From the time he was three or four years old, John Elder Robison realised that he was different from other people. He was unable to make eye contact or connect with other children, and by the time he was a teenager his odd habits - an inclination to blurt out non-sequiturs, obsessively dismantle radios or dig five-foot holes (and stick his younger brother in them) - had earned him the label 'social deviant'. It didn't help that his mother conversed with light fixtures and his father spent evenings pickling himself in sherry. Look Me in the Eye is his story of growing up with Asperger's syndrome - a form of autism - at a time when the diagnosis simply didn't exist. Along the way it also tells the story of two brothers born eight years apart yet devoted to each other: the author and his younger brother Chris, who would grow up to become bestselling author Augusten Burroughs. This book is a rare fusion of inspiration, dark comedy and insight into the workings of the human mind. For someone who has struggled all his life to connect with other people, Robison proves to be an extraordinary storyteller.

Lennard J. Davis grew up as the hearing child of deaf parents. In this candid, affecting, and often funny memoir, he recalls the joys and confusions of this special world, especially his complex and sometimes difficult relationships with his working-class Jewish immigrant parents. Gracefully slipping through memory, regret, longing, and redemption, "My Sense of Silence" is an eloquent remembrance of human ties and human failings.

Patienthood and Communication is an engagingly personal narrative detailing the author's experience living with, and adapting to, a degenerative and incurable eye disease (MacTel). Beyond the personal, this poignant story more broadly illustrates the ways in which communication enables individuals to adjust to serious health threats. Author and subject Peter Kellett highlights his important interactions with health care providers, family members, friends, colleagues, students, and others that provide shape to his journey. Kellett displays a compelling capacity for self-reflection in his descriptions of the life changes his vision loss imposes upon him, among them changes to his identity, in relationships and life plans. Adaptation and flexibility reveal themselves as central tenets of his learning to become a self-empowered patient. Perhaps the most crucial element to his adjustment is, however, positive communication, which is depicted throughout the book as the driving force in Kellett's journey into patienthood.

More than 180 million Americans have a problem with their vision. Most believe there's not much they can do on their own to change how much (or how little) they see. Now there is hope. In the past decade, an overwhelming number of clinical studies have shown that eating specific nutrients can help maintain vision well into old age, alleviate eye conditions, and even reverse the progress of diseases. In this book, top ophthalmologist Dr. Neal Adams uses clear, accessible language to translate research from hundreds of clinical studies in ophthalmology and nutrition to show how we can restore and maintain eyesight by changing our diet. The solution is simple: just naturally grown foods, with nutrients clinically proven to target the components of the eye affected by disease and/or age. The book explains how the eye functions and what nutrients influence these physiological processes, and includes tailored, easy-to-understand instruction on which foods and nutrients will target the reader's specific concerns. Particularly helpful for the 150 million Americans who visit their eye doctors annually as well as the 95 percent of Americans over 40 at risk for future vision loss.

*Strong potential: early intervention is critical for kids with autism. *Provides easy-to-learn, playful ways for parents to help their toddlers and preschoolers. *Based on the authors' Early Start program, shown by research to improve communication, behavior, and IQ. *Early Start is one of the few validated programs for young children with ASD-and the only one for toddlers. *Doable strategies fit easily into family routines and are compatible with any type of treatment.

Surely my way is not always wrong, just because it's different from other people's ways? I mean everyone's way is weird to someone... In her 24 years Emma has experienced a lot, and much of this has been coloured by her autism and social anxiety. Funny and self-aware, this collection of Emma's diary entries capture her hidden thoughts and insightful explanations as to why the world can be such a puzzling place. Wry observations on social rules, friendships, relationships, and facing changes give compelling insight into how Emma confronts challenges, and her determination to live life to the fullest. Helpful advice at the end of each entry also give practical strategies for coping with common issues.

'The first time Shocks saw Amber coming, he lowered his head so she could wrap her arms around his nose. It was as if they understood each other's pain. Like two broken beings, helping each other.' When Shocks the donkey was left for dead on a farm in Ireland, no one ever thought he would make a full recovery. When Amber and her twin sister Hope were born 26 weeks premature, it was Amber who was separated from her family and rushed into theatre for an emergency tracheostomy. Her parents were given the devastating news that she had Cerebral Palsy and would be unlikely to walk or talk. Then Amber met Shocks at the Donkey Sanctuary and their lives were changed for good. This is their touching story of recovery through friendship.

The 8th Deaf History International Conference featured 27 presentations from members of Deaf communities hailing from 12 different countries around the world who related their own autobiographies as well as the biographies of historical Deaf individuals. Thus, they created a transnational phenomenon of widespread interest in the collection, documentation, and dissemination of Deaf History by and for members of the deaf community. Telling Deaf Lives brings together the best of these stories.

" This book is an extremely easy read - no jargon or ambiguous clinical terms. It serves as an informative tool, by creating awareness through first hand accounts, which could be used by both sufferers and professionals." - Anxious Times `It is a highly readable book based largely on the experiences of the author...I would highly recommend it to all emetophobes. Equally, I would recommend it to friends and family of sufferers because it will help non-sufferers understand why emets act in the way we do and, via fascinating insights into how our minds work, why we find certain situations very difficult to cope with.' -www.gut-reaction.freeserve.co.uk, June 2007 Emetophobia, the extreme fear of vomiting, can affect just about every aspect of sufferer's life, from everyday considerations (`what food will be "safe" for me to eat?') to matters that involve making huge, potentially devastating decisions (`I can't have this baby, I can't face morning sickness'). Nicolette Heaton-Harris has first-hand experience of the phobia and its effects. She suggests strategies for coping with the high levels of anxiety that are intrinsic to the phobia, as well as pre-empting and avoiding anxiety attacks. The experiences of fellow sufferers of all ages, male and female, are shared throughout the book and a list of useful organisations providing further information and support services is also included. Living with Emetophobia is a must-have for anyone suffering from emetophobia, anyone living with an emetophobic as well as professionals treating or supporting people with emetophobia.

A resource for parents, caregivers, and counselors. What measures can parents and advocates take to insure that people who have mental retardation live full, rewarding lives from infancy to old age? Understanding Mental Retardation explores a diverse group of disorders from their biological roots to the everyday challenges faced by this special population and their families. With parents and those who care for people who have mental retardation in mind, Patricia Ainsworth and Pamela C. Baker write in a style that is at once accessible, informative, and sympathetic to the concerns of those affected. The authors provide practical information that will assist families and other advocates in obtaining needed services. They discuss assessment and treatment, education and employment, social and sexual adjustment, as well as regulatory and legal issues. This book covers the causes of mental retardation, the signs and symptoms of the most common forms of these disorders, and issues of prevention. For the sake of comparison, the book describes basic concepts of normal human development and references the history of Western civilization's responses to those with mental retardation. Understanding Mental Retardation sheds new light on mental illnesses that can complicate the lives of those with mental retardation, and the way symptoms of mental illness may appear confused or masked in a patient with mental retardation. Along with information on treatments and diagnoses, the book offers contact information for governmental resources, as well as a brief summary of the legal issues pertaining to mental retardation in America.

Dyscalculia is a learning difference affecting the ability to process numbers. This illustrated guide provides children aged 7+ with the tools and confidence to understand the condition, discover helpful techniques, and seek additional support. It guides parents and teachers on how to help at home and at school, and includes an extensive resource list.

We mourn the death of the child we had assumed I had given birth to, yet dearly love the baby we have. We want our child, but don't want her to have Down Syndrome...' Since their initial shock at their daughter's disability, Karina's parents have experienced the challenges and joys of raising a child with special needs. Gun Dolva and Rodney Potter have taken advantage of available services and programmes, and their own imaginations, to devise stimulating activities to assist her to develop to her full potential. They aim to provide her with every opportunity to fully participate in the community. This is the account of Karina's first six years, as told to Cheryl Rogers. Karina Has Down Syndrome is a valuable resource for the families of Down Syndrome children, teachers and disability service workers.

Written for 14+ year olds, this accessible book empowers young people with dyslexia to make a smooth transition to college, university or the workplace. An engaging and informative guide, it will help you plan and make decisions about the next stage of your education or employment. Ann-Marie McNicholas, who has worked with young people with dyslexia for many years, answers the questions that you will have as you plan for life at university or college. She covers the differences between school and college and university, lists the different types of dyslexia assessment available and gives you simple, tried-and-tested tips to help you to manage your time, your workload and your revision. Beyond information about further and higher education, the book is full of advice on preparing for the next stage in your life, such as moving into the workplace. A must-read pocket guide for teenagers with dyslexia and an essential resource for parents, teachers, SENCOs, career advisers, and anyone else involved in supporting learners with dyslexia to make a successful transition to further education and the world of work.

When Richard Medugno and his wife Brenda learned in 1993 that their17-month-old daughter Miranda was deaf, they grieved, as many hearing parents do. Soon, however, Medugno seized hold of the need to take positive action for Miranda. "Deaf Daughter, Hearing Father" recounts the remarkable story of their journey during the past fourteen years.
Medugno first researched the best communication mode for Miranda. Quickly dismissing the speech pathology model, he and his wife chose ASL alone as the best, natural language for Miranda. He surrounded his daughter with opportunities to learn ASL, by arranging to meet deaf individuals and families, and also by hiring deaf babysitters. He also determined to learn ASL himself, to ensure communication with his daughter. As Miranda neared school age, Medugno spearheaded a transcontinental search for exactly the right school for her education. So that Miranda could attend the California School for the Deaf (CSD), the Medugno family moved from Toronto, Canada to Fremont, CA.
In "Deaf Daughter, Hearing Father," Medugno shares practical information on many of the common challenges faced by hearing parents. He provides a list of games that hearing and deaf children can play together, an important consideration for many families. His enthusiasm for all possibilities, from exploring the potential of video phones to helping stage CSD musicals, reveals his abiding devotion to Miranda. Such a foundation has enabled her to feel proud, confident, and happy in her pursuits. At the same time, Medugno recognizes that the rewards of having a deaf daughter are far greater than he could have hoped for or imagined.

In this heartfelt memoir, Maria Wallisfurth recounts the lives of her deaf parents in Germany from the turn of the twentieth century through World War II. Her mother, Maria Giefer, was born in 1897 and her father, Wilhelm Sistermann, was born in 1896. The author captures the seasonal rhythms and family life of her mother's youth in rural Germany, a time filled as much with hardship as it is with love. When she is old enough, she moves to the nearby city of Aachen to attend a school for deaf children, where she learns to lipread and speak. After her schooling is complete, she returns home to work on the family farm and experiences the privations and fear that accompany World War I. She later goes back to Aachen, where she joins a deaf club and falls in love with Wilhelm, a painter and photographer who was raised in the city. Amidst high unemployment, food shortages, and rapid inflation, the two are married in 1925 and two years later the author is born. Under the Nazi regime, Maria and Wilhelm are ordered to undergo forced sterilization. Although their deafness is not hereditary and they submit applications of protest, they are compelled to comply with the law. Despite their dissimilar backgrounds and the political circumstances that roiled their lives, the author's parents showed great love for each other and their only daughter. The Stories They Told Me is a richly detailed document of time and place and a rare account of deaf lives during this era.

At age two, in 1960, Jessy Park was remote, withdrawn, unable to walk or talk, yet oddly content within the invisible walls that surrounded her. Doctors were baffled. The study of autism was still in its infancy. Jessy's family stepped in. "Confronted with a tiny child's refusal of life, all existential hesitations evaporate. We had no choice. We would use every stratagem we could invent to assail her fortress, to beguile, entice, seduce her into the human condition." This powerfully moving book, now widely regarded as a classic work, charts a surprising journey of discovery as it records the challenges and rewards of the first eight years of Jessy's life.

Visit www.jessicapark.com to view the Paintings of Jessica Park.