Specific Disabilities Books

Georgina Kleege, the blind author of _Sight Unseen_, speaks of her book as a kind of coming out narrative where she stops staging a sighted identity and accepts her blindness. Kleege describes her amazing experience dealing with blindness beginning at age 11 and details the ways she has adapted to living in a sighted world. Pretending to be sighted when you are blind poses an incredible challenge, but Kleege explains how the benefits outweigh any effort it takes to conceal blindness due to such a heavy stigma associated with the disability. However, even as she denied her blindness to others, Kleege has never viewed her disability as a punishment or cause for despair. It has not stopped her from becoming the successful writer and professor that she is, nor has it held her back from the activities she loves.
Kleege opens our minds to her world, and describes with vivid imagery what and how she sees. Her condition causes a block to her central vision, but allows her to distinguish between colors and make use of her peripheral vision. Kleege makes her readers aware of a great many fallacies surrounding blindness, and gives numerous examples of how movies and literature concerning blindness often perpetuate negative stereotypes. Her readers accompany her to an art museum, back in time when she was sighted, and to France where she found inspiration from Louis Braille's accomplishments.
The amazingly adapted author also invites her readers to try and imagine making use of their eyes the way she does on a daily basis. Her descriptions of viewing art and reading print evoked in my imagination a longing to temporarily share in her experience. I would have expected, however, the once sighted author to better understand the fear that sighted people have associated with blindness. The transition to permanent blindness is a great deal harder than just closing your eyes to simulate the disability. Kleege speaks only on behalf of her own blindness, and effectively captures the attention of her audience in helping them face and appreciate how a rich life without sight is possible.

Yes, this book LOOKS good! But HOW can my husband READ it when he is B-L-I-N-D? Does the author want only to appeal (SELL TO) the majority of the world which is sighted? Blind people NEED books like these but they MUST be A-U-D-I-O.

I have recently finished this disaster of a novel for a college honors course "Disability through Autobiography." While attempting to read this book, my frustration took over and in a couple of instances, resulted in the book being thrown across the room. Much of the book seems a criticism of those that are not blind as well as the depictions of the blind by those who are not blind, namely authors and Hollywood directors. I can think of a much better topic for a book than nit-picking at random quotes in movies, books, and social groups. Kleege seems to only show the ability for a blind person to criticize those who are not blind and may not completely understand what blindness is. Although I have taken many courses that focus intensely on accepting those with disablilities in society, I find it very difficult to accept severe cynicism no matter what disability the author may have.

I have just read this book (BTW for the reader who wanted it in audio format- check out NLS (National Library Service- or your state Library for the Blind) as this is how I read this book). I can relate to what the author goes through- as I'm also legally blind. However, unlike the author I was never fully sighted so I appreciate her compairson to being "sighted" as opposed to beling blind.

Like the author I do have some useable vision and employ the same sort of adaptive devices she does. I believe this book could educate people that being blind does not mean you see nothing -- only 10% of people who are blind see nothing at all. There are varing degrees of blindness, and I think the author does an excellent job of conveaying this to her readers.

Like many people who have read this book, I am legally blind. It was recommended to me by a friend who has very good vision. Comparing notes with her was particularly educational. The perspectives of a sighted person and a blind person on the text turn out to be not all that different.

This book has incredible ups and downs. First- the ups.
Kleege's description of what a blind person sees is incredible, perhaps the best I have ever read. People who haven't had to worry about it are under such misconceptions. A lot of people think that if you can see- kind of- that what you see is a blur. Even the cover of this book appears to tell us the same thing, but that's far from true for everyone.

The author makes the point that the designation of what constitutes legal blindness really was a pretty random decision. Who says 20/20 is normal? How many people do you know who use some kind of correction? Given that, how normal can it possibly be? Also, just because someone is legally blind, they may use their vision so efficiently that you don't know until they tell you that there's anything different about them. Ms. Kleege reports this experience in her own life. Conversely, someone who is legally blind may not use their vision at all. Also, her descriptions of the process of making sense of visual information is well done and should help to explain to people who don't know exactly how sight works, how different it can be for various people.

My favorite of the points made by this book, however, has got to be that the fact that you can see something, doesn't mean you're not blind; doesn't make it not a good idea to learn Braille. Many of us with some useable sight were refused this tool as children. Frankly, if you can't read print at all without pain, this encourages illiteracy. Kleege is spreading the word that Braille is NOT a foreign language- it's just another way to percieve the alphabet that we already know. She raises the question of whether audio books constitute reading in the same way that reading print or Braille do. (given that it stimulates different parts of your brain, I'd argue no, although like Kleege, I think it's a useful tool at times.)

Now for the downs.
Kleege can be really disparaging of sighted people. There are subtle and less subtle digs and jabs all over the book. She puts words into the mouths of passing strangers, extending a real encounter into a possible outcome, making assumptions about what the sighted person would have said if she'd said something different, herself. Honestly not every sighted person is a complete jerk, or ignorant about how sight works. She asserts that a mother will stop a child from staring at a blind person because if you don't look at something unpleasant, it will go away. No, mothers do that because it's very rude to stare! My sighted friend was really offended by the middle of the book and actually exclaimed "well, so sorry I can SEE!"

Her take on Oedipus' blindness, I thought, was overly dramatic. Kleege regards it as symbolic castration, setting the stage for the way people percieve blindness to this day. Frankly, Oedipus wasn't Freudian until Freud. If Oedipus had meant to castrate himself, given that this is a classical story and they didn't mince words- he would have.

I also thought some of her arguments with modern cinema were perhaps a bit harsh. Not that really bad stereotypes don't exist. Movies like "Jennifer 8", portraying blind people as needful of institutionalisation and completely helpless when confronted by a sighted crazy, are a real problem. The blind aren't the only people stereotyped in Hollywood, though. One could argue that the heroine was helpless as much because she was a woman in a horror movie as that she was blind. Also, wasn't the protagonist in "Scent of a Woman" more stereotypically bachelorish than blind? True, a lot of movies were clearly directed by people who have never met a blind person. however, the unmoving stare empolyed by many film directors to typify the blind, which Kleege finds so offensive- exists. If one has been blind since birth, one sometimes lacks body language, never having observed it. If one lacks eyes, why blink to moisten them? Sometimes one forgets.

All in all, I really enjoyed this book, even though I periodically wanted to yell "OH, come ON! Get over it!" I'd reccommend it to the blind who have not found anyone with whom to relate, lately, or the sighted who want to understand.

And one more thing- anyone who gets embarrassed because they just said "Hey, look at this!" to a blind person. . . It's ok. We do it too.

This book responds to the the quesions I didn''t even know I had!!!As a parent and an educational professioanal, it has helped me both with my child and how to react to respond the the "loaded" questions parents often ask.
It also proved an invaluable asset as I worked and trained graduate students how to work with these very complicated children and their families.

Based on the review in the National education Association Journal, Nov.2002, this book is everything it promises! It is about time teachers and parents got on the same side of the fence, and this book helps!

As a former resource teacher, a parent of 3 children with learning issues, and an occupational therapist, my book is about giving views from all three perspectives. It is not intended to be a treatment guide. It is intended to help everyone get on the same page. Formal IEP goals usually read"...child will read 6 out of 10 sight words with 60% within 6 months" These goals are missing the essence of the child and promotes confusion and adversarial postions. Talking to "dreams, fears, frustrations and joys" is more in keeping with what schools, parents, and the child themselves really want. They want to be "happy"; and happiness is about feeling compentent and that is what the book is about!

This book gets it right: teachers are not magic fairies, they cannot make something happen just because the parent wants it, and parents cannot just want "it" to be better; and no one person, teacher, parent, therapist can affect change alone. All must work together! Parent/teacher exchanges would be more productive if empathically each could view the situation from the others perspective. This book accomplishes this and more. Schools cannot do the job of family and home; but they can do "the job" if they know how to communicate. Publlic school teachers and administrators are running at "capacity". They are caring people, over-stretched. This book helps them work smarter not harder. This book helps parents focus on the important issues, while it gives form and language to hard to express feelings and situations. Private school teachers and administators can also benefit from this book. Understanding that enrollment in an "A" ranked school does not preclude learning issues is important. How to confront the issues empathically and intelligently is the mission of this book and it accomplishes that and more. It is not a "cookbook". It is a small well-stocked store offering many conbinations of options from which one may choose.

This book is long on introduction and orientation to school systems and short on treatment ideas. Disappointingly, some content is marginally offensive to school system professionals (i.e., "Final Note" pg. 78). The author's attempt to facilitate parent preparedness and orientation seemed to extend into fostering belligerence toward system personnel. To say that the "overworked" characteristic of a child's school team is negligible...is careless. More accurately said, parents should know that their child can not be the consistent #1 concern of any system professional. It is impossible. Most systems are full, generally understaffed, and are excruciatingly slow to expand the ranks of professionals. Expanding staff doesn't occur unless student numbers are unmanagibly high. Therefore, it is a pattern that never fully meets the need in a timely way. So, to say that this should not be a concern of the parent, or that it isn't "your problem" as a parent, is misleading. Most school systems are comprised of well intended, caring, knowledgable and dedicated professional individuals who are usually working at maximal ability, which makes for a fragile situation...and fostering such belligerence in parents will not improve such an atmosphere. A presentation which, at times, plants seeds of animosity.

I have not only read Cary and Daves book I have successfully implemented these strategies to support people with a wide range of disabilities to attain and succesfully maintain self-employment ventures. Thier ability to be inventive and to time and time again help the disability community move from scarcity thinking into economic development always amazes me.

excellent resource...a comprehensive guide from start to finish.....just what we in the disability movement have been seeking but have been unable to find until griffin and hammis.....this is a must have .....

I have gone through this book being disabled myself. This book offers valuable insight into the difficult process of self-employment for the disabled, and deciding which way you might proceed.

I recently read "Making self-employment work for people with disabilities." Some of the leg work that needed to be done up front made immediate sense to me. Some was still puzzling. After a training session I read the book over and it became crystal clear. This book makes you step out of your comfort zone and ask and answer the hard questions. Some of it makes you view the world of work and working as a business in itself. Especially, business from a banker or rehabilitation agency view point. Sometimes, this viewpoint gets lost in the shuffle of trying to help a person with a disability start a viable business. Key word here: viable. After all a well written business plan helps start the business off on the right foot. Keep guiding us Cary.

This book is vaguley geared to thoose with disabilites. I would find this useful if I was in a wheel chair or had another obstacle. However having a pain disorder the book read to me of that of "NORMAL" healthy people. Wasted my limited money.

I really enjoyed this book. The author described every moment in her life with such detail, it felt as if I were there with her. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants inspiration.

This book desperately wanted to be "Having Our Say" by the Delaney Sisters. Perhaps, if it had an editor, it would have been. As it stands, it provides a historical perspective of African American Deaf culture, but its text does not flow very smoothly.

I really loved this book.I couldn't put it down.She made a lot ofdeaf friends at the school.She also made some blind friends.I laughed and cryed with her.You should get this book.

I could not put this book down! A well written and extremely discriptive story! I felt every emotion!

that I found this ... well ... boring? I suppose, on the one hand, I should be glad that Ms. Wright had a relatively uneventful and happy life, despite growing up both black and disabled in the mid-20th century rural south; but, frankly, happy and uneventful lives don't make for very interesting reading.

The transaction and shipment went smoothly. The book was in good condition, and the info in it seems to be very helpful.

This paperback textbook was required for a college course. I like the way it is formatted, with focus questions and intervention strategies on each topic. I have already used it as a resource for another class. I ordered it used ("like new condition") through one of Amazon's vendors. It was much less expensive than it was in the college bookstore. It was delivered sooner than I expected and was in new condition.

I recently purchased this text book to help me with the exceptional students in my class. The book is up to date, but I gave it only 3 stars because of the way it is formated on the page. The paper also has a sheen to it which in certain light makes it difficult to read. Maybe I'm picky, but repositioning the book due to the sheen is wasting my time and delaying how much reading I can do.

With that in mind, I would recommend 'Including Students with Special Needs' by Marilyn Friend & William D. Bursuck instead. The layout is easy to read, and the sheen is not intense (easy on the eyes).

The book was in great condition, and the price was right. It was sent out in a timely fashion. Pleased with the product

alittle to "glossy" for me... hard to focus my attn to the important aspects. Good overall strategies though

Renown deaf advocate Lane injects himself as Laurent Clerc to write the history of deaf work in America, which began in France.

Briefly this review will attempt to broadbrush some of the consistent historical strokes with which Lane's account through Clerc paints. First, from the outset the seemingly natural language of this minority language group (deaf) appears to be manually with sign, mime and fingerspelling. It is also apparent that there were initially Christian, religious inspiration and motivation for equipping the deaf for the power of words, thoughts and thinking processes. Of this, I am personally interested and indebted to its inclusion without apparent editing. Further, wonder if this has anything at all to do with subsequent intrusion of oral method, which seemingly also has removed much of religious instruction from sign language? This oralist movement fueled by likes of telephone inventor Bell has an unmoral edge to it (if this historical record is anywhere indicative of truth) of not caring at all about the deaf as human, but more substandard, without much respect for their humanity at all.)

What develops from these is the developments which drop this history off at our chronological doorstep. One might also check out the fascinating book by Winefield "Never the Twain Shall Meet: Debate between Galladet and Bell".

This book will certainly give great historical precedent to this continuing and complex debate for the hearing outsider such as myself, providing much to ponder and investigate. Primarily, will seek out the deaf to listen to their perspective. That is the great value of reading this book. We must listen to their viewpoint and give it weight.

This book is a historical exploration into the question of how the deaf should be educated, through sign or through oral speech. I wouldn't call it "a comprehensive history of the deaf" as advertised on the back of the book, and I wouldn't even call it "the history of relations between the society of hearing-speaking people and the community of deaf-signing people" as Lane suggests in his foreword. The book stays almost exclusively on the topic of education for the deaf, which in itself is quite interesting.

To me, the book had a unique and rather odd approach, in which the author related the history through the vantage point of Laurent Clerc (the French deaf teacher brought to the US by Thomas Gallaudet). Throughout the first part of the book, the story is told entirely in the first person, as if Clerc wrote it, and Lane simply was the translator. But judging from the extensive footnotes, only a 20th century author could have had access to so many primary sources, so Lane must have been the author after all. But I was never 100% certain about the authorship, and that was a bit annoying. In addition, if Clerc wasn't the author, then Lane stretched his historical research a bit far in projecting attitudes and opinions into Clerc's voice that we really have no way of confirming, and would probably be unlikely for people in the 19th to have. Overall, the historical details are incredibly rich, often perhaps too much so, yet there is not a great focus on dates or chronology, making it difficult in places to identify when specific events took place.

The book makes an extremely strong argument for educating the deaf through sign rather than orally. More than that, the argument is that the deaf are best educated in residential signing schools, at least from a 19th century vantage point. It would seem that Clerc would most likely argue against modern-day mainstreaming as well.

I think most deaf people who read this book would agree that sign language is extremely important for all facets of life, especially education. Nevertheless, hearing parents of deaf children who are trying to decide how to educate their children may still cling to the idea of oralism in the hopes of helping their child better adapt to majority society. But as argued in this book, a deaf child who is mainstreamed and taught lip reading is handicapped, having curtailed abilities to interact with peers. Meanwhile, a deaf child who attends school with other deaf children is completely normal within deaf society. The choice between oralism or sign is really no less than choosing between making the child normal or handicapped - which would you want for your child?

As a hearing person, I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to do a college exchange at a school which had a large number of deaf students. In fact, most of the students in my dorm were deaf. Almost immediately upon arrival, I began to observe the importance of sign language for communication. Deaf students who had not been exposed to sign language until their teenage years had obvious communication difficulties, and I was told that many of them probably never would develop the language skills that native signers had. It was obvious to me how much the deaf students at the school enjoyed being there and succeeded in their studies because they were supported with sign. These experiences convinced me that the best place for a deaf child to study is in a school with many other deaf children to sign with. On this point, I agree completely with Lane (and Clerc).

I picked this book up after reading Oliver Sacks's When the Mind Hears, and I am very glad I did. Without it, I might very well be blind to one of the world's most infuriating injustices: the attempt to gloss over deafness and discredit sign language. Moreover, the book is beautifully written and provides tons of information on the people and places involved. Everyone should read this book, because everyone who does will be motivated to help right the situation.

As a deaf person who has struggled long and hard to get my PhD in science and science education, this book with its history comes as no surprise to me. Harlan Lane is a hearing person who has taken up the cause of those in the deaf world with a vengence, and I do mean with a vengence! Dr. Lane has a tendency to write with immense vigor and sometimes his books tend to go overboard in stating the case. However, this book is a classic and is definitely one of his best written ones.

The history of the deaf in the United STates is strewn with great minds and small minds. We have had people who supported our education, and those who mistakenly viewed us as being less worthy of the normal needs and desires of life. This includes having a life, getting an education, living in society, being able to find gainful employment, getting married, and having children. The research of Dr. Lane is impeccable, and I have found it useful to refer to him in papers and use his references/bibliography for my own work on discrimination against the deaf in science education. Even if I sometimes do not agree with Dr. Lane's biased outlook on history of the deaf, I certainly appreciate all that he has done to bring the sometimes terrible prejudices and misdeeds to the attention of the hearing public. Yes, the deaf were and continue to be discriminated against, just as other differences are whether a disability or racial/cultural minority. Those who wish to understand the extent to which this discrimination went, should definitely read this book. To an extent, those of us with life-long hearing differences are learning to advocate for ourselves, and take pride in our accomplishments. It is thanks to people like Dr. Lane that we have been able to reach this point over the past 40 years. Karen Sadler, Science education, University of Pittsburgh

I picked this book up after reading Oliver Sacks's When the Mind Hears, and I am very glad I did. Without it, I might very well be blind to one of the world's most infuriating injustices: the attempt to gloss over deafness and discredit sign language. Moreover, the book is beautifully written and provides tons of information on the people and places involved. Everyone should read this book, because everyone who does will be motivated to help right the situation.

This is an excellent book that explains what adults with autism/Asperger's contend with. This book is composed of essays by university students who provide personal accounts of what living with autism/Asperger's means and how they have coped and made giant steps forward.

I like the passage about synesthesia, that is linked sensory modes. One contributor explains how numbers and letters have colors; henceforth the title "Aquamarine Blue 5." She explains how certain sounds can have colors; this sensory condition has until very recently received little press.

Synesthesia can take on many forms. For certain people on the a/A spectrum, synesthesia is part of the sensory package. Some people can taste and smell certain words; colors can have an auditory component and in some cases, people have reported being able to see music.

How I wish I had this book when I was a university student! This sterling gem of a book helps clarify so much of what the Autism/Asperger's experience is all about for so many people.

I wish I could rate this one even more stars. This book is truly outstanding.

As one of the contributors to Aquamarine Blue 5, I know employment is a not only a matter of difficulty for people with Asperger syndrome, it is frequently a matter of sheer injustice.

The movie Independence Day strikes such a chord with me because at one point, a B-2 stealth bomber launches a thermonuclear stand-off missile at the space ship over Houston. Except for General William Grey (Robert Loggia), the military leaders are sure they nailed it. Until the ground crew verifies that the ship's shield withstood even a nuclear warhead.

It is aggravating to throw the best you have at something like searching for a job and full adult community participation, like your mates from college and graduate school, but to be restricted from full participation. Martin Luther King Jr. wasn't just fighting African American injustice. Once I was an oppressed Caucasian man.

Later, however, another solution does work to eliminate the aliens from Earth.

My story does have a happy ending. I did not get to use certain parts of my Asperger mind for the specific occupational purposes of planning and executing research studies or for multivariate analysis by computer. But I have used the same parts of my mind for identical mental tasks: planning, writing, and executing computer programs and Web pages, and the ability to handle quite a few software applications beyond SPSS, and even beyond Access: SQL Server. And it may be better paid than the first career.

There is plenty to challenge everyone with autism and Asperger. Full employment does not make that fact go away. Namely, it might be hard finding someone to share your well-earned joy and success with. And we will never completely eliminate occasional prejudice from the human race. Because challenges persist for life so must our understanding and support. Indeed, we have become more sympathetic as human beings thanks to life experience, and our life experience often helps us be thankful spiritually too.

I recommend Aquamarine Blue 5 for its emphasis on issues relevant to the young Asperger adult.

This book contains about a dozen essays written by high-functioning autistic people who have made it to the university level of education. These are their stories, and, as the editor makes clear, she spent little time in editing them -- confining herself basically to grammar issues. "Normal" People who deal with autistics are always wondering what's it like for them in our society and this book makes it clear how difficult it is.

Only the highest-functioning autistic people will make it to a university and that population is the one that is addressed by this book. The editor is herself autistic but has received her Ph.D. and is a professor at a university. So, the message is that autistic people can "make it" in "normal" society but it is not easy. Her essay concludes the book and describes her own personal journey to get to where she is.

When autism is mentioned, the image that frequently arises is of the person who is non-communicative, withdrawn into their own world and perhaps makes noises or weird motions. But there is another stereotype that can come into play. This being "the absent-minded professor." in this stereotype the person is frequently so engrossed in their affairs or research that they do not wear the latest fashions, may have unique eating and hygiene habits, and are frequently seen meandering around with a lost look on their faces. I have known such university professors as academia seems to both draw them in and nourish their mental needs. This stereotype also describes people who are on the autism spectrum. Today, many younger people are diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome who show such traits.

So, there is a place for high-functioning autistic people in such places. Areas where they can contribute significantly to society even if "normal" society considers them strange. A place where they are not seen as abnormal but are tolerated in a very fond way.

In this book, we hear the personal recollections of twelve students as to their roads to get to a university and even graduate from it with degrees. In every one of the stories, the elementary and high school experiences are described as absolutely rotten. Which points out how bad their experiences are with the "normal" members of society. It is not hard to envision and even feel the sadness of these teens as they are ostracized and picked upon due to their unique habits and needs.

Not all the stories have a happy ending. Several of the essays in the book show that some of the autistic people retreat into their own worlds and shut down from the rest of the world. Even though that is a small portion of the essays given here, I believe those essays probably represent the majority of autistic people who attempt university. And, conversely, the majority of the essays represent the minority of the people. But, even given that, it was encouraging to read about the sometimes heroic struggles that these people went through and to realize how much they accomplished in a world and society that is not set up for them.

This is a good book to read if you are involved with autistic children and wonder what will happen to them once they are past the stage where the state and family try to cater to their every need. It points out one desireable path that they can take in which they will end up accepted and even welcomed as productive components of society. For that reason, this is a recommended read.

This is a collection of writings by college / university students on the autistic spectrum, talking about both their challenges and their gifts, as well providing an insight into their lives. This will probably be of most use to those planning to go into higher education who might want to get a better idea of what it will be like and what situations they may face, but will be of interest to anyone who enjoys reading about the experiences of others. The only thing that disappointed me a little was that many of the contributors were studying similar courses and had similar experiences, so it didn't cover the wide range of experiences I hoped it would, but it was a good read all the same.

Since my son was diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome 7 years ago, I've watched the information on this issue explode. Information about adults with AS is just appearing on the market. This is one such book. Written by college students with AS, each essay contributes a unique understanding of what it means to enter adulthood with AS.

The editor, Dawn Prince-Hughes, consciously maintained the intergrity of each writer's unique style. At times the use of train of thought might be a little tricky for a neurotypical person to follow. But this is a lesson in and of itself: The person with AS has a different perspective of the world and we need to learn to embrace those differences.

Any parent with a teen with AS and any teen/college student with AS should read these first hand accounts of the lives of real people with real issues.

I just finished reading "Choosing Naia" and very much enjoyed it. I have a six year old boy with DS who was diagnosed when I was 20-21 weeks pregnant. I was interesting to see some of the similarites between my families situation and reactions and the Fairchilds. I would highly reccommend this book. I do not feel there was undue emphanise on the potenital abililies or inabilities of the unborn child. I have a hard time believing anyone in this situation would not have those thoughts. I feel everyone wants a child who is happy ,interactive and to some degree self suffient. The issue of abortion was explored and I found it interesting to profile a couple who had made the decision to terminate. It is amazing the technology availble to diagnose DS during pregnancy but I personally wished I had not known before the birth of my son. Knowing ahead of time ruined the joy of my first pregnancy He was born without any health problems which was a blessing. Mattie is not what I would consider high functioning (not talking or potty trained) but he is his own person and can't imagine life without him. Having a child with DS is not the end of the world or even close.

Some of you in the Boston area may have seen the series that ran in the Globe last year, the author expanded it into a book. It profiles a couple who gets back the AFP results showing an increased risk for abnormalities, has the amnio and then has to choose between having a child with Down syndrome or terminating the pregnancy and trying again. The author, Mitchell Zuckoff, spoke at the National Down Syndrome Congress convention in Denver back in August and said that his original intention with the series was to show how advances in technology present us with very serious choices and explore how different families deal with them. The book is not at all preachy in either the pro-life or pro-choice direction, very balanced. It really makes you think about the nature of the challenges of parenthood and how our choices play out.

I was very disappointed with "Choosing Naia". I would not recommend this book to anyone expecting a child with Down syndrome, or even to someone who already has a child with Down syndrome. I found the style dry and uninteresting; I found the emphasis on "how retarded" she'd be (and the end implication that the only reason the story had a happy ending was because of her cognition skills) extremely disturbing. Despite the fact that the author has put everything ever written about Down syndrome into this book (although with an emphasis on eugenics and abortion), I would not recommend this to students. People, including those with Down syndrome, aren't worthy because of their cognitive or language abilities. They are worthy because they are human beings. Kids are kids. If you want to know more about Down syndrome, meet a few people who happen to have it. Read stories from parents, not from a journalist. And give this book a miss.

Greg and Tierney Fairchild are a well-educated, middle class couple who are thrilled to discover that Tierney is pregnant. Tierney undergoes all of the usual tests, and the Fairchilds are stunned to discover that not only does their unborn child have a hole in her heart, but that she may also be born with Down syndrome.

Investigative reporter Mitchell Zuckoff spent hundreds of hours with Tierney and Greg, and the result is "Choosing Naia," a book that began as a series of articles in the Boston Globe. This book is not only the story of a couple's arduous journey, but it is also an eye-opening look at the history of Down syndrome and a good explanation for the layman of what such a diagnosis means to a child and his parents.

Zuckoff's conversational style makes "Choosing Naia" flow smoothly. Throughout the book, the author provides valuable information on such topics as genetic testing and counseling, early intervention for children with Down syndrome, and the importance of networking in order to get the most valuable information and assistance for your child. Another factor that makes "Choosing Naia" stand out is its unflinching honesty. It is a tribute to the Fairchilds that they allowed their doubts, fears and uncertainties to be recorded for posterity. They come across as vulnerable, yet strong and determined, real people who have decided to meet a difficult challenge.

I highly recommend this touching and informative book. "Choosing Naia" reminds us that in an age of amazing technology and prenatal testing, we are privy to information that may make our lives more complicated than ever before.

How many of us have said we believe in a woman's right to choose, but would not personally choose abortion? What if you knew that your child would be born with an unknown degree of mental retardation?

In these situations, many Americans, including those who declare themselves to be pro-choice, don't see a pregnancy as a "choice": the woman/couple should abort a child with a condition such as Down syndrome or spinal bifida.

Mitchell Zuckoff's tale is one of a couple who discover that their long-awaited child not only has a hole in her tiny heart, but also has Down syndrome. Zuckoff takes us through Greg and Tierney Fairchild's weeks of agony as they explore the decision to continue Tierney's pregnancy and the months following their choice.

Family members urge them to consider both termination and continuance, while doctors and counselors strive to remain neutral. Meanwhile, Greg and Tierney wrestle with the questions that would inform our own opinions: would they be able to have other children, knowing that their first-born may require a great deal of time, money, and energy? Were they willing to fight discrimination and ignorance for their child's life?

As the book's title makes clear, the couple chooses to continue the pregnancy and take the future as it comes. Unfortunately, it comes with much more heartache. Zuckoff recounts the early health difficulties that plagued baby Naia's life, as well as her parents's introductions to the social challenges she will face.

I applaud Zuckoff's work on this book. While the reader is aware that none of the characters are telling the story, the journalist also does not appear in the tale. He effectively minimizes the space he occupies on the edges of the page.

Zuckoff strives to tell a complete story in every chapter. After opening with a scene from the family, he explores background information about prenatal testing, the history of mental retardation in the US, and the biology of Down syndrome. The reader is exposed to much of the same information the Fairchilds sought out during the decision-making period. While the author does not become over-technical, at times he fails to make a smooth transition between the Fairchilds and the other information.

What Zuckoff does not tackle is the Fairchilds's choice in the abstract. For those of us who call ourselves pro-choice, what does it mean when a woman/couple makes the "wrong" choice? Are we willing to support women/couples who choose to have a child with a debilitating condition, possibly suffering from profound mental retardation?

However, this is a small criticism. If his focus was on one particular couple, then these wider issues have limited value in the narrative. Greg and Tierney face this issue on a small scale when family members gently urge her to consider termination.

The tale is one of heartbreak, triumph, resilience, and overwhelming love. For those who enjoy it, I recommend both Martha Beck's "Expecting Adam" (which covers the same ground with a more mystical spin) and Rayna Rapp's "Testing Women, Testing the Fetus" (which covers the ethical and social issues of amniocentesis).

Wonderful book, too many great ideas to list.

Read every line rather than skim or skip as not to miss important little suggestions, facts, and insights offered throughout the book.

This book is full of information to help parents and teachers adapt the language demands of the classroom to the needs of their child with Down syndrome. There's information on how the teacher can adapt her spoken instructions, written work, and classroom routines for the child with Down syndrome. There's information on figuring out how the speech therapist could best help your child master the curriculum and improve his communication skills--not to mention how to advocate for the type and amount of speech therapy that would most benefit your child. And there's information about how parents can work with teachers to make homework assignments do-able and meaningful for your child, as well as ways to enrich communication development outside of the classroom. I must say that it sounds like the previous reviewer meant to review a different book and mistakenly clicked on this one! Her review seems to be about a book on teaching reading--Classroom Language Skills includes a little information about adapting reading work in the classroom, but goes way beyond that. She obviously didn't read the same book that I did.

While written specifically for children with Down Syndrome, this book is an excellent source of information for any parent of a child with a language impairment, advocate or teacher. It clearly encompasses best practices in the provision of language services to students with language impairments and gives valuable-- and specific-- insights and advice on the design of IEPs and curriculum. The language is clear and accessible to those without professional training or certification in speech and language pathology. My non-Down Syndrome child has a language impairment and I am involved in professional ESE advocacy; I use this book extensively in training parents on SLP issues, best practices, delivery models , and the development of meaningful IEPs. I also suspect that an earlier reviewer intended to review another book, this is not a book about reading or phonics, but about the provision of educationally relevant services and development of academic and functional skills for students with communication impairments.

This book picks up from where Dr. Kumin's earlier book, "Communication Skills in Children with Down Syndrome" leaves off. Aimed at the elementary and middle school years, this book is about developing good communication and learning skills. Parents and teachers interested in reading skills will want to look at, "Teaching Reading to Children with Down Syndrome," by Patricia Logan Oelwein. I have had the pleasure of hearing Dr. Kumin speak and she is undoubtedly one of the leading expert on communication skills in children with Down syndrome. The book starts with a look at what language skills a child will need in school and then goes on to discuss building a team and a curriculum to reach that goal. The main topic of the book is how to help the child with Down syndrome learn in an inclusive environment. Dr. Kumin shows us that children with Down syndrome can learn and can succeed but they may need to have the curriculum adapted to their needs. For example, she shows how worksheets can be confusing for a child with Down syndrome but she also shows how they can be easily adapted to make them less confusing. Many children fail, not because they don't understand the material but rather because they have trouble following complicated multi-step instructions. One specific example she discusses is math word problems. The complex language of the word problem can be very difficult for the child to understand even though they have no difficulty doing the actual math problem. Dr. Kumin discusses how IDEA requires that children with disabilities be given accommodations in order to help them be fairly assessed. As a parent or a teacher you will want to read this book. The research discussed and the many ideas put forth can help a child succeed and build self confidence where before there was fear and failure. If you are a teacher of a child with Down syndrome, buy this book. If you are a parent of a child with Down syndrome then buy two copies, one for yourself and the other for your child's teacher.

This book is an amazing gift that Cathryn Smith has given to her family as well as her readers. The Glory Walk takes us through an incredibly difficult time in our family with grace and clarity and shows us the different dimensions of this horrible disease by actually writing from the view of Alzheimers. About every couple months, when I feel the need to be closer to my father, I will re-read The Glory Walk and work through a little more of the loss and the pain I feel of my father's death. For any child that has lost a parent, especially to Alzheimers, The Glory Walk is a great comfort.

I found this memoir to be very helpful as I deal with this disease process in a close family member and a friend. The writing style allowed me to gain perspective from the point of the patient and to gain insight into the feelings that I have associated with the person's decline. This book has given me the freedom to feel my feelings in association with the disease process and not feel guilty.

The author's poignant and powerful use of experimental prose and poetry invite her reader into her world, a world of grief, torment, and wonder, as she and her family watch and participate in losing her father to Alzheimer's. The reality of the angst and the realization of the utter helplessness are conveyed so beautifully through memory, narrative, letter writing, and music. What makes the writing so powerful, so convincing, though, is that it is often as fragmented as the mind of the Alzheimer patient. We, as readers, become one with the patient, as well as the family.

I use this book, The Glory Walk, in my Creative Non-Fiction class as an example of how a talented writer can take the horrific facts of her father's decline and death from Alzheimers and create a true, beautiful, painful portrait of the journey of grief. She captures brilliantly the trauma and sometimes joy, of the journey, showing the reader how circling a truth, grief in this case, is sometimes the only way to get back home.

The Glory Walk is a glorious walk through the life of man in the eyes of a daughter. Rememberances of a life lived that every reader can relate to. Reading this book will make you want to call your dad and tell him you love him. If you can't call him you will think of him with love and wish he was with you.