live for much of the rest of his life.

How I Became a Human Being is Mark O'Brien's account of his struggles to lead an independent life despite a lifelong disability. In 1955, he contracted polio and became permanently paralyzed from the neck down. O'Brien describes growing up without the use of his limbs, his adolescence struggling with physical rehabilitation and suffering the bureaucracy of hospitals and institutions, and his adult life as an independent student and writer. Despite his weak physical state, O'Brien attended graduate school, explored his sexuality, fell in love, published poetry, and worked as a journalist. A determined writer, O'Brien used a mouthstick to type each word.

O'Brien's story does not beg for sympathy. It is rather a day-to-day account of his reality?the life he crafted and maintained with a good mind, hired attendants, decent legislation for disabled people in California, and support from the University of California at Berkeley. He describes the ways in which a paralyzed person takes care of the body, mind, and heart. What mattered most was his writing, the people he loved, his belief in God, and his belief in himself.

Mark O'Brien was the subject of the 1997 Academy Award?winning documentary Breathing Lessons. He was a published poet and cofounder of the Lemonade Factory, a California press that published poetry by people with disabilities. O'Brien died in 1999 at the age of forty-nine after completing a draft of How I Became a Human Being . Gillian Kendall is a writer. She has contributed to both Outright Radio and Sun magazine; one of her short stories appeared in The Student Body, also published by the University of Wisconsin Press.

"How I became a human being" is a great read. It is one of those books that I had trouble putting down, once I had begun reading it. Mark O'Brien is a truely inspirational person, who proves that if you set your mind to something, you can achieve whatever you want to in life despite, in his case, extraordinary obstacles. I simply can't imagine being paralysed from the neck down. What amazed me while reading the book, was that at times, I forgot that Mark had such a profound disabilty, with his humour, personality and love coming through in his writing.
My only criticism of this book is that there was no mention at any point of Mark's realization that he would never walk again, that he would forever be reliant on others and indeed be reliant on an iron lung. When was he first told he would never walk again? How did he and his parents react to this news? Did he live in hope that by some miracle, he would walk again or did he accept that this was the way he was going to be for the rest of his life? After finishing the book, I felt that these questions were left largely unanswered.
Also, as Mark O'Brien died in 1999, I felt that it would have been good for the co-writer to have written an epilogue regarding the circumstances of his death. Throughout the book Mark comes close to death on several occasions and he talks about death in quite some detail, but the reader is left with no details of the actual circumstances in which he died.
Despite these criticisms, I recommend this book highly. It is an amazingly inspirational read.

excellent. informative. as a homeschool parent I agree with many of his suppositions.

Mr. Armstrong helped us find our child's learning style and our 12 year blossomed from an insecure, discouraged and failing student to a confident, enthusiastic young person who now finds joy in learning. This book shows that any child CAN learn, and shows the reader how to make it happen.

After reading this book I can only hope that I will be lucky enough to have a student with severe and multiple disabilities in my classroom some day. The book has a lot of practical ideas, simple and easy to use and at the same time there are a lot of references to actual research. This is a very inspiring book!

Dr. Downing does a wonderful job in this book of offering
teachers practical information. She has a section devoted to
each stage of education from preschool to high school & within
each section offers specific tips on how to modify both the
environment & the curriculum. She also addresses common
concerns such as dealing with disruptive behavior & a lack of
adequate planning time or support staff resources.
A great addition to any teacher's resource library!

The Kaleidoscope Kid: Focusing on the Strengths of Children with Asperger Syndrome and High-Functioning Autism is a unique children's picturebook celebrating the gifts possessed by individuals with Asperger Syndrome and high-functioning autism. Written by English-as-Second Language teacher Elaine Marie Larson to help her grandson San, who has Asperger Syndrome, The Kaleidoscope Kid reminds young readers of the positive qualities held by those with autism spectrum disorders. "I Have a Keen Mind // Just Ask Me // Did you know / There are lizards that fly, / And snakes, fish and frogs / That soar through the sky? / It's an amazing thing / How some creatures / Can fly without wings. / How can it be? / Just ask me." Some of the rhyming verses have unusual features, such as being written backwards (a mirror helps to read them) or in the form of a Japanese haiku. The brilliant, solid color mosaic illustrations complement this uplifting picturebook, highly recommended for read-aloud sharing with autism spectrum children.

The lovely and creative cover really captured my attention and I had to read this valuable book. It celebrates the uniqueness and gifts that those with autism offer to us all. I thoroughly enjoyed the illustrations on each page...a work of colorful art. Plus the creative poems are sure to capture the attention of the young and young at heart. It would make a terrific birthday or holiday gift. It's a complete package of fun! Joanna Keating-Velasco Author A IS FOR AUTISM, F IS FOR FRIEND

This screenplay is a wonderful blend of historic fact and character study. Academically the author presents bee behavior, hive construction, and the monumental, worldwide, and timeless effect that Lorenzo Langstroth made with his discoveries. Theatrically the reader is caught up in a riveting, suspense story of a brilliant man wanting to save bee lives and his wife who helps him persevere in his quest. The Civil War era setting takes us back in time, but the struggles of mental illness (in the presence of extreme intelligence), religious conviction, marital dedication, family financial obligations, and patent intrusions are current challenges. Please do read this wonderful piece and learn about Lorenzo's "bee space" and the road to discovery.

The universal theme of KING OF THE BEES is "triumph over adversity." Lorenzo Langstroth suffered all his life, both physically and mentally, from a terrifying undiagnosed ailment that nearly drove him mad from pain. His wife Anne stood resolutely by him throughout his long ordeal, refusing to let him give up until he fulfilled his destiny to save bees from destruction. Anne, in fact, is the protagonist--the driving force--in my story, with Lorenzo as antagonist. Lorenzo's discovery of the principle of "bee space," his radical new hive invention, and his enduring book on beekeeping would never have been possible without the love, devotion and fierce determination of Anne Tucker Langstroth--the woman both behind and beside the genius (and sometimes in front--pulling!). If Lorenzo, the "Father of American Beekeeping," truly was "King" of the bees, then Anne, just as surely, was their "Queen."

As a mother of two children with ADD and a teacher of LD/ADD students, I highly recommend it to anyone dealing with a child diagnosed with, or undergoing tests for, learning disabilities and/or Attention Deficit Disorder (with or without hyperactivity). Having read many books on the subject, I consider this one to be the best I've read. This book really helped me understand my kids' ADD problems. It addresses many topics in an easy to understand way, that I continue to refer to again and again. I keep a list of highlighted passages that I often bring to the attention of my fellow teachers, my students' parents, and friends struggling with their children's learning issues.

Over the last three years I have read through few and skimmed through many on the subject. This book is definitely one to read cover-to-cover, get out your highlighter and keep handy. I checked it out at the Library and now have bought a copy for my library. I am sure I will refer to it often, because it has very practical advice and doesn't over analyze, yet doesn't simplify either. I particularly liked the section dealing with what the schools will, might and probably won't do. The chapter on family life and LD children was a little short, but very informative.

From this book I learned to respect my son for what he is, not what he should be. Learning can only take place when you accept your child for what he/she is. My attitude toward my son was that I needed to "fix" him, so that he could be the same as other children. I learned to accept and celebrate his uniqueness. This book is from a Christian perspective but I think it would help anyone who has a child who is struggling academically, emotionally, or physically. We homeschool our special needs son. As per Joyce Herzog's advice, he spends a lot of time doing things he is interested in, rather than trying to grind the academics in him. He's much more receptive to doing his school work if he's able to play with his Legos or look at maps, things he loves doing! As I said, this book was life changing for our family! The author's suggestions are practical and easy to implement, which is great for families who are already worn out from dealing with their special needs children. The chapters are short and easy to read - no education jargon here! This is a very helpful book, written for parents in a style easy to understand.

Of all the books about educating children with learning disabilities, this is my favorite. It is written from a Christian perspective, so it may not be for everybody. However, Herzog has many years of experience, practical suggestions, and she puts all of the jargon and psychobabble in the proper perspective.

My favorite section of the book is where she lists the qualities and characteristics many LD children have -- the POSITIVE qualities, as well as the problem areas. This is the whole key to having the proper attitude towards these children, and teaching them effectively.

Herzog also points out that school is but one aspect of any person's life, and it is TEMPORARY. She gives many specific examples of people who did miserably in school, but had very successful lives anyway.

An extremely helpful and welcome book.

Our company have taken part to CONTACT-ART EUROPEAN PROJECT, with artistic-disabled and no persons.
I feel a very very excating-human experience.
This book "tell" about these experience.

We had expirence adam bengamin's dance workshops for disable and non-disable dancers, and found a new world. We dicided to continue practicing in this field and read and reread this beautiful book, worked with the exercises and the idea they present, and passed them to other dancers which found this new world too, found a place in themself that let them do and feel things they didn't believe.
This book is a must for anybody who wants to go to these places.

If Shackelton made it across the antartic as planned he probably would not be as well-known as he is today. The feat he and his crew managed to pull is simply astounding. One of the most inspiring adventure stories of all time in my opinion.
Amru Albeiruti

The collective effort of Jonathon Shackleton (Antarctic special and a cousin of the famed explorer) and biographer John Mackenna, Shackleton: An Irishman In Antarctica is an informed and informative portrayal of Ernest Shackleton's historic, dramatic, highly dangerous South Pole expedition. Even though the voyage's ultimately failed to achieve it's stated goal, and Shackleton's crew were stranded on ice floes, all hands worked together to survive for a year before the perilous return to civilization could be made. Not a single man died in Shackleton's expedition, a credit to Shackleton's leadership and determination. His is a profound, inspirational, and keenly engaging story which is very highly recommended reading.