Specific Disabilities Books

I've been looking forward to the publication of this book. Gary and I have critiqued each other's writing for a decade as fellow members of the Internet Writing Workshop. I enjoy his wit and wisdom and am in awe of his positive attitude in overcoming obstacles. This is a memoir, not an autobiography, because it doesn't cover his childhood except for brief mentions of his father's military career. The focus is on what happened after polio, not only to him, but also how it changed the lives of his parents and brother. He mentions getting irritated with a priest who says, "It takes courage to spend each day confined to a wheelchair." Even I can realize it doesn't take courage to do something about which you have no choice. The courage comes from how you handle the situation. It took Gary many years of struggle, and he tells the story well.

We learn through his words the devastation of going from a can-do-everything teenager to a totally helpless being who can only talk and think and cannot even breathe without assistance. He takes us through the experience of being in an iron lung, of having a world consist of what can be seen in a small mirror above your face, of the transition to rocking bed and then wheelchair. He tells of living with his parents for thirty years and being cared for by them, the pain of their deaths, and then moving into an independent living apartment. His wheelchairs give him mobility, contrasting with the helplessness of being in bed. That is why he must always have a telephone within reach. He discusses the emasculating feeling of being a man who cannot take care of himself or physically help others.

Gary's story changes to a love story when Belinda comes to his apartment as one of his caregivers. They are now married and he is no longer alone. I wanted the book to end on this happy note, but it wraps up with the bitterness that permeates much of the book. I've read many of Gary's articles, and "7 Wheelchairs" contains only a small piece of the humor and wisdom and acceptance he normally expresses. This book doesn't show the complete Gary. I hope his next one will.

Reading the earlier reviews, I can see that anyone perusing this page in Amazon will have a pretty good idea of Gary Presley's basic story as far as a life, after the age of 17, following polio, in a wheelchair, goes.

In this quite easy to read, if difficult to live, history, Gary Presley uses words that make some of us a little uncomfortable: disabled, handicapped, invalid (and what a word that is, suggesting someone is not "valid"), paralysed, isolated, frightened. Another troubling word that pops up: normalcy.

One might think: "Well, that's all about life in seven wheelchairs."

Listen: Who among us cannot apply these words, even the terrifying "normalcy", to his or her life?

This is why I particularly enjoyed and benefitted from Gary Presley's account: There are Riding Lessons in "Seven Wheelchairs" for the likes of me.

It was interesting, and pleasing, to find that Presley's style is, at first, simple, untroubled (and untroubling), and has almost the naivete of a youth about it. The descriptions of falling to the earth, of being slotted into an iron lung, of being fitted for breathing apparatuses, at the age of 17, are fresh. There is no roughness of the man of 65 in it.

As the autobiography, for that is what this must be in many ways, progresses, the style and content matures. When Gary finds love the writing really is a serious read, you linger over every line, liking it all so much. You feel he has grown, the book itself, the medium, has been a transport.

The book itself: Mine has 226 pages, I read it in two days at a leisurely pace. It is printed on pleasant paper, and the University of Iowa Press that published it is committed to preserving natural resources, and that's all worth noting. The book weighs about 420g, so you can figure out how much postage you'll need to send a copy to a friend this coming holiday gifting season, and it shouldn't be onerous. Of course, Amazon can do that for you.

Finally, it seems to me that more than a few young people in their mid- to late-teens, say aged 17, could find this book a bit of a primer for life. Parents: Leave a copy on your son's bed.

When I was in my early twenties, I read, for the first time, "The Rack" by A.E. Ellis, and "The Magic Mountain" by Thomas Mann. Both novels, of course, and dealing with something that even 40 years ago we didn't trouble ourselves over much (tuberculosis). In my case, it was the musings of the characters, the troubled love lives, the frustrations, the breathing lessons, the psychologies, the philosophies, that kept me reading (and eventually re-reading) The Rack and The Magic Mountain.

I don't know whether people can be arsed to read those particular books now, but "Seven Wheelchairs: A Life Beyond Polio" by Gary Presley deals with things "that other people get, not me" in our lifetime. It's an important book, makes you take stock, look at your feet and the door, and it might give you the push to get a move on.

Seven Wheelchairs: A Life beyond Polio presents an unique opportunity to travel with seventeen year old Gary Presley to adulthood with polio as his life long companion.

The memoir opens with a shot in the arm, an injection to ward off polio. Seven days later life as the teenager has known it is gone. Presley and the mechanical devices necessary to sustain his life vie for domination. The reader sees a boy struggling with a gamut of emotions, struggling to understand what has happened, to accept the changes polio has visited on him.

The author's voice is powerful, commanding, and the reader sees Gary Presley, the man, emerge. The wheelchair, the apparatus to maintain life is present, but it fades into the background.

We see the author meet Belinda, his wife, watch as the relationship grows into love and, in time, marriage.

We come away with a deeper understanding and knowledge of the obstacles the author faced and recognize the courage it took to triumph.

Gary Presley took his last physical steps in 1959 when he was only 17-years- old. He contracted Polio from the Salk vaccine. It's ironic that he got it from the last in the series of immunizations meant to protect him from the very disease he contracted and it happened the very year that the Sabin vaccine, much safer than the Salk, was trial tested. Since then Presley has used a wheelchair to get around. In fact, he's gone through seven of them. Today, he is a writer and mentor, an editor of the Internet Review of Books, and an activist in the disability community.

It's been a long journey.

His memoir Seven Wheelchairs: A Life Beyond Polio, published this year by University of Iowa Press, tells the story of his pilgrimage from innocent victim to angry and defiant adult, and ultimately to an accepting, if somewhat battered, philosopher. In his own words:

"...cynical and unfeeling, a burnt-out case, which I attemptedattemptto explain away by saying I survived then and I survive now by mating an ignorant combination off existentialism and stoicism, by becoming a peculiar bastardized oddity rolling about the world, forever dependent."

I found this book fascinating on many levels. I am Critical Care nurse by training and the book is an in depth look backward at the treatment of Polio. I am old enough to remember Stryker frames, used to rotate paralysis patients in the ICU, but the Iron Lung was obsolete long before my nursing career began. Presley's descriptions of "the can" and the treatment he received in hospital are riveting.

I know from personal experience that many events that happened in his hospital stay would not be tolerated today. Nursing has come a long way since the 1960s. Simple acts such as turning a patient on a regular schedule would be done regardless of how reluctant or combative the patient might be, and Presley, by his own admission, was no easy patient. Anger and helplessness make for combative and frustrated patient. Sudden and irrevocable paralysis, a sentence.

In the years I took care of new paraplegics and quads I always tried to engage them to talk about their frustrations. Perhaps it takes as long as it has taken Presley to get to the root of the issues, to open up and speak the truth about himself as well as the world of "Crips."

Not only does he give us a look at treatments that now seem antiquated, but he uses his memoir to underscore the importance of the landmark Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. How it changed, not only his world, but the world of thousands upon thousands of disabled people in the United States. Presley uses the words Gimp and Crip to describe himself and his fellow travelers, but don't ever let him hear you use the expression "wheelchair bound." For him and others in the disability world wheelchairs liberate rather than imprison.

But fundamentally this memoir is a universal look into what disables us and what empowers us, regardless of whether we ride a wheelchair or not. As we travel the road with Presley we begin to see ourselves in his agony and frustration. We are all crippled to a degree by whatever limits our lives. What we do with that is how we ultimately live. Simply put, in Presley's words: "Of course, it is madness to regret what cannot be changed, and I now have learned to keep the madman locked away where he cannot hurt anyone."

This is the trap door where we store our anger and blame once we have the maturity to understand that we are responsible for how we choose to live our lives. By the end of the memoir we watch Gary Presley find work, love, parenthood, and a life without rancor. "The paralyzed man miraculously found the ability to turn the other cheek, "'to live each day fully and gracefully.'"

Some people might be afraid to pick this book up. Those same people might also be afraid to look hard into their own lives. Seven Wheelchairs: A Life Beyond Polio is a book that is educational on a political and social level as well as a personal one.

It is well worth a read.

Gary Presley offers readers a unique philosophy about life and from an even more distinctive vantage point -- his nearly fifty years spent "with my ass planted in a wheelchair."

In this no-nonsense recounting of his journey through polio--which he contracted in 1959, at the vulnerable age of seventeen--and its after-affects, Gary invites readers into his struggles with isolation, despair, and guilt; and then, to celebrate with him as he comes to accept his life for what it is. Carefully-crafted sentences reveal how he evolved from seeing himself as an "unwanted rolling responsibility" to one who "rolls through life" and "refuses to be confined." Any sadness readers may feel at the injustice of Gary's plight is overshadowed when reading about the joy he finds in his marriage and the pride he now takes in referring to himself as Crip and Gimp.

The first half of the book details the days, months and early years after polio. Readers unfamiliar with the times will come away with a better understanding of the iron lung, the respiratory chest shell, the rocking bed and frog breathing. Then, Gary's writing segues into thought-provoking essays about living, dying, and society's attitude toward the disabled.

I found myself near tears when I read of society's treatment (and lack thereof) of the disabled before the American Disabilities Act was passed, yet cheering as Gary comes to the understanding that it is not, nor has it ever been, the wheelchair which defines him:

"Sometimes living disabled is about asking someone for help ... Other times it's looking on things with a cold eye and letting patience evolve into stoicism, so that you can tolerate what you can't change ... And occasionally, it's about moving on, no matter what anyone thinks."

Once you start reading, you won't want to put 7 Wheelchairs down, but allow ample time for digestion and reflection. Gary's thoughtful phrases deserve to be savored.

While the loss of both legs gets your attention, the way Allen has chosen to live his life since is the real story, making him a true American Hero. This book illistrates his courage and struggles openly as he shares the unabashed truth of his entire life with no holds barred.
I had the rare privledge of introducing Allen to a group of 200 stout hearted men where he highlighted his book "Wounded Soldier, Healing Warrior". He was an inspiration for all in attendance who learned he is indeed a healing warrior and patriot.
You are in for a real treat... an inspiring, must read.

I've had the privilege of knowing Allen and his family for some years. While I knew the stories behind his long and fruitful journey, in reading this book, I was still moved by the intensity of the pain that he met head on with steady determination. His testiment to Christ is clear. For those who will come to know him through this wondrerful book, his capacity to place himself in others' thoughts, sentiments and needs is also clear. So too is his wit throughout it all. Read this book for the journey to the sure, certain peace that we all seek. While his journey is unique, as is all of ours, his approach and commitment to the journey through his embrace of God and fellow man is universal. Allen's story is for the ages.

I read this book at a very important time in my life, when I needed to learn from a man of courage, faith, and selflessness. Allen Clark is all that, and this book moved me greatly. His open heart, quick wit, and trust in the Lord will inspire all who read it. It's not a book about Vietnam. It's a book about a man's journey through life under extraordinary circumstances who is lifted up by his faith and becomes a disciple we should all emulate.

Allen's book tells the story of a remarkable journey taken by an even more remarkable man. In the face of adversity, he summons the courage to face each situation head on, learns from it, strengthens his faith, and moves on to the next challenge. I highly recommend this book.

Allen Clark's book is a very poignant and compelling recounting of an American patriot's answering his country's call to arms. Set during the timultuous 60's when America was mired in those unpopular and far-off jungles and ricepaddies known as Vietnam, "Wounded Soldier, Healing Warrior" tells the story of a scrapy Texas kid who yearned to get into the Military Academy at West Point, how he graduated and became an elite Combat Special Forces Officer and then volunteered to go into battle overseas; how he was wounded and knocked down by the enemy and then how he was picked back up and learned to walk yet once again via the Guiding Hand of GOD. This is indeed a timeless story of one soldier's ability to triumph and overcome some of the most haunting and hurtful exeriences of war; A war fought first against the enemy without and then fought again against the enemy within. As a Vietnam veteran who knows both Allen Clark and some of the soldiers mentioned herein, I wholeheartedly recommend this book to anyone who may need to encounter firsthand the very essence of HOPE, COURAGE, FAITH and LOVE.

This is an excellent book - it is more focussed on a lay-person's introduction to neurofeedback treatments for ADHD, great for parents. It is not really technical enough for a practitioner or someone wanting to learn more about the clinical application of neurofeedback.

A large section at the back of the book is dedicated to an index of worldwide practitioners who can treat ADHD with this drug-free approach

Reviewed by Debra Gaynor for Reader Views (11/06)

If you've ever dealt with an ADD/HD child you know the frustration of a child fidgeting, disrupting others and needing constant supervision. If you are that frustrated, just imagine the frustration of the child. The authors have offered us a clear and concise look at ADD/HD. They have offered us an option that does not include medication.

Matthew's parents and teachers are at their wits end. They sincerely want to help Matthew but don't know how. "This book is about helping kids like Matthew: ADD/ADHD children who possess the potential to succeed, but who chronically function below their abilities because they cannot regulate themselves. `ADD: The 20-Hour Solution' describes and examines a revolutionary hi-tech methodology called EEG biofeedback (also called neurofeedback) that has unequivocally demonstrated its efficacy in helping chronically inattentive, distractible, impulsive, and hyperactive children regulate themselves."

"The pluses of EEG biofeedback training in treating ADD/ADHD children are extensive. This quick and painless treatment:

- Provides a viable alternative to psychotropic medication
- Trains children to self-regulate naturally and safely
- Trains children to adjust automatically to changing demands and conditions
- Emancipates children from continually professional supervision
- Creates a synergistic effect that can help other treatments work more effectively
- Permits parents to become involved directly in the treatment process"

Steinberg and Othmer discuss ADD/ADHD in terms that a layman can understand. Parents and teachers will be wondering why this book wasn't written years ago. The authors propose that ADD should stand for Arousal Disregulation Disorder. They made an excellent case for their opinion. In detail they discuss Matthew, a child that has ADD/ADHD. I found myself sympathizing with Matthew; he cannot control his fidgets and distractions. He soon becomes labeled as trouble and that label follows him from year to year. "Matthew had trouble staying in his seat and keeping his hands to himself. Note that he was `verbally exuberant when others wanted him to be quiet, and ... withdrawn and often clueless when people demanded answers...' Matthew was simply lost in an eternal maze of jumbled, intense feelings, sporadic mood shifts, changes in energy level and focus, and incomplete thoughts. These are hallmark signs of disregulation."

This book is well written and documented. As I stated previously it is written in terms that laymen can understand. I highly recommend this book to teachers, parents, grandparents and all who deal with children with ADD/ADHD. I believe "ADD: The 20-Hour Solution" is the answer for many children.

I think that the person that wrote the last review does not know nothing about neurofeedback. Neurofeedback is a self-regulation work. In other words, it does the same thing that a psychoterapic aproach does, but faster.Only this!!!

I found this book, ADD The 20-Hour Solution, a clear and concise guide to understanding how the brain works and how EEG biofeedback can improve its behavior by self regulation. This book is written in a way that parents can understand not only what ADD is but how to approach it. Parents can learn from this book the questions they should ask and most importantly to take action themselves. I was amazed to find that ADD can be treated in your own home. As a mother and teacher, I wholly support self help solutions without drugs which are so often overlooked today. The case studies examined in this book give hope to any parent. I would do anything as a parent to help my child. If using a computer to train your brain works than that is what I would want for my child. This book is a must read for any parent that wants a solution to their frustration with an ADD child or for a parent that just wants more information about ADD. There is also a great Neurofeedback Practitioner Listing in the back of the book.

As a neurofeedback clinician, I have given this book to parents when they are considering brain-training as an option for their child. I have to say that I'm not wild about the title, as it suggests that in less than a day, the ADD will be gone, instead of it being 40 sessions at a half-hour each. The book is a simple, quick read and does a good job of explaining ADD/ADHD and sympathizing with parents who are trying their best to cope with a child who exhibits some of the symptoms inherent in the disorder. It doesn't go into any detail on the development or mechanisms behind neurofeedback, however, and is kind of showy and overly-excitable (too many exclamation marks) about how great training is. Don't get me wrong - I know it's great and I know it works, but there's just something about the book that seems to be over-selling the technique in a hokey way - like their on the home shopping network or something. I find myself more often referring clients to read "A Symphony in the Brain" or one of Daniel Amen's books instead, or else forewarning them that this book is a bit over-the-top excited about neurofeedback.

I read Long Time, No See the other night. I could not put it down til the very last page. Absolutely mind-blowing. Very honest. It was fantastic. I had no idea the complexities of Beth Finke's life. Beth obviously has some amazing family, and her husband Mike is just awe-inspiring. This book is definitely not a 'poor me' story. Its strength is in Beth's account of those daily activities of work, raising a family, and just moving through life. Being blind adds a dimension to those activities I honestly have never fully considered, and Beth does a great job showing us the sometimes humorous and ironic struggles she contends with while living in a sighted world. I highly recommend this book!

I knew Beth Finke growing up in Illinois. I was a teenager when she needed a baby sitter for her disabled son, and she was associated with the foundation where I lived and worked. I not only have very fond memories of Beth, but also her delightful son and her first seeing-eye dog Pandora.

As a young teenager, to meet a woman as bright, witty, and brave as Beth was a life lesson that stays with me to this day. I was so struck by Beth's outlook on life that I decided to make my High School final project a video documentary of her daily life (sorry, it is not available outside of the local TV station's archives). Now, over a decade later, Beth continues to be an inspiration to me and my wife (who also knew Beth), and I am so very glad that others have seen the same in her memoirs.

If you want to be inspired by a life that may have been struck by disabilities, but not dampened by them, you will not be disappointed. While perhaps an odd suggestion to most, I especially suggest this book to those who have sensitive teenagers in their homes - it will put them on the right track towards respect, humor, and a positive outlook on life.

_Long Time, No See_ is the memoir of a woman whose diabetes caused her to become blind at the beginnning of her relationship with the man that became her husband. Beth chronicles her life since the lights went out in a funny, poignant style, bringing humor to stories about her seeing eye dogs and not wallowing in sentimentality over her love for her husband and disabled son. But for me, the best part of the book was reading about the resources and adaptive measures available to blind people. I've been an avid reader since I was two and it's always been one of my greatest fears that I might someday lose my vision, but Beth's book is both an inspiration and a practical guide to what's available. Good work.

Beth Finke's _Long Time, No See_ is a lively and very real story of a modern American woman's life--the ups and downs, the tragedies and belly laughs. Her honesty is palpable and her humor always engaged. Blindness, birth defects, medical red tape, bureaucratic Catch 22's, problems in relationships--this woman has met them all straight on and remained real and honest and entertaining. You won't be able to stop reading this personal story! Guaranteed to give you both grins and tears. Highly recommended even if you know nothing about diabetes or blindness. (P. S. Do not confuse it with a recent novel by the same title.)

I loved this book , not because it is inspiring , which it is , but because it is the story of a fascinating , interesting , fun loving , intellegent , warm , beautiful , real woman ... there is nothing she can't accomplish ! This book reads so easily and with so much anticipation, I put everything aside until I finished it , and when I came to the end I could have started all over again ...... Thank you Beth Finke

Valuable insights into the world of the disabled from many angles by a respected professor with progressive spinal cord disease. Highly recommended to persons with disabilities and to the general public who often encounter them.

As a graduate student in anthropology, I came to know and respect Bob Murphy more than any other scholar. Of the texts he wrote, The Body Silent, stands apart in that it says much about the man, anthropology, disability in American society, and life itself. It will deeply touch a wide variety of readers, and for those that knew him, will bring tears to their eyes. As to its impact on what is now known as disability studies, it put the discipline on the academic agenda. As such, it is a seminal text and is a must for anyone thinking of entering the field.

This is one of my books that I bought and put aside to read later. I don't remember how long ago I bought it but I am certainly glad that I gave it a second chance to read it before discarding it. I am now not planning to sell this book, as it is too important a volume on disability in society, and it certainly applies to the bioethical and eduethical work I do on the side of my 'regular' job of teaching and writing.

Murphy is unlike me in that he came upon his disability later in life, while I was born basically deaf and remained that way for the first 13 years of my life before getting a hearing aid at the age of 13. Murphy had to deal with a slow-growing tumor that entwined itself into his spinal cord. Unlike many tumors that can be excised with surgery, his was such that the possibility of removing it also came with the possibility of losing everything else, including his life or the ability to continue to do his important work. Like many of us who have chosen not to take the risk of surgery and who don't believe that to be disabled is worse than to be dead, Murphy worked with and around his progressive disabling and was able to give the world another 15 years of his wisdom in cultural anthropology.

This book is a must-read for any person with a disability, no matter when they became disabled. Murphy had the background of an academic anthropologist, with many years of successful teaching and writing for major journals in anthropology and culture. He had also written major books, one of which continues to be used in most universities on women and gender in primitive societies. So in coming into the genre of disability studies, he brought to the field a first-rate mind and ability to write so others can understand difficult concepts.

Murphy's book is not the usual autobiography that one usually expects, but rather explores disability (specifically his, but he introduces others and also the culture) without a single shard of either self-pity or 'hey, look at me' attitude that is so often written about in media (where the media puts someone with a disability on a pedestal that is unrealistic of the very real problems that those of us with disabilities face daily). He writes presenting his disablement as a fait-accompli, dealing with the problems as they arose...and in some cases, he ignored his health situation to the point of putting him at risk for infection from bedsores because he was too busy teaching. Like Murphy states, that wasn't courage as often as it was just not wanting to take the time to have his physical body get in the way of what he was trying to do. In treating his disablement with this attitude, he did become the courageous person that he presented to the public...and I wish so badly I had had the opportunity to meet him and hear him speak. Like so many others such as Michael Fox and Christopher REeve, Murphy was a non-disabled person whose close encounters with his own disablement led him to become a voice in a minority that has long been voiceless. He died much too soon, but in giving his last fifteen years of work to physical disabilities in society, he has provided us with an ongoing voice. I certainly intend to use his words and his writing in my work in hopes that it will inspire others as it has inspired me.

Karen Sadler

Bob became paraplegiac at a late age, after having enjoyed a long, brilliant career as a professor at Columbia and an anthropologist who, with his anthropologist wife Yolanda, lived among Amazonian Indians and Saharan camel nomads. He was too clever to be overwhelmed with self-pity. This book was written from the perspective that he loved most: what you'd think is true is probably just the opposite. We expect paralyzed people to get better, like other "sick" patients, but the problem is, they don't: they're damaged selves. Hey--just like everybody else. We all have to come to terms with life's damages and our isolation and loneliness as we attempt to cope with it. Who would ever have thought it possible--we can all learn something compelling about our normal selves, viewing life from the wheelchair! Ironically (and this is the kind of twist that styles Murphy's ideas) the disabled are a mirror for the rest of us: "The paralytic is, quite literally, a prisoner of the flesh, but most humans are convicts of sorts. We live within walls of our own making, staring out at life through bars thrown up by culture and annealed by our fears. . . .[that] induces a mental paralysis, a stilling of thought." Murphy has never sold his soul to an illusion: he speaks candidly as a participant observer of his own encounter with symptoms, diagnosis, treatment, and transformation. Always the fox, he transcends the smoke screen that our cultural prejudices force upon us, and hears his own body and its message with astounding clarity and patience. This is a book that students read eagerly, in both anthropology and sociology classes, because its message is provocative, and its ethnography is true. It teaches us all to listen to the sound of our own struggles with personal identity and mortality, and to smile with the knowledge that we are not alone.

Ten years ago since the American Disabilities Act went into effect, the disabled still feel that they are isolated from the real world. Former professor of anthropology at Columbia University Robert F. Murphy examines from his personal perspective the life of a disabled person in a world where he was independent and zealous of life. The reader will discover what it is like for a disabled person to battle besides the inability to carry out everyday function we take for granted. The Body Silent is unlike other books written by the disable. The Body Silent is an excellent book full of prose and not journal entries of how fortunate the non-disabled really are. This book (recommended to me by anthropologist Dr. James Trostle) will change your perspective and outlook on how it is like to grow up again and learning how to walk, one step at a time.

You can't miss the hard-headed commitment, the dogged won't-take-no-for-an-answer determination of this father in his loving and relentless pursuit of appropriate services for his son with autism. Bill Davis "tells it like it is" -- no wishy-washiness, no pie-in-the sky, no empty promises or fairy tale endings. His book makes clear the unfathomable depth of his love -- his passion -- for his beautiful son Chris, and the unyielding belief that no work is too hard, no frustration too crippling, no sacrifice too great if the goals are to provide for his son avenues by which this child with autism can make sense of our complex, swirling, overstimulating world, and find ways to express his own rich perceptions, ideas, and wit.

Read this book if you have a child with autism. Buy it and give it as a gift (as I have twice already) to someone you know who has a child with autism.

Read this book, too, if you have or know a child with ANY disability, for in Bill and Jae Davis' story of working with educational authorities, "working the system", "fighting the system" , improving the system, and not "settling" for halfway measures is a model for all parents of ALL kids with so-called special needs.

But read this book if what you're looking for is just a good love story. The love that springs out of every page is real and unsentimental. The whole story is here -- the love of Bill and Jae for each other despite fatigue and frustrations and fights, the love for their daughter Jessica and Jessica's love for Chris, and the loving personality of Chris himself, the true hero of the book.

When starting this book I felt it would be a technical rendition of an Autistic child's life. Boy was I surprised to read the heart felt story about a father, a mother and two children caught up in the baffling world of Autism. From the diagnosis, through the stress of daily life the commitment between these family members was so touching and compelling forcing me to reexamine my own life's priorities. The Davis' obstacle ridden devotion to further education and community awareness of this disease is nothing less than admirable, and hopes that through Mr. Davis' advocacy work he can compel others to open their eyes. I would encourage everyone to read this book, you will never regret or forget it.

I think this book is amazing because it let's you go into the mind of the author who is a man full of love for his son. He writes this book as if he is sitting in the room talking to you, and I like that. It's easy to read and easy to understand. And that is what people look for especially on Autism. I applaud this man and his family for doing wonderful things for the Austism Society and I'm proud to say that I'm a part of his world. I hope more people will read his books and get to know the love and suffering he and his family have been through. If anything he should get a medal in his honor.

Bill is so candid in his telling of the Davis family's life with Chris. He gives so much of himself and asks nothing in return. He is constantly out in the community advocating for not only his child but all children and adults with Autism. I'm proud to say I know him and I throughly enjoyed his book. If your child has been diagnosed you really should read this. Some parts will make you cry but many will make you laugh and say "Oh my god I'm not the only one!" It's an excellent book told from a point of view many never get to see. -Tracy Gipe, mother of a ten year old with ASD and his two younger siblings without.

When starting this book I felt it would be a technical rendition of an Autistics child's life. Boy was I surprised to read the heart felt story about a father, a mother and two children caught up in the baffling world of Autism. From the diagnosis, through the stress of daily life the commitment between these family members was so touching and compelling forcing me to reexamine my own life's priorities. The Davis' obstacle ridden devotion to further education and community awareness of this disease is nothing less than admirable, and hopes that through Mr. Davis' advocacy work he can compel others to open their eyes.

As a new resource teacher for my school this was one of the better books I found to help me with real life solutions to teaching learning disabled children. This was a great book for explanations of various learning disabilities and set exercises to use in class for all age groups. I work mostly one on one, but found the activities and strategies easily adaptable for individual use.

I am a preservice teacher and am studying special education. I saw this book on Amazon and was intrigued by the low price. I was so surprised when I received it. It is a wonderful resource for anyone who works with students with LD. It covers the whole gambit from identification, to characteristics, to strategies. It really is a complete handbook and for the price you can't find a better deal. I have found this resource much more useful than my textbooks on LD that cost me upwards 70-80 dollars. I would wholeheartedly recommend this book!

I represent a private, non-profit organization that provides evaluation and tutoring services for children K-8. We strongly believe in professional development in order to maintain a high level of competency in the field of education. When our teachers have an opening in their schedule, they select books like this to review, to reflect and to write a summary, which is submitted to me for review and professional credit. Our entire teaching staff has found this book to be a good resource.

I found this book to be useful and very informative concerning special education. It covered testing, laws, terms and definitions. I've been using it to study for the Praxis Special Ed exams and feel that I will be well prepared.

Very informative. Very good reference for those taking the alternative route to teaching certification. Contains practical scenarios on how theories in education are applied.

Excellent and true story about a family dealing with their beloved daughter and a major learning disabilty.

that all those schools turned Allegra down, her being from the prominent family she's from! Maybe the schools weren't really right for her, but I guess I assumed some would have done cartwheels (and made some adjustments) for the privilege of having a Ford in their school.

I purchased this book many times, it is one that I keep in my car. I use it to help teachers, friends and family members understand my children and others like them. It has helped me understand why I feel the frustration when my kids "don't get it" or need extra guidance in different situations or in the public school system. It is a book that I give to their teachers in hope that they will take the time to read it. As I read this book for the first time, I highlighted many sentences, example - page 17 - quote "She was so funny and effervescent and her behavior was so far frm being considered " a problem" that my mother gave up all attempts at discipline or even expressions of disapproval".... I can remember so many times my kids - acting out -- but in a way that was just "their way" they are so full of expressions and life.

most important - page 39 - There is more then enough heartace involved in coming to terms with the fact that your child is disabled. .... this is the truth, but with this book it helped me come to terms with it and I am trying to help others. Please take the time to read this book it will help you, empower you and your child. You are the voice for your child, you are their confidant. You need to read this book....another wonderful book is Legacy of the Blue Heron, Living with Learning Disabilities by Harry Sylvester.

This is a wonderful book for any parent, written in an honest, unvarnished manner. Very insightful..... with lessons on supporting, loving, and accepting one's child no matter that the child's reality differs from the parents' dream.

I have read many books out there, and this is the best one that I have found. This book is much better than Dana Buchman's book called "A Special Education" in which she constantly refers to her daughter's mild mental retardation as a "learning difference". In this book, the author is honest and tells it like it is.... she does not sugar coat it like Buchman's book. In Buckman's book, she talked too much about herself instead of her daughter. The only negative part of Anne Ford's book is that she constantly talked about the private schools refusing to let her child attend, but if she had picked a public school, it is the law that they would have to allow her child to attend. Most regular private schools would not have the resources that her child would require. For instance, speech therapist, occupation therapist, physical therapist are not necessarily found in private schools, but public schools would have these resources because they are required by law to teach all children. Anne Ford did note this in her book. Finally, here are some quotes from Anne Ford's book that might be helpful...

"a learning disability affects a person's ability to interpret what they see and hear or their ability to link information from different parts of the brain, because their brain is 'wired' a little differently. These differences can show up as specific difficulties with spoken and written language, with coordination, self-control, or with paying attention. People can have learning disabilities in reading, writing, math, and processing information."

"Most children with LD can read words, but comprehension may be another matter entirely."

"Children with LD can and do succeed in school."

"Adults with LD can and do succeed in the workplace."

"LD can be treated successfully, and children with LD can go on to live happy, normal lives."

In conclusion, I highly recommend this book to all parents who have special needs children, and the teachers who teaches them.

This book makes a teacher out of every one who reads it. Whether you are a parent, guardian, relative, teacher of a child with special needs, this book will give you the tools to teach essential skills and enable you to use them effectively.
This book was recommended to me and I recommend it to every else.

This book is a must have for parents struggling with training there children independence skills. It ofter so many easy to do exercise to get your little or big one independence. My 3 year old is finally bushing his teeth, because this book showed easy to do steps to get him going. I highly recommend this book to any parent struggling with training there children independence. It offers easy steps by step solutions in teaching your child what you have been trying to teach them for months . Try it, its a great training tool for independence.

No parent OR special education teacher should be without this book! Easy to read, and the content is excellent! Step-by-step approaches to teaching everyday skills to children with special needs, but would be just as valuable to ANY parent! After reading this book, I have found it easier to establish goals for my students and everyone is using the same approach to teaching everyday living skills (play, toileting, self-help, PLUS behavior management)! It is working fabulous! The students are learning more with less frustration! A must-have for your resource library!

The book is formatted very well. It has helped me approach my child in a new manner with excellent results. Some of the tasks we take for granted are broken into smaller steps that can be overlooked. This book helps you identify missing steps and provides multiple methods of application. It isn't a "one size fits all" approach. It gives good ideas for praise and correction if consistently followed.

The page layouts are easy to read and the cartoons are cute. Everything addressed in this book has samples to serve as a guide for you. The appendices has more ideas for aiding with independence. Overall, the application of this book, used in a routine, is great for any age and any skill level.

I've been looking for a book like this for quite some time. Here's what it covers:
Chapter 1: Setting Out
Chapter 2: Targeting a Skill
Chapter 3: Establishing Steps
Chapter 4: Picking Rewards
Chapter 5: Setting the Stage
Chapter 6: Teaching
Chapter 7: Observing Progress and Troubleshooting
Chapter 8: Get Ready Skills
Chapter 9: Self-Help Skills
Chapter 10: Toilet Training
Chapter 11: Play Skills
Chapter 12: Independent Living: Self-Care Skills
Chapter 13: Independent Living: Home-Care Skills
Chapter 14: Independent Living: Information Skills
Chapter 15: Plugging into the Personal Computer Revolution
Chapter 16: Behavior Problems
Chapter 17: Initiating a Behavior Management Program
Appendix A: Get Ready Skills
Appendix B: Self-Help Skills Inventory
Appendix C: Self-Help Skills Programs
Appendix D: Play Skills Programs
Appendix E: Information Skills Programs
Index

The chapters in this book are arranged chronologically, but each is a discrete story. The episodes varied enough so that I was never bored: Ms. Johnson protested telethons, resisted a search of her dorm by the Secret Service, ran for office, served as a delegate at the Democratic National Convention, visited Cuba for an international conference on people with disabilities, argued in a jury trial, and more.

Her views on disability as a civil rights issue aren't presented in a didactic way; they become clear to the reader as she confronts her opponents. I liked being privy to the details of her experience, even though she presents herself as nearly always right. While I read I was thinking that she came off as SO sure of herself that I would find her overbearing and a little obnoxious in person. However, she acknowledges the thorniness, and clearly isn't out to be the reader's best friend.

Other than that note, I felt myself in good hands. I have a better understanding of what it's like to need and live with a personal assistant. I was familiar with the basics of disability rights, but the book got into nuances I hadn't considered-- the pressures and trade-offs in Cuba, where genuine intentions for equality butt up against severe economic limits, for example. And it reinforced ideas that non-disabled people glide over: most of us will be disabled sometime. Disabled people aren't necessarily more "terminal" or "suffering" than the rest of us, because frankly everyone suffers and dies. And if that sounds depressing, don't worry: some of the stories in this book were so funny I had to read bits out loud to my spouse.

This is a four- instead of a five-star review because I didn't feel I quite got a fair view of the author's opponents; it was just a little too one-sided, although that enhanced some of the humor. But the book was still well-written and fascinating. Definitely worth reading.

This has been a good year for disability rights in terms of publications. First, Mary Johnson published Make Them Go Away and now we have Harriet McByde Johnson's much anticipated Too Late to Die Young. Read together these texts provide a powerful one two punch for the disability rights movement in an era which has seen the courts gut the Americans with Disability Act. Both authors have been champions and leaders of the disability rights movement and each are gifted writers.

Harriet McBryde Johnson is a gifted story teller--although I wanted to savor the text and make it last I was too spoiled to do so. I read the book cover to cover the day I received it. Now, I am going back to re-read each and every chapter. Each story told resonates at some level regardless of the subject matter. What truly struck me the most was that my life is not so different, that I am not so unsual, and that the bigotry and discrimination I encounter on a daily basis is no different from what other disabled people face. I am not the only one that is subjected to unwanted attention and grossly inappropriate comments. I am not the only one that found Christopher Reeve comments about disability offensive. I am not the only one who is treated poorly when I travel on an airline. In short, discrimination against the disabled is rampant and it is heartening to know others are experiencing and fighting against this. To know that I have two gifted authors on the side of equal rights lets me not only feel better about myself a feel less alone but know the future, in spite of the courts, will be better than the past.

As a child, Harriet McBryde Johnson never thought she would live a long life. At least that is what the telethons on television kept saying. However, she has. Yet, this is not a "triumph over disability" story. It is a story of a woman who is living her life fully. From a law student schooling the University of South Carolina on the subject of civil liberties to experiencing a disability-themed conference in Cuba, the reader is taken on a journey in which he or she just might view disability in a different way by the end of the book.

This book was really powerful for me. I was born with Cerebral Palsy. However, it has not been until the last couple of years that I started feeling comfortable with myself as a person with a disability. I read this book as part of a class I took this semester and I'm very glad I did. Stories like these remind me that disability is not a negative and that we are worthy of full, rich lives.

While I disagree with a fundamental premise argued in the book, I do recommend it for many reasons. First of all, the author can write! She has filled the book with interesting and unusual experiences, described them with wit as well as passion, and she challenges people like me on some basic assumptions and conclusions. I do hope readers of this book will follow up with Peter Singer's Writings on an Ethical Life (referred to in Harriet Johnson's book) in order to hear Singer's opinions in his own words.

This new book by Harriet McBryde Johnson, a civil rights attorney in Charleston, SC and disability activist, is a must read! Her book, Too Late to Die Young, provides insight into aspects of her life and career, but the author states upfront that "This book doesn't have a tidy message." Ms. Johnson is a gifted writer with a provocatively tilted perspective that is worth hearing. She accurately describes herself as a story teller in the great tradition of southern story tellers. I knew her stories were worth reading when, early on in the book, in describing a German doctor's bedside overnight care, she wrote "Now I remember how he kept vigil at my bedside so my parents could sleep and then fell sleep himself. As I listened to his deep, barrel-chested rumble, I imagined he was snoring in German." Later in the book, Harriet, after having noted that her normal viewpoint of most people is at crotch level (due to her posture), described her first impression of someone she met: "It's love at first sight - at my first sight of his shoes." Wonderful!

This easy to read book (a mere 258 pages) includes the bulk of the text of Unspeakable Conversations, a 2003 New York Times Magazine article she wrote that described her conversations with Princeton Professor Peter Singer about his beliefs that the severely disabled, in some circumstances, can justifiably be killed. Interestingly, she is conflicted about the accommodating and courteous man versus his "evil" ideas. She acknowledges that she stands outside the radical mainstream simply for having engaged Mr. Singer in a conversation. Sundry other topics this self-described "crip" covers are her personal crusade against telethons, her atheism, her battles with the Secret Service, caustically amusing anecdotes from the 1996 Democratic Convention in Chicago, a trip to Cuba, and battles with a New York Times photographer who wants to shoot her nude ("nekkid" in her parlance) and does -- but not for publication, and many more amusing and unsettling stories.

If you want to read a sweet story about a courageous and noble fight against disability that profiles an individual who overcomes great obstacles to achieve self-fulfillment, this IT NOT the book to read. Johnson`s book isn't about her disability (adamantly so)...but the fact that she is disabled inescapably colors her stories in powerful ways. You won't necessarily fall in love with Harriet, her politics, or all of her causes, but I think you will love her passion for what she believes, what she does, who she is, and why she does what she does. Ms. McBryde is a new and profound voice (at least to me) that is worth listening to.