Specific Disabilities Books

Having worked with children on the autism spectrum I found this book to be unique in it's style. It addresses the issues of sensory integration within various areas of self help. What the average child finds easy, the ASD child finds difficult in the way of touch, sound, taste, etc. This book helps the child to see these experiences as normal activities

It's a nice book. I've made similar items for specific children with their own picture, though not bound like this book. I like the pages with just a sentence or two. I've used index cards with even more simple phrasing to cover the ones with paragraphs where there is too much info for particular students.

Great condition. Shipping took longer than expected but overall would buy from this vendor again.

Good reference for teachers in dealing with students with mild disabilities. Explanations and case studies presented. Very helpful for those taking the ABCTE in compliance with the No Child Left Behind.

This book should be the basis for all further research in the area of music therapy. I have sincerely never read a better work than this one on music therapy. Excellent theoretical background information and well-explained.

Some of the articles I was able to read quite easily, however, I had difficulty with most of the articles from British/European authors -- their theoretical background, if I'm not mistaken, seems to be in the Freudian/depth psychology area, or at least, schools of psychology with which I am not familiar -- my theoretical knowledge of psychology lies more in the various schools of psychology from the US.

This book was difficult to read because it is so disjointed and un-clear. It has some good experience information, but is more like her personal discombobulated diary than a clear story.

Why is this book important? Many reasons - but one is that it's by and about disability, and it proves beyond doubt that people generally considered 'crackers' have much to say, and much to offer.

More than that, it's a cracking story - full of pain, courage sadness, and hilarious moments of comedy.

The author tells her story in broken bits of narrative, fragments of memory, and simple heartfelt poems (that get more complex and sophisticated as time passes) Like Humpty Dumpty she has to pick up the broken pieces of her mind as the kings' horses - psychiatry, education and state 'care' - try to trample her into the ground.

It's an internal and an external journey that should shatter all our beliefs, if we have them, that there's anyone out there to help if the same thing happened to us.

Not just an interesting autobiography, but the first work by a major new author, Cracked will have your brain reeling.

This was the first book that I read by this researcher, after reading a small article in a magazine. Feurerstein clearly explains how a learning disability is self referencing. The disability usually induces an environment which offers less opportunities to learn and so the individual learns less,and as a result his environment becomes even less generous. Feurerstein offers strategies for parents and educators to counteract this tendency of the disability to imbed itself. It gives clear names for the cognitive functions which are the tools of thinking, and shows how parents and educators can train themselves to become aware of these behaviours or the lack of them. The diagnostic procedures look not for an average of abilities but for areas of strength and weakness and most importantly for potential to learn in any area. Building upon strength rather than supporting weakness is the basic idea. Feurerstein exposes the dangers of overeliance on concrete aids for students who have difficulty reasoning abstractly. Instead he suggests that they should be taught to reason abstractly, and then shows us how. Some of the language in this book is offputting for the non-academic person and some of the things described may be confronting.

The title of this text is the best part of the book. Feuerstein's thesis is that in order to help Down Syndrome ("DS") children, the almost banal expression "Accept me [him] as I am [he is]" is definitely not the way to go. Instead, the idea is to challenge the retarded child in a manner that does not set out pre-established limits. Feurstein et al base their cognitive theories on the basic premise of the ability to modify. Chapter 2 is an excellent discussion of the two opposing schools of thought in connection with retarded children: (a) the passive-acceptant ("PA") approach versus Feuerstein's active-modification ("AM") theory. As the name implies, the PA approach is one based on a passive acceptance of the child's handicap, and a well-meaning and even loving desire not to set what at first would seem like unattainable goals. In fact, there are few (if any) expectations for the handicapped person. They arise from well-meaning people that would like to shelter the DS child from a cruel and uncaring world by making sure that he is educated only with other DS children and that only very modest expectations can be held as to cognitive development.

Feuerstein's AM approach, on the other hand, is not any less "loving" than the PA approach, but it does not accept the handicap (physical or mental) as some sort of fatalistic impediment to growth and development. Instead, he proposes that the handicaps (and some much more severe than DS) can be modified and some can be overcome, and that a lack of challenging goals and hard work can easily become self-fulfilling prophesy in terms of growth for children with limitations. Handicapped children need to be fully integrated with "normal" children as the only way to obtain excellence in achieving these goals. This is similar to the "conductive education" theory which does not accept the physical condition of the individual as setting unsurpassable barriers to functional change (cf. Dr. Petö in Budapest, and his successor, Dr. Maria Hari). Crucial to the AM approach is the active involvement not only of the educator/mediator but also of the retarded child. The goal of modifying the handicap involves hard work that should not be carried out on behalf of, or for the child, but instead with and through him. In essence, AM is not a patronizing approach. Feurstein et al demonstrate that DS children and others with low IQs should not "wither away in institutions." These children are "neither hopeless nor helpless, and certainly not deserving of society's disparagement or pity." Children with intelligence limitations can lead "rich, active, joyous, and even independent lives as contributors to society." Ultimately, that attitude shows more true caring than one which gives up before trying.

Despite what seem like very good ideas and concepts, Feuerstein promises in the early chapters much more than he delivers in this text. The book is full of unnecessary jargon, placed into acronyms to make it even more unreadable, focusing too much on the "what" without the "how" or the "why" of changes experimented by DS patients. One can take the jargon at the beginning (such as the "PA" and "AM" cited above). However, it gets thicker and in a completely gratuitous manner with expressions like "Structural Cognitive Modifiability" ("SCM") where "change" or "adaptability" would have fitted as well, "Mediated Learning Experience" ("MLE") instead of a simpler "interactive education," the rather insane acronym of "FRIWAFTT" (!) where the author offers the "helpful" saying: "Fools rush in where angels fear to tread," which might have been acceptable if it didn't stand for concepts that do not need acronyms, such as "feelings," "revenues," "ignorance," "waste" and other such terms. The confusing jargon gets worse with "LPAD" which stands for "Learning Potential Assessment Device" "IE" for "Instructional Enrichment" and others. Chapter 12, the one on Instrumental Enrichment, is perhaps the chapter that most promises to get into the "how" of changes detected by the authors in dealing with DS patients. However, it does not accomplish that either. Instead, the chapter is full of examples of the tools used without getting, in any given example, into the how/why and in-depth reasoning process that takes a previously handicapped person to someone who indeed is able to excel.

The other aspect of Feuerstein's book that is very unconvincing is the manner that he (or "they," as several authors collaborated on the book) describes an apparently hopeless case, and after throwing in some of the jargon in the paragraph above, these people become model citizens and are able to function at previously unimaginable levels. I would not have minded the "boasting" if they had actually explained with detail how something like "IE" or "LPAD" worked instead of saying simply that these tools worked. In that sense, it is a text that lacks a rigorous scientific method, or even a strictly clinical method. I came away from reading this book as if it had been some tantalizing publicity for something to be fully revealed at another later stage. And perhaps that is all the book aimed to do, since the author has indeed published more recent books and articles which perhaps better address these issues.

Having said the above, I would also say that the book is worth it just because of it's very clever subtitle, and because of a conceptual approach in the early chapters that encourages an active rather than a passive attitude toward DS, and in fact, any learning disability. It is all too easy to abandon hope under the patronizingly compassionate "let's accept him as he is." However, Feuerstein makes a convincing case for taking an active role, and in a persistent and even stubborn way, for finding some way to get through ("mediate") from a cognitive perspective.

It was fine. Not the best but okay. It would have been better if the author gave a little more detail as to what the underlying issue is. It would make the recommendations make more sense.

Dr. Libby Kumin, an expert on Down syndrome and communication, presents Helping Children with Down Syndrome Communicate Better: Speech and Language Skills for Ages 6-14, a guide for both parents and professionals to helping young people develop their speech, language, and communication skills. Chapters discuss the factors that make speech and language difficult, especially for children with Down syndrome; how to assess language and speech skills; language and speech treatments; fostering conversational skills; and much more. Black-and-white photographs, anecdotes, home activities for practicing communication skills and more enhance this user-friendly compendium. A "must-have" for educators and parents responsible for a child with Down syndrome, Helping Children with Down Syndrome Communicate Better is also a valuable supplement for anyone teaching communication skills to young people with different types of mental handicaps.

I've used this book in teaching a college class of the same matter. It is easy to present as well as follow. The examples and situations are practical and helpful. The material is concise and accurate in addressing the needs and concerns at the secondary level. I will continue to use this book in my class.

This textbook is user friendly. The sections flow in a sequential order, and the language used is easy to follow. The information is in-depth, and there are a lot of good resources listed in the text. Of all the special education textbooks I've used, this is one of the best.

My baby daughter was born with the condition arthrogryposis and I was keen to read about anothers experiences.

The story of Goodwins life was indeed a positive one and filled me with hope for my little girls future. Medical practices and society at large has moved on since goodwins childhood but it is an interesting insight into how the condition affected his every day life and how he overcame his obstacles and limitations.

The book had a general 'heartwarming' feel about it, and has a few funny exerpts as well. The book is the only biography I know of written by someone with arthrogryposis at present, and is a nice alternative to the medical based texts that can often paint a bleak picture of this condition.

The only problem with this book I found, is, as mentioned earlier, a lot has changed since Goodwins childhood and he grew up in a very different era, so it is hard to compare this to what my daughter will go through. However, there will still be much that she and I will relate to as she grows, such as how he negotiated his way around the house and feeding issues! This is a very personal opinion due to my circumstances, despite this, I would still recommend the book to to people either with the condition or to people who's loved ones are affected.

I will give this book to my daughter to read someday and I am currently passing it about family and friends who want a read also!

Overall a very inspirational read!

After doing an Amazon search of the word "arthrogryposis", I found Goodwin Hale's book. I am a mother of a son with this condition and so I was interested in reading about Mr. Hale's life. His story is really inspirational and I was constantly stopping to read my husband excerpts from this book. The writing is lively and he has many amusing antecdotes about his growing up years. I am anxious to have my son read it. He is 15 and I think he will be able to relate to Mr. Hale's stories, although he did not grow up in a small town during the depression as Mr. Hale did. Despite the generational difference, his daily life as someone with arthrogryposis will be familiar to anyone with this condition. I would highly recommend his book for anyone with a loved one with this condition- they will be inspired by Mr. Hale. I would also recommend this book to anyone who just wants a positive read, many smiles and inspiration of someone that had difficult challenges from birth.

A great woman...an informative read.

Gwen Frostic has been an icon for as long as I can remember going to her wonderful shop in Benzonia, Michigan. Incredible artwork, a very nice business (in the middle of nowhere!), but I always wanted to know more about her....why she was so successful, how she has overcome her handicap (what did she have)...she is so inspirational, and to know how and why is inspirational to me as well.

This book should become a classic.

This is a nourishing, promising book with an irony at its core, and Mr. Vila warns us of this with his title. The great-heartedness suggested by "Life-Affirming Acts" is at once contained and sadly reduced by the familiar pretension of "Education as Transformation," the tired "[concept] as [concept]" device which ill serves this author, as his thinking is really too large for such shenanigans. Throughout the book, postmodern and deconstructionist usages cage many of Mr. Vila's authentic and valuable insights--and when they are caged, their wings fall of.

No doubt the CrossCurrent series of books about writing pedagogy demands the political stance, leaving us to mark how this strained dynamic parallels that of students in writing courses with traditional expectations--a dynamic Vila compellingly deplores. How painful, then, to see Vila lay his hard earned, penetrating wisdom on a procrustian bed and chop away at it to fit an agenda.

If the book were poorer in virtues, the irony wouldn't be so obvious. Over and over, the reader wants to hear the author's own voice, unconstrained. There are glimpses of this powerful voice throughout the autobiographical narrative--there are passages where Mr. Vila's relation of event is fused so essentially with the insight he gleans from it that he transcends his own book. I'm thinking of page 49, for one example: "From behind the wheelchair, the little boy learned how disabled the normal are . . . how undisabled, how really normal was his father. . . ." This and the passage's continuation as three generations of the family walk through Central Park to the Met: the man still pushing his father's wheelchair undergoes insights that can only be called epiphanic. Not equal to this writing are the rote attacks on The System, and one leaves the book dissatisfied by breaches between genuine insight and sometimes (not always!) disingenuous conclusions.

A back cover blurb assures us that this book can be read in many different ways--"in keeping with postmodern sensibilities." To say this about Vila's book is to dress it up in an article of the emperor's new clothes. Putting this another way, the same might as profitably be said of a cookbook or collection of short stories: much ado about critical tomfoolery, given the case at hand.

Yet at the very least, teachers of writing can find inspiration in "Life-Affirming Acts," and at most, readers will recognize a vital intelligence which we hope its possessor will come to honor more fully in future books. To paraphrase Vila: "The teacher is saying, Speak your thoughts. Actually, [we are] pleading."

I found Vila's notions about placing students and ALL learners at the center of the learning experience extremely valuable, for teachers, parents, and anyone interested in learning. Vila provides some interesting strategies for determining what students already know and what they bring to class.

"Life..." is a heart-wrenching story about how we "throw away" many in our culture; however, Vila shows us how to make sure that we really educate everyone, something we advocate but don't do well.

I find, also, that as a teacher, I'm always conflicted by my own values and those of the "institution." Vila draws conclusions about how this tension can be used creatively to create what he calls "a living curriculum."

I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in learning or anyone interested in a career in education. It's also good for parents interested in learning what happens when a child enters an "educational institution."