Disabled Books

I am very biased in reviewing this book because I know the author personally. She is in my metaphysical/paranormal discussion group in southern Oregon. I've known her for 3 years, and I have been impressed by her intellligence and kindness - she has achieved a balance between left brain and right brain abilities, and her book on labyrinths gives teachers and parents, for whom the book is written, excellent yet simple ways to develop both skills in children using the techniques she has developed and tested.

Joseph Campbell, the great mythologist, became famous posthumously for his saying, "follow your bliss." Lani's passion is labyrinths, for sure. As she states in the introduction, she "has focused her entire career trying to answer questions about how children learn, what motivates children to learn...and what makes an activity fun and successful." I can remember a number of times in our discussion group Lani discussing with infectious enthusiasm, her love of labyrinths and how she has used them in teaching children, especially children with handicaps, which she has been involved with for many years. Yet labyrinths are also very useful for children who are not handicapped. Lani also makes the important distinction between mazes, which are often a bit too challenging to figure out, vs. labyrinths, which are always well-defined, and whose destination is always easy to attain.

Lani and her husband toured the US in the summer of 2000 and if she knew there was a labyrinth in the area she was visiting, they stopped there!

The author, in a very easy to understand, thorough, and straightforward manner, shows the reader the various kinds of labyrinths as well as the skills used and developed in learning how to create them. She starts with very simple, basic patterns, and shows how to create 3-path, 7-path, 11-path, and 15-path labyrinths, as well as how to create double labyrinths. She then gives lists of many different kinds of materials that can be used to create these figures. She discusses how to "walk" a drawn labyrinth. Books and web sites are also provided at the end of the book.

Finally, there is an appendix that shows the basic patterns for labyriths, and then (of course) a second appendix with some beautiful labyrinths the author and her students have created from various materials, as well as interesting and fun drawings of labyrinths by Lani's students and not unexpectantly, her grandchildren!

If you have young children, I highly recommend Lani's book, her passion, to you!

Perhaps the biggest challenge facing speech language pathologists when working with their clients is getting them to generalize the newly-learned language targets to novel contexts. After all, what good is speech-language therapy if the client does not use the skills outside of the therapy room?

Dr. Owens' book, Language Disorders: A Functional Approach to Assessment and Intervention, addresses this issue in great depth. The book shows how a conversationally-based, client-centered approach to assessment and intervention will greatly increase the likelihood of generalization. It also shows how the traditional approach of teaching language targets separately and out of context may not be the best method to achieve generalization. The book stresses, rather, to assess and train language where it will be used: in conversation. Owens also discusses at length the assessment and intervention of culturally and linguistically diverse children.

One major point made in the book early-on regarding intervention is the idea of making a plan for generalization when picking language targets, before therapy begins. So often SLPs make the mistake of addressing generalization toward the end of intervention, resulting in the SLP choosing inappropriate targets and/or the client showing a lack of carryover to novel contexts.

Owens also includes numerous guidelines and procedures that could be especially helpful for the school-based clinician. The appendices in the book are exceptional. Most impressive is Owens' extensive index of preschool literature, complete with suggested targets for remediation for each story. Also, a detailed table of language targets accompanied by functional activities for each is provided. This book is a valuable tool for anyone who works with individuals with language disorders or language differences.

This book helps tell "where it's all falling apart" in understanding for students with special needs (i.e., those with language disorders who may also be classified as learning disabled or emotionally/behaviorally disordered, students in ESL, lower functioning general education students). With sections on "what part of ___ don't you understand" addressing question comprehension, figurative language, transitional phrases and conjunction, complex sentence structure, and complex vocabulary, it's easier to see where we, as teachers, sometimes "lose" students in our instructional discourse. This book is especially helpful for speech-language pathologists, ESL teachers, and special education teachers.

Helpful tables are included as are sample lesson plans for the concept introduced in the tables. Tables included address:
Stages of Children's Metalinguistic Ability
Selected Variables Influencing Language Intervention Decisions
Oral to Literate Transition
Narrative Development
Story Grammar
Event-Chain Development of Causality
Everyday and Instructional Discourse Differences
Characteristics of Narrative Types (e.g., Expository, Fictional,
Drama, Poetry/Rhyming)
Comprehension Strategies (Syntactic, Semantic, Inferential)

For example, one table lists (in developmental order) necessary elements for comprehension of a speaker's cohesive devices such as :
References (e.g., pronouns and their referents)
Lexical (e.g., synonyms--multiple labels for people and things)
Conjunctions and transitional phrases(more complicated ones like "yet, then, otherwise, after all, therefore, thus, more over, nevertheless")
Ellipsis (e.g., "Who's eating? I am (eating)"

We, as adults, take our instructional and directive speech for granted. This book helps educational personnel analyse their own discourse to break it down further and thus, make it more understandable for students. After all, language is the medium through which we impart knowledge. To be as clear as possible in our use of language, to match our level of discourse to the student population with whom we are working, and then checking and rechecking for understanding; all these skills will help us increase student comprehension of our instruction.

A definitive work on this subject!

Great resource for the explaination of language learning disabled students and strategies for teaching them, plus! Building working relationships with your specialists, especially Speech & Language pathologists, in order to truly enhance learning & success for all in the classroom. Amust have, especially for teachers without any foundatioal knowledge of language disorders.

As a parent and professional working with AD/HD kids, I'm delighted to have this resource. It's written with just the right mix of information, insight, compassion, and humor. A smart, timely, and valuable book!

This book is an absolute "must have" for all Special Education teachers. It breaks down specific Measureable Goals with specific benchmarks. Ideal for the new IEPs. This is only one book in a series and they range from elementary to highschool. Goals include listening skills, self-advocacy, behavioral, and many,many more. An ideal investment for any ESE department. I recommend it enthusiastically!!!!!!

Very informative and eye opening. If you are the parent of or work with children with LD I definitely recommend reading this book.

I have some questions that I'd very much like to ask Mr. Greene concerning learning disabilities. I would appreciate any help anyone can offer in locating Mr. Greene. Thank you.

Learning Disabilities Explained is just what the doctor ordered. This volume brings a new level of understanding to a very complex problem.A clear presentation of the major problems, with sources of help and answers to some of the more common questions are provided. While the material is presented in sufficient depth to satisfy the needs of professionals in the field, it is written in a manner which addresses the needs of parents for "plain english" explanations.

This review appeared in Learning A Living; A Guide to Planning Your Career and Finding A Job for People with Learning Disabilities, Attention Deficit Disorder, and Dyslexia;

A compendium of academic papers related to literacy and adults. Inclues information on employment, screening and assessment, instructional strategies, and future trends.