Love Special Needs

Our limited and often biased view of what’s considered “normal” often prevents us from recognizing the gifts and brilliance of those who don’t fit a specific mold. Too often we don’t explore and take advantage of the far-reaching gifts and potential of those diagnosed as being on the autism spectrum or neurodiverse. Dr. Lynn Kern Koegel has had vast experience researching Autism Spectrum Disorders—ASD—and working with autistic people of all ages. She has repeatedly witnessed firsthand evidence of great intelligence that hasn’t yet been nurtured or realized.

In August of 2023, on the day that my Cousin Vinny retired after forty-three years of combating corruption and conducting criminal investigations for the City of New York, I had the pleasure of having lunch with him at a restaurant called the Crab Shack in Queens, New York. This particular event was a long time coming. In fact, cousin Vinny had been promising that the event would take place as long as I could remember. It was in fact, 40 years in the making and then it finally took place. All I can say is, good things come to those who wait, and wait and wait. During my conversation with ...

♥The Candy Beach Series ♥What would you do if you suddenly became a single mom to a seven-year-old child? Overnight, Monica Crawford finds her neatly organized life is turned upside down. Her sister abandons her blind son, Scotty, leaving him on Monica's doorstep. Caring for a child was not in Monica's carefully-laid plans. After all, she's working on her MBA while pursuing a marketing director job at The Chocolate Dreams Candy Company. However, caring for a special-needs child brings unexpected conflict-and unexpected joy. When John French volunteers to tutor Scotty, he's drawn to ...

Parenting is hard work. Throw in something like ADHD, and it can seem impossible. Do you often feel stressed, frustrated, disrespected, and just plain tired? Don’t worry: You’re not alone. Nearly 6.2 million children in the United States have been diagnosed with ADHD–you share the faith of all those parents. When you think about the difficulties you face in parenting an ADHD child, you should also think about the difficulties they face navigating a world that wasn’t created with them in mind.

Eileen Garvin’s older sister, Margaret, was diagnosed with severe autism at age three. Growing up alongside Margaret wasn’t easy: Eileen often found herself in situations that were simultaneously awkward, hilarious, and heartbreaking. How to Be a Sister begins when Eileen, after several years in New Mexico, has just moved back to the Pacific Northwest, where she grew up. Being 1,600 miles away allowed Eileen to avoid the question that has dogged her since birth: What is she going to do about Margaret?

“An everyday life is a life filled with joy and meaning; finding the extraordinary in the ordinary. It is a life filled with purpose which creates meaningful opportunities to share one’s gifts and talents with others, building and contributing to the community. It is a life filled with laughter, friends, family, and love. A good life is creating and living the life you want to live, every day. While our journey is uniquely our own, we are not alone. May we honor those that have traveled before us by continuing to pave the way and making it a little easier for those who follow in our ...

For hundreds of years, humans and animals have had special bonds with each other. We've lived side-by-side through thick and thin - these relationships are not just about raising pets and farm animals. In Animal Kind, Emma Lock of YouTube fame shares stories of the incredible ways that animals keep us healthy and happy, physically and mentally. You'll be inspired by the tales of remarkable recovery, from vision-impaired individuals who have gained independence with the help of seeing-eye dogs, to the woman who found new life as an equestrian champion after an arm amputation.

When Judith Newman shared the story of how Apple's electronic personal assistant, Siri, helped Gus, her son who has autism, she received widespread media attention and an outpouring of affection from listeners around the world. Basking in the afterglow of media attention, Gus told anyone who would listen, "I'm a movie star". Judith's story of her son and his bond with Siri was an unusual tribute to technology. While many worry that our electronic gadgets are dumbing us down, she revealed how they can give voice to others.

Will following her heart mean denying her dreams? It's not easy being the golden girl. In this Christian Medical Mystery, a gifted young neurologist, Lily Lapree, embarks upon her residency in the teaching hospital where her late father practiced. Longing to try her wings outside the insular nest, the position hadn’t exactly been Lily’s top choice, but the hometown hospital has its perks. Best of all, they’ll help mainstream her live-in sister, Raina, who has special needs. In response to Lily’s promise to keep tabs, they’ll add “Rainy” to their janitorial staff. Though ...

When Sarah Roberts’s son, Oscar, was born, he was unexpectedly diagnosed with Down syndrome. Sarah had to rapidly come to terms with a new normal, as she suddenly found her life on a different path to the one she’d always hoped and believed she’d follow. For the Love of Oscar shares a mother’s real and very raw emotions as she comes to terms with that new path, in a story which is nevertheless both heart-warming and funny. Sarah writes candidly about the ups and downs not only of parenthood but also of parenting a child who just happens to have additional needs.

Marcelo Sandoval hears music no one else can hear - part of the autism-like impairment no doctor has been able to identify - and he's always attended a special school where his differences have been protected. But the summer after his junior year, his father demands that Marcelo work in his law firm's mailroom in order to experience "the real world."

Maggie and Momma love going for walks. During every outing, Maggie learns about something new. Today's no different! Momma has arranged for Maggie to meet lots of people in her neighborhood. They all have different jobs. They all come from different cultures. They all use different things to help their bodies. Maggie doesn't just stop to chit-chat. Rather, she gets to the bottom of things. By asking the right questions, she discovers how many people with disabilities use aids to help them out. Let's find out how they work, too!

Diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder at the age of eight, Dr Camilla Pang struggled to understand the world around her. Desperate for a solution, Camilla asked her mother if there was an instruction manual for humans that she could consult. But, without the blueprint to life she was hoping for, Camilla began to create her own. Now armed with a PhD in biochemistry, Camilla dismantles our obscure social customs and identifies what it really means to be human using her unique expertise and a language she knows best: science.

Critically-acclaimed author Monica Holloway shares the extraordinary, touching story of Cowboy, the golden retriever puppy who changed her son's life.

Parents of children with autism have so much to learn and to manage, it’s easy for them to feel alone and become emotionally drained. But there is a framework for making progress, whether the child is newly diagnosed or an adult. Now available in audiobook, reviewers call Responsible and Responsive Parenting in Autism: Between Now and Dreams a first-stop, must-listen for parents, family members and caregivers, one that is also eloquent and engaging.

This book can help children with SPD learn how to explain their disorder to others; help peers understand what children with SPD go through; and also help therapists, teachers, and/or counselors learn how to talk about it.

Discover the ultimate parenting guide that stands out among parenting books for new parents, toddlers, and beyond. "Parenting Kids with ADHD" is your comprehensive resource for navigating the unique challenges and joys of raising a child with ADHD. Whether you're searching for parenting books best sellers, parenting books for 5-year-olds, or even parenting teenagers books, this guide offers valuable insights and practical strategies tailored to every stage of your child's development.

In a Kingdom far, far away lives Cinderella. As expected, she slaves away for her cranky sisters and step-mother. She would dearly love to attend the Royal costume ball and meet the Prince, but her family is totally dead set against it. In fact, they have gone so far as to trash her wheelchair! An unexpected magical endowment to her wheelchair begins a truly enchanted evening and a dance with the Prince. Can true love be far behind?

In his debut novel, YouTube personality and author of We Should Hang Out Sometime Josh Sundquist explores the nature of love, trust, and romantic attraction. On his first day at a new school, blind 16-year-old Will Porter accidentally groped a girl on the stairs, sat on another student in the cafeteria, and somehow drove a classmate to tears. High school can only go up from here, right?

Lights, camera - all Maeve needs is action. But at 18, a rare form of muscular dystrophy usually stands in the way of romance. She's got her friends, her humor, and a passion for filmmaking to keep her focus off consistent rejection...and the hot older guy starring in her senior film project. Tall, bearded, and always swaying, Cole Stone is everything Maeve can't be. And she likes it. Between takes, their chemistry is shockingly electric.