Special Life

In this collection of beautiful and raw essays, Amy S. F. Lutz writes openly about her experience - the positive and the negative - as a mother of a now 21-year-old son with severe autism. Lutz's human emotion drives through each moment and challenges commonly held ideas that define autism either as a disease or as neurodiversity.

Max’s friend Susan cannot hear. She talks with her hands. Will Max’s sign language class help him learn how to talk to her?

Clem Bastow grew up feeling like she’d missed a key memo on human behaviour. She found the unspoken rules of social engagement confusing, arbitrary and often stressful. Friendships were hard, relationships harder and the office was a fluorescent-lit nightmare of anxiety. It wasn’t until Clem was diagnosed as autistic, at age 36, that things clicked into focus. Clem reflects as an autistic adult on her formative experiences as an undiagnosed young person, from the asphalt playground of St Joseph's Primary School in Melbourne to working as an entertainment journalist in Hollywood.

You’re not a failure and you don’t need to be fixed. You just need to know how to manage your symptoms and make the best out of your strengths. Everyone has positive traits–you just have to look within and realize your potential. With the right strategies, you’ll be able to manage your ADHD and achieve what you want based on your unique personality and abilities.

Susan es sorda. Ella habla con las manos. Max va a una clase de lengua de señas para aprender a hablar con ella.

After years of treating patients and analyzing scientific data, prominent Harvard researcher and clinician Dr. Martha Herbert offers a revolutionary new view of autism and a transformative strategy for dealing with it. In The Autism Revolution, she teaches you how to approach autism as a collection of problems that can be overcome - and talents that can be developed. Each success you achieve gives your child more room to become healthy and to thrive.

If you want to prepare your child for the "real world" and help them become successful adults one day, this book is your way forward. Your child is just as confused as you are about all the competing demands and expectations of being a teen in today's complex world. I understand this because I am a parent myself, a school psychologist, and a counselor. My many years of working with adolescents and their parents have shown me that growth and change are indeed possible!

A compelling look at US Navy SEALs through a true-to-life lens focused on the triumphs and challenges of the elite warriors of the Special Forces community. Master Chief (SEAL) Rick Kaiser (Ret.) captures over forty-five years of events in and around the SEAL Teams. It is not a blood-and-guts portrayal of battlefield victories and losses, but an authentic view of how things are done in the Teams. The SEALs truly are silent professionals and the most memorable stories often don't feature combat but are the moments that shape these exceptional warriors.

Twelve-year-old Emmie is working to raise money for a tricked-out wheelchair to get serious about WCMX, when a mishap on a poorly designed ramp at school throws her plans into a tailspin. Instead of replacing the ramp, her school provides her with a kind but unwelcome aide - and, seeing a golden media opportunity, launches a public fundraiser for her new wheels. Emmie loves her close-knit rural town, but she can’t shake the feeling that her goals - and her choices - suddenly aren’t hers anymore.

In The Patriot's Creed, Kris Paronto uses the seven core army values that all soldiers learn in basic combat training, and the experiences of other servicemen and women and first responders, to explain how anyone can improve themselves and the world around them, and live a heroic life. The stakes are dramatic for the brave men and women who put their lives on the line to fight for America, and too many of their acts of courage and honor are unknown. The examples of their persistence and discipline will be inspiring to anyone facing seemingly insurmountable obstacles.

Thirteen-year-old Mic Parsons is surrounded by weird people. He has a deaf and blind sister who clunks noisily around the house. And Vern Chortle has moved onto his street. A truly strange kid who wears outrageous socks and a beeper watch, Vern has decided Mic should be his best friend. Mic has a bigger problem, though. He’s got to pass math, or his parents won’t let him try out for the baseball team.

Noah Keller has a pretty normal life, until one wild afternoon when his parents pick him up from school and head straight for the airport, telling him on the ride that his name isn't really Noah and he didn't really just turn eleven in March. And he can't even ask them why - not because of his Astonishing Stutter, but because asking questions is against the newly instated rules. (Rule Number Two: Don't talk about serious things indoors, because Rule Number One: They will always be listening).

Eleven-year-old Aurora Petrequin’s best friend has never spoken a word to her. In fact, Frenchie Livernois doesn’t talk. Aurora is bouncy, loud and impulsive—“a big old blurter.” Making friends has never come easily. When Frenchie, who is autistic, silently chose Aurora as his person back in third grade, she chose him back. They make a good team, sharing their love of the natural world in coastal Maine.

At the age of thirty, just as everything was falling into place for him, Lee Pesky died of brain cancer. For his father, Alan, grief came with the realization that he had lost the chance to love Lee as he was—not as he wanted him to be. Ambitious, successful, and always striving for more, Alan had a hard time relating to a son who struggled with learning disabilities at a time when there was little understanding or help for kids who had them. Their relationship was complicated, and now, Lee was gone.

All the flights at the Seattle airport are delayed due to the bad weather so Trevor and his family are stranded! While concerned about their flight delay, Trevor's family worries how he will be affected by the crowds of people and noise in the airport. Will Trevor's autism cause him to become agitated and cause a scene? Find out what Trevor uses to entertain and soothe the crowd.

Rosie and her best friend just can't seem to get along, but Granny Torrelli knows just what to do to make things better. With warm words and secret recipes, she helps Rosie see that nothing can break the bond between two life long pals.

From candy explosions and safety spaces to patience pills and mattress slides, autism turns normal on its head and stomps on it for good measure. For this family and their three autistic children, life is chaotic but glorious. Experience everyday life from the perspective of a spectrum mom and defy the label as only an exceptional family can.

Just when Joey Pigza's wired world finally seems to be under control, his good-for-nothing dad pops back into his life. This time, though, Carter Pigza is a new man - literally. After a lucky lotto win, he has a crazy new outlook on life, and he's even changed his name to Charles Heinz. He thinks Joey and his mom should become new people, too. Soon Joey finds himself bombarded with changes, including a new name, a new home, and a new family business: running the beat-up Beehive Diner.

Andee Martineau unflinchingly exposes the misconceptions that hold you back from being the calm, connected parent you want to be for your kids. She unpacks why the traditional corrective parenting methods of timeouts, punishments, and bribes don't work and what to do about it. Andee reveals the background, science, and practical strategies she's taught to over 10,000 parents to help them move past corrective parenting and into a new world of Connect Method Parenting. You already have everything you need inside of you to change your home.

In honor of Presidents’ Day, A.J. and Andrea from Ella Mentry will compete against their Dirk School rivals in the ultimate Presidents’ Day Challenge! The winning school will get bragging rights, a free trip to an amusement park, and a top-secret prize. The only problem is that A.J. doesn’t know anything about US presidents, unless it involves their use of toilets! Will A.J. and Andrea be able to work together as a team and bring home the win?