Meet Maria - a woman with Multiple Sclerosis (MS). Maria tells the story of her holiday with her husband Ben, her children Cara and Dino, and Teddy the dog, which was interrupted when she began to feel dizzy, exhausted and weak. She explains how this led to her diagnosis and describes what MS is, how it affects her daily life and what others can do to help. This illustrated book will be an ideal introduction to MS for children from the age of 7, as well as older readers. It will help family, friends and carers to better understand and explain MS, and will be an excellent starting point for group discussions.

Therapeutic Story StartUps is a creative resource that can be used by therapists and other professionals working with children aged 4-12 years. These resources are designed to support children to understand, explore and express their feelings through story, imagination and play. Six beautifully illustrated storybooks address the themes of: Loss, Anger, Self-Esteem, Bullying, Worries and Family Break-Up. Additionally there are characters, props and scenes to invite the child to act out their own story, asking the question, "What happens next?..." The full pack includes: Six illustrated storybooks, each prompting the child to create their own ending. 30 colourful free-standing characters, six background scenes and a number of additional props. Six mood-cards designed to support story-making. Therapeutic Story-Souvenirs to remind the child of the story they have created. Online guidelines for therapists provide prompts for using the stories and suggestions on how to use the resources. Separate guidelines for non-therapists are also provided. Additional copies of characters and souvenir cards can be downloaded and printed to personalise the work for individual children and make it a continually renewable resource. For all instructions relating to this product, as well as for access to the additional online resources, please visit www.routledge.com/cw/speechmark Intended for use in educational settings and/or therapy contexts under the supervision of an adult. This is not a toy.

Who would get into a fight right before Christmas? A bully, that's who On the last day of school before break, you'd think everything would be cool, right? Wrong Somebody has it out for Jolie, one of the smart kids. No one could have guessed what would happen next when trouble starts to stir. Readers will laugh and cheer as the plot - inspired by actual events - unfolds. In recent years, bullying has become an epidemic and the numbers continue to rise monthly. According to Dan Olweus of the National School Safety Center, American schools harbor approximately 2.1 million bullies and 2.7 million of their victims; 71% of students report incidents of bullying as a problem at their school. Children from all backgrounds and every age group are finding themselves victims of the insensitivity and cruel intentions of others. Ninety percent of 4th through 8th graders report being victims of bullying while 56% of students have personally witnessed some type of bullying at school. The effects of bullying range from increased feelings of sadness to the extremely tragic. Bullying is linked to many negative outcomes including impacts on mental health, substance use and suicide. Furthermore, this has become a heart-breaking reality of global proportions. The Yale School of Medicine reports that a new review of studies from 13 countries found signs of an apparent connection between bullying, being bullied, and suicide. Why does one child seek to browbeat and harass another? One out of 5 kids admits to being a bully or doing some bullying. Research shows bullies are aggressive children. They view violence as an okay way to interact with other children. "Schools with widespread, day-to-day bullying, intimidation, and incivility are toxic social environments for children and adolescents," said Matthew Mayer, an assistant professor of educational psychology in Rutgers University's Graduate School of Education. Experts there have even gone so far as to say that bullying is