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.

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.

You know,' I whispered, 'if you really want to go and be with God, it's OK. We will manage; don't worry about us.' For nine and a half years Cara had been her family's heartbeat. But one morning in late summer she was gripped by an epileptic seizure from which she didn't recover. Her struggles were over and she was free. This is a mother's story of the journey undertaken by Cara's family, a journey of suffering and injustice, but also 'of the way in which God moved in our lives and of the way in which our hope and trust in him kept us going through some unbelievably hard times'.

When we tell someone that our child is autistic, the most common response is a sad face and an apologetic look. I hate it when people say "I'm sorry to hear that". Parenting a child on the autistic spectrum can be tough at the best of times, but few books take the time to celebrate the love and laughter an autistic child can elicit in their parents and those around them. In this warm, honest and laugh-out-loud tale of bringing up Bobby, now ten, Georgina Derbyshire shares and rejoices in his 'slightly different' childhood. As she outlines momentous events in Bobby's life, from the day he decided he was a dog (continuing life as a canine for a year afterwards), to the time he catapulted an innocent shopper into a mountain of strawberries, Georgina repeatedly challenges the perception of autism as an affliction, maintaining that neurotypical people often make far less sense. Through her light-hearted and hilarious storytelling, she reveals how social codes and psychological games make the neurotypical world a very confusing place to live in, more so than ever if you happen to be a young boy with a passion for rocks, tape measures and trains. This book is a must for anybody involved in the upbringing of an autistic child, whether they are in search of a little comfort, companionship, light relief - or all three.

'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.

Getting to Grips with Asperger Syndrome is a practical, problem-solving guide for those caring for or supporting an adult with Asperger Syndrome (AS). It will help them understand the condition and the difficulties it may cause, so that they can offer support in the most beneficial way. The book explains what AS is and why certain behaviours frequently occur: such as anxiety, fear of change and unusual sensitivities. Once behaviours and reactions are understood, many of the apparent problems become less troublesome, and difficulties can be avoided or easily-resolved. Practical strategies are offered to combat problems that may arise, and common issues that specifically occur with individuals diagnosed later in life are addressed. Easy-to-read and accessible, this book is a useful reference for friends and family of individuals with AS, as well as health and social care staff and students, whatever the level of training and experience.

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.

This is the inspiring account of a family's struggle to break into their son's autistic world - and how a beautiful retreiver dog made the real difference. Dale was still a baby when his parents realised that something wasn't right. Worried, his mother Nuala took him to see several doctors, before finally hearing the word 'autism' for the first time. Scared but determined that Dale should live a fulfilling life, Nuala describes her despair at her son's condition, her struggle to prevent Dale being excluded from a 'normal' education and her sense of hopeless isolation. Dale's autism was severe and violent and family life was a daily battleground. But the Gardner's lives were transformed when they welcomed a gorgeous Golden Retriever into the family. The special bond between Dale and his dog Henry helped them to produce the breakthrough in Dale they had long sought. From taking a bath to saying 'I love you', Henry helped introduce Dale to all the normal activities most parents take for granted, and set him on the road to being the charming and well-adjusted young man he is today. This is a heartrending and fascinating account of how one devoted and talented dog helped a little boy conquer his autism.

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.

Ann Burack-Weiss explores a rich variety of published memoirs by authors who cared for ill or disabled family members. Contrary to the common belief that caregiving is nothing more than a stressful situation to be endured, memoirs describe a life transforming experience-self-discovery, a reordering of one's priorities, and a changed view of the world. "The Caregiver's Tale" offers insight and comfort to individuals caring for a loved one and is a valuable resource for all health care professionals.

Identifying common themes, Burack-Weiss describes how the illness career and social meaning of cancer, dementia, HIV/AIDS, mental illness, and chemical dependence affect the caregiving experience. She applies the same method to an examination of family roles: parents caring for ailing children, couples and siblings caring for one another, and adult children caring for aging parents.

Jamaica Kincaid, Sue Miller, Paul Monette, Kenzaburo O?, and Philip Roth are among the many authors who share their caregiving stories. Burack-Weiss provides an annotated bibliography of the more than one hundred memoirs and an accompanying chart to help readers locate those of greatest interest to them.

The Politics of Deafness embarks upon a post-modern examination of the search for identity in deafness and its relationship to the prevalent hearing culture that has marginalized Deaf people. Author Owen Wrigley plainly states his intention to disrupt "normal" thought about the popularly considered condition of deafness as a physical deficiency. From his decade of experience working and living in the Deaf community in Thailand, he uses wide-ranging examples to go beyond disputing conventional theorists for their interpretation of deafness as the lack of a sensory function. By calling attention to the different lingual potential created by the instant visual expression of cyberspace he explodes orthodox conceptualization of the nature of language as serially ordered and dependent upon sound. In bold style, this provocative work poses the relationship of the bodies physical and mental of Deaf people as subject to a form of "colonialism" by the dominant Hearing culture. It proceeds to expose and attack presumptions and practices that derive from and descend upon deaf bodies. Related analysis also addresses tensions little noted in the current literature on deafness and on the popular move to reconstitute Deafness as a global culture. Through displacement of logistical anchors, ironic stances, and disconcerting perspectives, The Politics of Deafness practices a form of de-naturalization to demand space within and between the normalizing frames of daily lives. By doing so, it offers an insightful and intriguing perspective on the meanings of Deafness, the politics of Deaf identity, and what it costs to be "unusual".

The first book showing how, in easily followed steps, you can treat your own back. Unlike the author's previous book BACK IN ACTION, which gives information on the range of treatments available for different back problems, THE BACK SUFFERER'S HANDBOOK places emphasis on the contribution the sufferer can make putting the problem right. In language that every back sufferer will find completely understandable, it describes each spinal disorder and what causes the pain. It gives helpful exercises with information about what they will achieve and how frequently they should be done. There is also advice on back pain management, the role of medication, the use of bed rest and how to return to work. This book is essential reading both for the patient confined to bed with acute back pain, and for someone with less severe back problems, but still having to cope with back pain or discomfort on an everyday basis.