Synopses & Reviews
Candid, passionate, personal, and heartbreakingly funny, a view from within the whirlwind of parenting a child with special needs
Three years ago, magazine editor Denise Brodeys precocious four-year-old son, Toby, was diagnosed with a combination of sensory integration dysfunction and childhood depression. As she struggled to make sense of her new, often chaotic, often lonely world, what she found comforted her most was talking with other harried, hopeful, and insightful parents of kids with special needs, learning how they coped with the feelings they encountered throughout the day.
In The Elephant in the Playroom, moms and dads from across the country write intimately and honestly about the joyful highs and disordered lows of raising children who are not quite normal. Laying bare the emotional, medical, and social challenges they face, their stories address issues ranging from if and when to medicate a child, to how to get a child who is overly sensitive to the texture of food to eat lunch. Eloquent and honest, the voices in this collection will provide solace and support for the millions of parents whose kids struggle with ADD, ADHD, sensory disorders, childhood depression, Aspergers syndrome, and autismas well as the many kids who fall between diagnoses.
Offering readers comfort, community, and much-needed perspective, The Elephant in the Playroom is sure to become essential reading for parents of special needs kids.
Review
"A superb book. Chock full of arresting insights as well as warmth and wisdom."
--Edward Hallowell, M.D., author of The Childhood Roots of Adult Happiness
Synopsis
Candid, passionate, and heartbreakingly funny, moms and dads write intimately and honestly about the joyful highs and disordered lows of raising children who are different.
Synopsis
A view from within the whirlwind of parenting a child with special needs Four years ago, Denise Brodeys young son was diagnosed with a combination of special needs. As she struggled to make sense of her new, chaotic world, what she found comforted her most was talking with other parents of kids with special needs, learning how they coped with the emotional, medical, and social challenges they faced.
In The Elephant in the Playroom, Brodey introduces us to a community of intrepid moms and dads who eloquently share the extraordinary highs and heartbreaking lows of parenting a child with ADD/ADHD, sensory disorders, childhood depression, autism, and physical and learning disabilities, as well as kids who fall between diagnoses. Hailing from Florida to Alaska, with kids ages three to thirty-three, the parents in this collection address everything from deciding to medicate a child to how theyve learned to take care of themselves, offering readers comfort, kinship, and much- needed perspective.
Synopsis
A pediatric neuropsychologist presents strategies to help parents of special-needs children navigate the emotional challenges they face.
As diagnosis rates continue to rise for autism, ADHD, learning disabilities, and other developmental differences, parents face a maze of medical, psychological, and educational choices and a great deal of emotional stress. Many books address childrens learning or behavior problems and advise parents what they can do to help their kids, but until Not What I Expected: Help and Hope for Parents of Atypical Children there were no books that explain what the parents are going through - and how they can cope with their own emotional upheaval for their own sake, and for the wellbeing of the whole family.
With compassion, clarity, and an emphasis on practical solutions, Dr. Rita Eichenstein's Not What I Expected: Help and Hope for Parents of Atypical Children walks readers through the five stages of acceptance (similar to the stages of grief, but modified for parents of special-needs kids). Using vivid anecdotes and suggestions, she helps readers understand their own emotional experience, nurture themselves in addition to their kids, identify and address relationship wounds including tension in a marriage and struggles with children (special-needs and neurotypical), and embrace their child with acceptance, compassion and joy.
About the Author
Rita Eichenstein, Ph.D., is a licensed psychologist with post-doctoral training in pediatric neuropsychology and special education. She specializes in pediatric neuropsychological assessments and parent training skills and maintains a private practice at Cedars-Sinai Medical Towers in Los Angeles.