Different Dream Parenting

Having raised foster kids with special needs and worked with many others in schools, I know quite a bit about the subject of parenting them. Without doubt Different Dream Parenting; A Practical Guide to Raising a Child with Special Needs by Jolene Philo is the most helpful book on the topic I've ever seen. It's loaded with practical advice and resources for every stage of the lives of special kids from birth to adulthood and even includes a section about coping with death of a special child. The author tells of her own experience and quotes many other parents who have children with special needs.

The book has a strong Christian message, but even readers who are not religious will find the vast collection of helpful information worth the purchase price.

Acceptance Plus

There has always been a problem with people accepting others who have special needs. For years many of them were shut away in institutions or kept at home. But here's a story that shows how one person with Down's Syndrome was more than accepted. I hope you find it inspiring.

http://www.theunion.com/article/20111013/NEWS/111019890

Blind Sided

When I started reading the book Thad Nodine sent me for review I didn't think I would like it because the first chapters contained too much erotic description for my taste. But I was soon swept into the plot, which became more and more exciting as the story unfolded and the characters must deal with a natural disaster. (No spoiler here -- you'll have to read it to find out more.)

Perhaps you wonder why I'm reviewing Touch And Go on this blog about special needs. It's because the main character is blind - not just legally, but totally, and the book lets readers understand what blindness is like. The author has several people in his family who are blind, so he knows what he's writing about.

Everything in the novel is told from hthat character's point of 'view' and is totally believable. I felt like I was actually experiencing things as he described them.

But the book is more about relationships and trust than blindness, and that condition is only part of what makes Kevin seem real.

Some readers would be offended by the language characters use, but if that sort of thing doesn't bother you, this book would be a good choice to read.

A Helper

Here's a link to a blog post about someone with special needs who helps others.

http://familiesmatter2us.blogspot.com/2011/10/guest-post-by-author-rachael-benson.html?spref=fb&mid=503

Autism Help?

Last night I met someone at a writers' group who told me his autistic son has improved amazingly since he has been on a special diet. Apparently people with autism digest foods, especially dairy and gluten, differently that other people do. Here's a link that man gave me to a website with information about many studies about that:

http://www.autismbiomed.com

Unlocked

A friend recently loaned me a book, Unlocked, by Karen Kingsbury, about a kid with autism because she knew I cared about the condition, having raised an autistic foster son. I greatly enjoyed reading it.

In my opinion, the book is most appropriate for Young Adults since the main characters are teenagers. Since it's a Christian one there's nothing offensive in it. But anyone dealing with autism will probably want to read it.

Unfortunately only a few few autistic kids are at the same place on the Autism Spectrum as Holden, the character who is helped greatly by music. But the primary focus is on the main character, Ella, who is one of the popular kids but decides to stand up for Holden in spite of what other kids think. I wish all teenagers would read it since they tend to make many bad choices because of valuing popularity.

The book is well written - I couldn't put it down - and I think it will make a difference in the world by helping "normal" people understand those who are different from themselves.

CFS Novel

I recently read Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: A Novel by Caroline T. Anderson and have very mixed feelings about it. The book was self published and, as a writer, I can see why that was necessary. Of course the target audience is small, but the book also needs some good editing.

It starts slowly and, for some unknown reason, by the end of the first page we're in the point of view of horses. There's way too much information given in dialogue and long quotations from research done by the main character (who is not a horse.) Since a lot of people don't know much about Chronic Fatigue Syndrome it was necessary to convey some of that information, but only the basics were necessary for the plot and the rest could have been listed at the end of the book.

The only reason I kept reading was my personal interest in the disease, but I'm glad I did. About a third of the way through, the book picks up and the rest is an exciting adventure that kept me turning the pages.

This novel is a good way of letting the general public know about Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and, while fictionalized, many people think the sort of machinations it portrays that have kept the disease from being recognized and treated are real.

In this work of fiction anti-viral drugs can cure the disease and I can tell from personal experience that they don't work for everyone. *I was on one for months and all it did was cause permanent neurological damage. (If anti-viral meds could kill retroviruses they would probably cure AIDS, too.) But that kind of medication may have helped the author, who writes under a pseudonym.

However this novel is a good way to make people aware of problems most know nothing about and, once the reader gets past the informative first chapters it's an enjoyable read.

*For information about how I recovered from that disease please read my earlier posts on that topic here: http://tinyurl.com/3dkb6tv

Face of Hope

If you want to read an inspiring book about someone dealing with special needs try Face of Hope by Carol Guscott. I met the author at a writer's conference and was impressed with her positive, inspiring attitude in spite of horrible problems. The book goes into details that will be upsetting to readers, but they only make the way her faith and determination shine through even more inspiring.

Reader's Digest

I don't subscribe to the Reader's Digest anymore because they've got less than half the content they used to carry, but this week I picked up the June/July copy at the grocery store. It contains an article about parenting a child with special needs that might be of interest to anyone doing that.

The author's daughter has Autism so she talks a lot about that spectrum, but the article includes plenty of information about caring for people with other special needs and it's written in a friendly style.

Anyone caring for or about someone with special needs might want to read the article, My Daughter, Myself, by Sallie Tisdale.