Over 500,000 people of all ages in the UK have disorders in the autistic spectrum. About one-third also have varying degrees of learning difficulty. All of them have impairment of social interaction, communication and imagination - to them the world appears a bewildering and sometimes frightening place. This guide explains how people with autism experience the world and why they need an organized, structured environment. Ways of improving communication, developing abilities and enlarging social interaction are described, and advice is given on coping with stresses within the family.

At the age of 19 Ian Waterman was suddenly struck down at work by a rare neurological illness that deprived him of all sensation below the neck. He fell on the floor in a heap, unable to stand or control his limbs, having lost the sense of joint position and proprioception, of that "sixth sense" of his body in space, which we all take for granted. After months in a neurological ward he was judged incurable and condemned to a life of wheelchair dependence. This is the first U.S. publication of a remarkable book by his physician, Jonathan Cole. It tells the compelling story, including a clear clinical description of a rare condition, of how Waterman reclaimed a life of full mobility against all expectations, by mental effort and sheer courage.Cole describes how Waterman gradually adapted to his strange condition. As the doctors had predicted, there was no neurological recovery. He had to monitor every movement by sight to work out where his limbs were, since he had no feedback from his peripheral nerves. But with astonishing persistence Waterman developed elaborate tricks and strategies to control his movements, enabling him to cope not only with the day-to-day problems of living, but even with the challenges of work, love, and marriage.

People with Asperger Syndrome have many characteristics that are frequently seen in a negative light. Brenda Boyd shows that for every characteristic of AS that can be looked at negatively, there are several positive aspects that can be drawn on and developed. Discussing AS in general terms, she talks through the reasons why people with AS approach life in the way they do, and what an enormous contribution they make to the world. She then explores different characteristics of AS; while she acknowledges the negative perception so many people have of these characteristics, she points out the large number of advantages to the Aspergers way of thinking for individuals with AS, those around them and society as a whole. For every negative, Boyd proves there are many more positives. From their refreshing honesty to their originality and potential to become leaders rather than followers, people with AS have many admirable personality traits that should be nurtured. This book shows that by adjusting our perceptions of what is 'normal' and embracing diversity, AS can not only be understood and accepted, but appreciated. Appreciating Asperger Syndrome is a celebration of AS which should be read by individuals with AS, family members, and anyone who knows or works professionally with individuals with AS.

This practical resource is designed to help professionals, parents, and carers on their journey to independence with children and young people with vision impairments. Building on the ideas and practices introduced in Supporting Life Skills for Young Children with Vision Impairment and Other Disabilities, this book addresses middle childhood, the period from when the child starts school, through to the onset of puberty. It offers a wealth of practical strategies and activities to enhance key skills, including personal safety, advanced dressing, personal hygiene, dealing with puberty, social skills, time, money and organisational skills, eating, drinking and food preparation skills, and the transition to secondary school. This book: Addresses the main independent living skills areas for vision impaired children in middle childhood, by providing simple explanations of skills and offering practical strategies and techniques to support progression onto the next stage Is written in a fully accessible style, with photocopiable pages and additional downloadable eResources Provides a variety of documentation to chart the child's development and show progress over time This invaluable resource puts the changes that occur during middle childhood into context and will help busy professionals, families and carers start preparing children with a vision impairment for adulthood, allowing them to become confident and independent individuals.

*Gold Medal Winner in the Sexuality / Relationships Category of the 2011 IPPY Awards* * Honorary Mention in the 2010 BOTYA Awards Women's Issues Category * Girls with Asperger's Syndrome are less frequently diagnosed than boys, and even once symptoms have been recognised, help is often not readily available. The image of coping well presented by AS females of any age can often mask difficulties, deficits, challenges, and loneliness. This is a must-have handbook written by an Aspergirl for Aspergirls, young and old. Rudy Simone guides you through every aspect of both personal and professional life, from early recollections of blame, guilt, and savant skills, to friendships, romance and marriage. Employment, career, rituals and routines are also covered, along with depression, meltdowns and being misunderstood. Including the reflections of over thirty-five women diagnosed as on the spectrum, as well as some partners and parents, Rudy identifies recurring struggles and areas where Aspergirls need validation, information and advice. As they recount their stories, anecdotes, and wisdom, she highlights how differences between males and females on the spectrum are mostly a matter of perception, rejecting negative views of Aspergirls and empowering them to lead happy and fulfilled lives. This book will be essential reading for females of any age diagnosed with AS, and those who think they might be on the spectrum. It will also be of interest to partners and loved ones of Aspergirls, and anybody interested either professionally or academically in Asperger's Syndrome.

Marc Fleisher's new self-help guide for autistic teenagers and adults will help readers improve their quality of life and overcome many everyday challenges, be it through the development of independent living skills, building a more varied and fulfilling social life, or mastering a course in higher education and broadening one's opportunities for the future. Marc Fleisher speaks from first hand experience about the coping strategies he himself has had to learn - often the hard way. Written particularly for young people who are just beginning to become independent from their parents, perhaps living in their own home for the first time, this book shows how to approach apparent problems with hope and the expectation of an improved quality of life. Survival Strategies is an invaluable source of advice and reassurance for people with ASDs across a wide age range. Other readers such as relatives and friends of people on the autism spectrum, and professionals such as educators or therapists will find it provides a host of new insights.

From the moment she first held her new-born son in her arms, Anne Crosby knew something was wrong with him. Although the staff at the London hospital dismissed her response as cruel and unmaternal, her instincts were correct: Matthew had Down syndrome. Struggling with feelings of shock and grief, Crosby determined that she would do whatever she could to help Matthew lead as full a life as possible. This is the moving, candid, insightful, and often surprising account of the life Matthew made with the help of his mother and other caring people. With her painter's eye for the colourful detail and a Dickensian ear for the voices of her characters, Crosby describes Matthew's family and friends, doctors and teachers - a large cast that includes Alice Strong, his Cockney caregiver, the famous child psychologist D W Winnicott, and Princess Anne, a benefactor of MacIntyre, Matthew's boarding school. Crosby evokes the forbidding atmosphere of Normansfield, the residential institution founded by the man who gave his name to Down syndrome; the spacious beauty of Mentmore, the country estate where she often took Matthew for outings; and the touching camaraderie of the hospital ward in which Matthew died of heart failure at twenty-four. In this remarkable memoir, Crosby also explores Matthew's inner life, revealing his playful mimicry and unexpected humour, his outbursts of affection and occasional fits of temper, his gallantry toward his first love, and his disappointment over the loss of his first job. Anne Crosby's portrait of her son gives us an abiding image of Matthew that deepens our understanding of what it means to be human.

Winner of the Michael Ramsay Prize 2016 Dementia is one of the most feared diseases in Western society today. Some have even gone so far as to suggest euthanasia as a solution to the perceived indignity of memory loss and the disorientation that accompanies it. In this book John Swinton develops a practical theology of dementia for caregivers, people with dementia, ministers, hospital chaplains, and medical practitioners as he explores two primary questions: * Who am I when I've forgotten who I am? * What does it mean to love God and be loved by God when I have forgotten who God is? Offering compassionate and carefully considered theological and pastoral responses to dementia and forgetfulness, Swinton's Dementia: Living in the Memories of God redefines dementia in light of the transformative counter story that is the gospel.

Sharing the experience of bringing up a child with nonverbal learning disability (NLD), this warm and accessible book offers advice on subjects ranging across diagnosis and therapy, children's interaction with each other, suitable activities for a child with NLD and how to discuss NLD with children. An essential guide, this book will reassure, advise and inform parents and professionals who work with children with NLD.

One of BookRiot's Ten Best Disability Books of 2023.

A manifesto exploding what we think we know about disability, and arguing that disabled people are the real experts when it comes to technology and disability.

When bioethicist and professor Ashley Shew became a self-described “hard-of-hearing chemobrained amputee with Crohn’s disease and tinnitus,” there was no returning to “normal.” Suddenly well-meaning people called her an “inspiration” while grocery shopping or viewed her as a needy recipient of technological wizardry. Most disabled people don’t want what the abled assume they want―nor are they generally asked. Almost everyone will experience disability at some point in their lives, yet the abled persistently frame disability as an individual’s problem rather than a social one.

In a warm, feisty voice and vibrant prose, Shew shows how we can create better narratives and more accessible futures by drawing from the insights of the cross-disability community. To forge a more equitable world, Shew argues that we must eliminate “technoableism”―the harmful belief that technology is a “solution” for disability; that the disabled simply await being “fixed” by technological wizardry; that making society more accessible and equitable is somehow a lesser priority.

This badly needed introduction to disability expertise considers mobility devices, medical infrastructure, neurodivergence, and the crucial relationship between disability and race. The future, Shew points out, is surely disabled―whether through changing climate, new diseases, or even through space travel. It’s time we looked closely at how we all think about disability technologies and learn to envision disabilities not as liabilities, but as skill sets enabling all of us to navigate a challenging world.

This informative and very practical book is intended to help parents and teachers equip children with dyspraxia, or developmental coordination disorder, with the strategies that will enable them to live as normal a life as possible with this hidden handicap. Examining the developmental path of the child through the early years at home, at nursery school, grade school, high school, and into adulthood, it offers special tips on how to encourage children with dyspraxia to improve their social skills and develop a strong self-esteem. Included is information about the causes and symptoms of dyspraxia, characteristics of the condition, diagnostic procedures, and a glossary of terms.

Challenging kids don't behave badly on purpose -- they are simply struggling to "catch up" in key areas of psychological and cognitive development. If your child or teen's emotional or behavioral difficulties are getting in the way of success at home, at school, or in social situations, this is the book for you. Dr. Michael Bloomquist has spent decades helping parents to understand acting-out kids and support their healthy development. In these pages, he presents tried-and-true ways you can build your 5- to 17-year-old's skills to: *Follow rules and behave honestly. *Curb angry outbursts. *Make and maintain friendships. *Express feelings productively. *Stay on task at school. *Resolve conflicts with siblings. *Manage stress. Loads of checklists, worksheets, and troubleshooting tips help you select and implement the strategies that meet your child's specific needs. You'll also build your own skills for parenting effectively when the going gets tough. Systematic, compassionate, and practical, the book is grounded in state-of-the-art research. The road to positive changes for your child and family starts here. Mental health professionals, see also the related title The Practitioner Guide to Skills Training for Struggling Kids.

Guides parents' journey toward understanding their child and solve problems related to behavior. Each child with autism is unique. Yet, children CAN learn, and with the 119 rules and tools presented here in their Parenting Toolbox, parents will now be able to help their child be successful. Using checklists, forms, and other practical tools, parents will eventually develop their child's personal MAP - Master Action Plan.

How could a girl born with a genetic defect - who later suffered brain damage leaving her blind, epileptic and physically handicapped, and who lived only eight years - change the world? Wordjazz for Stevie is a letter written to Stevie by her father after she had died to try to explain to her (and the world) the meaning of her life. This is a book that everyone should read. It could change your life too.

How do we give a voice to those who so often remain unheard? Will You Read This, Please? is a frank and impactful collection of twelve stories as told to our best British writers, based on the lived experience of people who have faced mental illness in the UK.

Edited by Joanna Cannon, the Sunday Times bestselling author of The Trouble with Goats and Sheep, Three Things About Elsie and A Tidy Ending, the stories told here are powerful, resonant and heart-breaking.

This is a ground-breaking and unforgettable collection, shining a light on the stigma and isolation of living with mental illness, while also showing the strength and resilience of the human spirit.

This concise and highly accessible book contains everything that parents and busy professionals need to know about ADHD.The author describes the spectrum of ADHD, the co-occurring symptoms, and common difficulties that parents face. The rest of the book focuses on solutions, based around four rules. Rule number one is keeping it positive: punishments can change behavior, but only positive approaches can improve attitude. Rule number two is keeping it calm: it's difficult thinking clearly enough to solve problems logically if you are feeling overwhelmed. Rule number three is keeping it organized: this rule relates particularly to the child's school life. Rule number four is to keep doing rules one to three. Finally, Dr. Kutscher discusses the role of medication for treating ADHD. The concluding chapter summarizes the information covered and can also be read as a complete, freestanding text. Useful checklists and further reading recommendations are also included.Realistic and optimistic, this book is the ideal source of information and advice for parents and professionals who are trying to keep up with children who are living without brakes.

This practical resource is designed to help professionals, parents and carers as they support children with vision impairments to develop independence in everyday tasks. Using the Early Years Foundation Stage framework as a basis, it provides a wealth of strategies and activities to develop key skills, including dressing, maintaining personal hygiene, eating and drinking and road safety. This is an invaluable tool that can be dipped in and out of to help make learning fun, boosting the child's confi dence and helping create a positive 'can- do' attitude when faced with new challenges. This book: Addresses the main problem areas for babies and young visually impaired children and their families, by providing simple explanations of skills and offering strategies and techniques to support progression onto the next stage. Is written in a fully accessible style, with photocopiable pages and additional downloadable resources. Provides a variety of documentation to chart the child's development and show progress over time. Research shows strong indicators that early intervention can reduce or eliminate developmental delays in children with a vision impairment. The supporting strategies in this book help busy professionals and carers to make every opportunity a learning opportunity, allowing children with a vision impairment to become confi dent and independent individuals.

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.

On occasion nearly everyone experiences short-term back pain from sore or strained muscles. But for many who come to treat their back gingerly because they fear further "injury," a cycle of worry and inactivity results; this aggravates existing muscle tightness and leads them to think of themselves as having a "bad back." Even worse is the understandable but usually counterproductive assumption that back pain is caused by "abnormalities"–bulging disks, a damaged spine, and so on. However, these abnormalities are frequently found in those who have absolutely no pain whatsoever. In reality, most backs are strong and resilient, built to support our bodies for a lifetime; truly "bad backs" are rare.

Drawing on their work with patients and studies from major scientific journals and corporations, the authors of Back Sense–all three are former chronic back pain sufferers themselves–developed a revolutionary self-treatment approach targeting the true causes of chronic back pain. It is based on conclusive evidence proving that stress and inactivity are usually the prime offenders, and it allows patients to avoid the restrictions and expense of most other treatments. After showing readers how to rule out the possibility that a rare medical condition is the source of their problem, Back Sense clearly and convincingly explains the actual factors behind chronic back pain and systematically leads readers toward recapturing a life free of back pain.

Taking Care of Myself: A Hygiene, Puberty and Personal Curriculum For Young People With Autism is a much needed resource for the autism community so that children with disabilities can learn about personal safety in a nurturing environment. I am thankful for the curriculum presented in Taking Care of Myself: A Hygiene, Puberty and Personal Curriculum For Young People With Autism, as it helps me raise two boys on the Autistic Spectrum and make sure I do not miss anything in the process that they need to know and be aware of before someone else tells them about these issues.' - BellaOnline Reviews 'The social stories could save parents and teachers time having to write their own and reduce the stress load especially on parents in having to find the right words to address sensitive topics. Wrobel's stories are well written, using appropriate vocabulary and simple sentence structure. They are positive and affirmative; when used they will greatly reduce the anxieties experienced by young people when dealing with these sorts of issues. Both of us felt that the book would be useful for a very wide range of children and young people, not just those that fall within the Autistic Spectrum and would recommend its use in home, school and college contexts.' - Share an Idea Using a unique combination of social scripts and easy-to-understand activities, Taking Care of Myself provides accessible information on health, hygiene and personal safety issues for people with autism spectrum conditions or other developmental disabilities. Presented as seven distinct units, this new curriculum covers all aspects of day to day life paying particular attention to areas that may cause confusion or distress, including illness and visits to the doctors. The authors also offer advice on puberty, appropriate sexual behaviour and `stranger danger', making this a comprehensive manual for children and adolescents from the age of five upwards.

Why do I have to go to school before the show that I am watching is over? Why do I have to wear shoes and a jacket when I go outside? Rules like these can be really frustrating - but they don't have to be! Why do I have to? looks at a set of everyday situations that provide challenges for children at home, with their friends, and at school. Laurie Leventhal-Belfer empathizes with children's wish to do things their way, explains clearly why their way does not work, and provides a list of practical suggestions for how to cope with these challenges and avoid feelings of frustration. This is the ideal book for children who have difficulty coping with the expectations of daily living, as well as for their parents and the professionals who work with them.

The first book that explains how to use Social Stories (TM) to support younger adults with autism focuses on some of the most common issues that arise as they enter the adult world. Siobhan Timmins explores the thinking that can lead to particularly problematic situations, and shows how to construct effective stories that can enlarge understanding and reshape thinking to help young adults with autism approach the work in a confident and constructive way. The stories engage with the various stages of applying for a job, adjusting to a work environment, maintaining physical and mental health, and staying safe. Along with the sample stories are explanations of how to create your own story to develop further understanding and draw connections between each story and the issues they explore. From practical skills such as dressing for an interview, to identifying emotions and recognising symptoms of depression, this book takes Social Stories (TM) a major step further and adapts them to the realities of adult life.