Reviews (2)

Good Foundational Book!
I really like the way this book is presented.It provides a really concise yet complete overview of the disabilities most commonly encountered.I also like the pages in the back of each chapter that give teaching strategies in respect to the disability discussed. This is a great book for general educators looking for some information on disabilities and for those beginning to learn about special education.This book gives a great foundation for all the other special education courses that follow it.Great book!

Error found in Chapter 1
I found question 12 on page 5 of the Chapter 1 review to be true.The author of the study guide lists the answer as false.The question is taken word by word from page 40 of the text book. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Education    2. Education / Teaching    3. Special Education - General    4. Special education    5. United States    6. Education / Special Education / General    7. Teaching of children / adults with specific learning difficulties    8. Teaching of those with special educational needs   

Reviews (6)

Up to date
I recently purchased this text book to help me with the exceptional students in my class. The book is up to date, but I gave it only 3 stars because of the way it is formated on the page. The paper also has a sheen to it which in certain light makes it difficult to read. Maybe I'm picky, but repositioning the book due to the sheen is wasting my time and delaying how much reading I can do.
Fancy but disappointing
alittle to "glossy" for me... hard to focus my attn to the important aspects. Good overall strategies though

book
The book was in great condition, and the price was right. It was sent out in a timely fashion. Pleased with the product ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Education    2. Education / Teaching    3. Education Of Students With Behavioral Disabilities    4. Education Of Students With Learning Disabilities    5. Learning disabled children    6. Problem children    7. Remedial teaching    8. Special Education - General    9. United States    10. Education / Special Education / General    11. Teaching of children with emotional & behavioural difficulties    12. Teaching of learning disabled persons   

Subjects:  1. Education    2. Education / Teaching    3. Elementary    4. Elementary School Mathematics    5. Mathematics    6. Secondary    7. Secondary School Mathematics    8. Special Education - General    9. Study and teaching (Elementary)    10. Teaching Methods & Materials - Mathematics    11. Education / Special Education / General    12. Primary / junior schools    13. Teaching of those with special educational needs   

Reviews (4)

Most practical book out there.
After researching most of the books on the market for Aspergers children and teens, this is surely the most practical source on social skills training. It's not a theoretical treatise, but a user-friendly way to quickly teach relevant skills to students with AS. I recommend to parents and teachers alike.

for children under 12
this book seems to target children under 12 years of age.It has very few pointers for adolescents. this book tends to be aimed at the education profession rather than parents.

The best social skills book for our family
As a parent homeschooling a child with Asperger Syndrome, I�ve bought about a dozen books to help me teach my child social skills.This one is the most useful I�ve found.Most books on this topic are aimed only at teachers and are hard to adapt to use at home with one child; that�s not the case with this book.While the book includes instructions for school personnel and describes how to teach the skills in classrooms and small groups, it is relatively free of educational jargon and doesn�t waste too much space on things that useless to me, like reproducible handouts for the children to take home to their parents.Read more

Subjects:  1. Education    2. Education / Teaching    3. Pediatrics    4. Special Education - Socially Handicapped    5. Paediatric medicine   

Subjects:  1. Children with mental disabilities    2. Education    3. Education / Teaching    4. Inclusive education    5. Language arts    6. Special Education - General    7. Special Education - Learning Disabled    8. Teaching Methods & Materials - Language Arts    9. Teaching Methods & Materials - Mathematics    10. United States    11. Teaching of learning disabled persons   

Reviews (17)

Our kids' voice...

If you have a child with autism in your life, you absolutely must read this
As a parent with a child on the spectrum, I found this a wonderful resource. I loved Notbohm's clear and concise language and her insightful observations are on target. It was as informative as it was positive and empowering. And I've found that building strategies around her observations actually work! Highly recommended, especially if you need to see the positive in raising a child on the spectrum.

A Must Read for Anyone Affected by Autism!
This wonderful book explains in "down-to-earth" language what every child with autism wishes you knew.I learned so much while reading this book that I decided to give copies to everyone in our family.My 2-year old grandson is autistic and this book helped me to understand what he is feeling.As soon as I finished reading this book by Ellen Notbohm, I started reading "1001 Things. . . " also written by this author.You'll be glad you read this book. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Education    2. Education / Teaching    3. Philosophy & Social Aspects    4. Special Education - Mentally Handicapped    5. Education / Special Education / Mentally Handicapped    6. Education/Philosophy & Social Aspects    7. Topical/Mentally Challenged   

Reviews (1)

Some good information, but waaaaay watered down
This book is 692 pages and, I swear, it could be 69. The chapters are very tedious to read, though there is some useful information in it and ideas that anyone interested in the topic needs to know, but it seems like there'd have to be a more interesting and less repetitive (not to mention cheaper) way to do it. Typical dry, dry, dry textbook (the sole exception being the accounts by real people of their experiences with family members with special needs..those were very interesting and moving). ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Education    2. Education / Teaching    3. General    4. Special Education - General    5. Special education    6. United States    7. Education / General    8. Teaching of those with special educational needs   

Reviews (1)

What works in Schools
I have been a classroom teacher for 25 years. In that time, I have seen many trends in educational philosophy. Finally, Marzano has written a book that addresses research based methods of instruction that actually are proven to increase student achievement. He addresses three key areas: School-Level Factors, Teacher-Level Factors, Student-Level Factors, and a section on how to implement these factors into classoom instruction. Marzano states,"Thirty-five years of research provides remarkably clear guidance as to the steps schools can take to be highly effective in enhancing student achievement."I have found that the researched based information that Marzano provides about each of these key areas to be invaluable in the instruction of our students. This book is a must read for all serious educators. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Academic achievement    2. Administration - General    3. Education    4. Education / Teaching    5. Research    6. School improvement programs    7. Teaching    8. Teaching of specific groups   

Editorial Review

As a spiritually inspirational book for teachers, Read more

Reviews (42)

Using Parker Palmer's The Courage to Teach
I was introduced to Palmer's book by a participant in a series of workshps I give on Teaching, Learning, and Technology. This participant said that my coverage of pedagogic and technologic issues would be augmented by dealing with the personal factors a teacher brings to a course. Having read Palmer sveral times as I offer these workshops, I can say that it is probably the single most important text I have found in my extensive review of literature on teaching and learning. This opinion is supported by the comments of people in my workshops, who universally agree that reading it has changed their approach to teaching in a positive way. I cannot recomment it more highly.

Gets better as it goes....?
I'll preface this by saying that I'm a university teacher who cares deeply about teaching, which I guess must be why this book was recommended to me in the first place. The early chapters I found simply intolerable, heavily reliant on unexamined truistic claptrap about self-knowledge, the soul, etc, etc. The whole book is overwritten and florid, like the inside of a greetings card. It is hard to be genuinely profound in that sort of prose, and I wished that Parker, who is clearly a wonderful and thoughtful teacher, had had the courage to write in something approximating the language of normal speech.
Takes Courage to Read It!
A moving, poetic, and inspiring work on the art, profession, and calling of teaching. "I am a teacher at heart, and there are moments in the classroom when I can hardly hold the joy" (p. 1). Palmer builds a theoretical framework of teaching based on integrity, authenticity, humility, community, hope, and love. Offers great hope to those temporarily mired in the minutia of teaching, as well as a frighteningly stark contrast for those not truly called to teach. Leaves little room for lukewarmness or doubt. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Education    2. Education / Teaching    3. Learning    4. Spirituality - General    5. Teachers    6. Teaching    7. Teaching Methods & Materials - General    8. Religion / Christian Education    9. Teaching skills & techniques   

Reviews (7)

Save your Money
This is a great concept, but not worth buying a book over.
Helpful and easy to implement
It was very easy to implement the program, and my student got it right away.

Incredible 5-Point Scale
I recently ordered this book to use with my students. I am a special education consultant primarily working with students that have Asperger's syndrome or traumatic brain injury in a public school setting. I am always looking for materials that are functional and easy to implement.This book is great! Very straight-forward; provides quick and useful examples without a lot of lengthy explanation. This book provides tools for both teachers and parents to use quickly and without a lot of training or experience with Asperger children. Very easy to adapt and individualize as well. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Education    2. Education / Teaching    3. Movements - Behaviorism    4. Psychology    5. Special Education - Socially Handicapped    6. Child care & upbringing    7. Coping with disability   

Subjects:  1. Case studies    2. Children with disabilities    3. Education    4. Education / Teaching    5. Education Of Exceptional Children    6. Inclusive education    7. Special Education - General    8. Special education    9. United States    10. Education / Special Education / General    11. Industrial or vocational training    12. Teaching of children / adults with specific learning difficulties    13. Teaching of those with special educational needs   

Reviews (37)

Truthfully, just another set of excuses for poor instructional techniques!
Using MRI and neuroscience to try to answer questions about dyslexia as Sally Md Shaywitz has tried to do is dangerously short sighted and terribly misguided.Especially when you consider that her conclusions about remediation reflect what is so deeply wrong with education today.Trying to cram human brain function and the human spirit into the confines of modern educationis akin to stuffing an elephant into a thimble. Imagine if one were so dimwitted as to blame the elephant for the obvious lack of success.This is precisely what is happening today in public education.If one were able to step back from the tree and catch a glimpse of the forest, one might see that ego drives professionals to draw conclusions about student performance that reflect the stupidity of arrogance.More and more students are being labeled learning disabled and dyslexic, more medication is being doled out and more and more remediations are being invented to control and force students into a useless development that does much more to impede brain function than to enhance it.In fact, students are being driven into intellectual comas and instead of rethinking methods and curriculum, teachers blame students and their families for their own professional shortcomings. Uniforms, drill and kill, direct instruction amongst other inhumane and unintelligent strategies are exactly what has gotten us to this desperate point.In one more generation, Sally Md Shaywitz will be able to prove that 2 in 5 students have dyslexia and her confidence in modern science will soar to new heights.Teachers everywhere will be able to rejoice that their own drastic failings are not their fault at all, but that of the flawed human condition.
Well meaning, but flawed and scary presentation of dyslexia
Some of the book was very interesting, especially the chapter on the functional MRI findings.I appreciate her writing the book to share her experiences, and think she truly wants to help. However, I admit I have grave doubts about her premise, because it is inherently contradictory.She repeats throughout the book that anyone who is dyslexic will always remain so, and yet is simultaneously convinced that the kind of intervention she recommends is uniformly effective. In addition, the graph on which she bases her claim about the absolute persistence of dyslexia does not justify her conclusions. The book names various intervention programs, but doesn't compare and contrast them. It is hard to tease out specific recommendations about what to do.She mentions that people vary in their reading stumbling blocks, but prescribes the same programs for all.She states that anyone using programs like Open Court should succeed, but thousands of California children still have trouble reading.Though she means the book to be empowering, I think it scares parents instead.

A Must Read!
This is a must read for not only spec. ed teachers but regular ed. teachers as well. Dr. Shaywitz is a dedicated individual that has really hit the nail on the head with reading instruction....no guess work here, scientifically based reading instruction for true success! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Dyslexia    2. Dyslexic children    3. Education    4. Education / Teaching    5. Education Of Students With Learning Disabilities    6. Learning Disabilities    7. Learning Disorders (Neurological Aspects)    8. Reading    9. Reading disability    10. Reference    11. Remedial teaching    12. Special Education - Communicative Disorders    13. Special Education - Learning Disabled    14. Teaching Methods & Materials - Reading    15. Family & Relationships / Learning Disabilities   

Reviews (5)

Skillful Teacher
This is a great book for teachers, especially those in teacher certification programs.It's excellent as a reference guide.

Great for new teachers!
I'm a new teacher this year that came into a difficult position (I'm my students 4th teacher in 6 weeks).I was having trouble with classroom management and went to search for books (and more experienced teachers) to help me.This book and "The First Days of School" by Harry Wong were the best help I found.First Days gives a framework and The Skillful Teacher gives specific strategies that can be used within that framework.I give both books two thumbs up for any new teacher who has a battle before her/him.

A comprehensive text
Saphier & Gower's book is an invaluable resource for preservice & novice teachers or experienced teachers wishing to improve their pedagogical skills. The methodologies are applicable to most grade levels, content areas, and teaching situations. Great for use in teacher education courses. Exercises or suggested activities are given at the end of each chapter. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Education    2. Learning    3. Teaching   

Reviews (1)

Very Good, Easy Reading Book for Teachers Who Want to Learn More About English Language Learners
I thought this book was very good for classroom teachers who want clear information on how to include English Language Learners in their classrooms.It is very difficult to explain to classroom teachers how to include students who are learning English in short sound bites.This book helps clarify information and teachers can read it at their leisure.
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Subjects:  1. Bilingual Education    2. Education    3. Education / Teaching    4. English as a Second Language    5. English language    6. Foreign speakers    7. Language and education    8. Linguistic minorities    9. Special Education - General    10. Study and teaching    11. Teaching Methods & Materials - Classroom Planning    12. Teaching Methods & Materials - Language Arts    13. United States   

Reviews (7)

From a parent!
This book is what I've been looking for: a book that teaches you HOW to teach social skills and organization skills for kids that just don't pick it up from interactions in everyday life. It's made a big difference in our everyday family and school life for my 2 ADHD/LD kids. My thanks to Rick Lavoie!

Read this book!
Writing as someone who has lived with learning disabilities for nearly 50 years now, I cannot say strongly enough that I sincerely wish all of my teachers and parents had read this book.I will go a little further than that---I wish the pastoral counselor, psychologist, and psychiatrists that I have dealt with as an adult would read this book.
Good as far as it goes
This book provides what sound like good tips for helping a child struggling with social skills.Whether they work, I really can't say, as applying everything here would be the work of a lifetime.
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Subjects:  1. Children with Special Needs    2. Education Of Students With Learning Disabilities    3. Family & Relationships    4. Family / Parenting / Childbirth    5. Family/Marriage    6. International Relations (Specific Aspects)    7. Interpersonal Relations    8. Learning Disabilities    9. Child care & upbringing    10. Coping with disability    11. Family & Relationships / General   

Reviews (4)

Great book for teachers!
This is a great book for teachers to learn more about dealing with children who have exceptionalities.If you are a new teacher or an experienced teacher dealing with inclusion, this book will be perfect for you!

A Great Book If You Want An Intro to Special Education
I love this book!I purchased a used copy in 2001 to help prepare for my (then) upcoming Massachusetts State Teacher exam in special education, which I passed on my first try.It is a very useful source of information and contains a ton of facts.It presents special ed topics in a logical fashion and has a nice companion website.I practiced all the online questionssince I had to learn a lot of material in a short period of time. The text is geared towards elementary education.However, I read it, even though my field is secondary SPED, because there are many things in it that relate to special education in general that I need to know about.The discussion of historical special ed legislation is especially complete.I just wish I could get my hands on the companion videos that are (or were) offered by the publisher.

Exceptional Textbook
I was astonished by both how readable this book is and how much useful information is presented.The book is designed for those entering the field of education and those studying for the Praxis II exam.While the book is targeted to the teaching of exceptional children, regular education teachers, parents and other interested parties would gain a great deal of information from this book.Our assignment was to skim the book - a task I found nearly impossible.I kept getting drawn into the interesting and vivid examples in each chapter.I found the focus questions and review sections to be particularly helpful. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Education    2. Education / Teaching    3. Special Education - General    4. Education / Special Education / General    5. Teaching of those with special educational needs   

Reviews (8)

Overly generalized
When I bought this book, I was expecting helpful solutions, but all I got were general facts that most parents of autistic children already know.The book definitely needed more specific information on how to handle problems.

Engaging Autism:Helping Children Relate, Communicate & Think with the DIR Floortime Approach
This book is a must read for parents with an autistic child. This book is easy to read and understand. Dr. Greenspan has made me feel I will be able to help my son fully recover.This is the 1st time in 3 years I have hope!My son is moderate to severly autistic. We have been doing Floortime & have seen much success. What a natural way of helping him & having fun doing it.Thank you Dr. Greenspan.

Too Much Engaging and Too Little Information
I have been a Learning Specialist for nearly twenty years at the high school and community college levels.When I read "Engaging Autism" by Stanley I. Greenspan, I was anticipating a book filled with fresh information, scientific validity, and ideas that could be realistically applied in a variety of classroom settings.Instead, I read page after page of disappointment.DIR/Floortime is an interesting/innovative approach for helping individuals diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder and other developmental disabilities.However, this book was extremely weak in the following areas:repetition of the same ideas/concepts throughout the work, reliance on anecdotal information, no scientific validation of information, absence of an in-depth bibliography, frequent reference to products written by Greenspan and his team, and lack of organization throughout the text.DIR/Floortime is presented as too simplistic when in actuality it appears to be extremely time consuming and labor instensive which is impractical in contemporary public education settings.The author recommends homeschooling and intense family involvement as though this was a simple solution.However, parents uusually do not have the extensive time or expertise to devote to the DIR/Floortime approach.If you are interested in learning what DIR/Floortime entails, I recommend researching Internet sources or consulting works by other authors.This book is largely a waste of time for professionals in the field of special education.Unless you want to read a rehash of ideas over and over again, I would not waste my time with this book.I was going to order another book by Dr. Greenspan entitled "The Child With Special Needs:Encouraging Intellectual and Emotional Growth" but will not be doing it at this time.
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Subjects:  1. Autism    2. Autistic children    3. Behavior modification    4. Child Development And Rearing    5. Children with Special Needs    6. Education    7. Family & Relationships    8. Family / Parenting / Childbirth    9. Family/Marriage    10. Parenting - General    11. Psychology    12. Psychopathology - Autism    13. Psychotherapy - Child & Adolescent    14. Rehabilitation    15. Advice on parenting    16. Clinical psychology    17. Coping with disability    18. Paediatric medicine   

Reviews (3)

Different Brains, Different Learners
A great book for teachers as well as parents.It helps to understand what is or may be happening in the brain.I like the recommendations given on ways we can help alleviate stressful events under given conditions.

Lacking
This book lacks the depth it seems to promise.Some of the illustrations are lacking.There is not enough meat to help anyone with special needs learners. I would suggest you look elsewhere. I was greatly disappointed since the majority of work by Jensen is wonderful.

Essential reading for all teachers
Eric Jensen knows the needs of busy teachers and has the gift in helping them to utilize up-to-date knowledge in brain studies. Here it is applied to identifying 10 types of different learners: 1. impulsive ones with ADD, 2. resigned with learned helplessness, 3. challenged reader with dyslexia, 4. argumentative with oppositional disorder, 5. frustrated with learning delayed, 6. hyperactive, 7. with auditory-processing deficits, 8. out of control, 9. the demotivated with chronic threat and distress, and 10. depressed and troubled. Read more

Subjects:  1. Attention-deficit disordered c    2. Attention-deficit disordered children    3. Children's Books/Young Adult Misc. Nonfiction    4. Dyslexic children    5. Education    6. Education / Special Education / Learning Disabled    7. Learning disabilities    8. Learning disabled children    9. Special Education - General    10. Teaching Methods & Materials - General    11. ADD    12. ADHD    13. Attention-deficit hyperactivit    14. Education / Special Education / General    15. Special Education - Learning Disabled    16. Teaching skills & techniques   

Reviews (4)

Well written with practical solutions
My son was recently diagnosed with Aspergers so I purchased many books on the subject to better help him.This book by far offers the most practical solutions to everyday school issues.Reading about theories and studies is helpful up to a point but as a parent I needed hands on solutions to common problems and this book provided many options that have worked for my son.

Maybe I'm Singing to the Choir!
I haven't found anyone who hasn't found this book incredibly valuable. I have bought at least four of them because my friends keep "borrowing" them and somehow don't manage to get them back to me. It is such a helpful book that lays out point by point how our kids experience elementary school, their various challenges and how to deal with them. Any parent who is actively involved with their child who has Autism Spectrum Disorder or Asperger Syndrome should have this book as a reference. And every elementary school teacher working with our AS kids should read it too!

Every AS parent should have one of these
Since my son's diagnosis at the end of first grade, I've been purchasing book after book, trying to educate myself.The realities of being a parent of an AS child means that you have to educate, not only yourself, but your child's teachers.This book is a great way to go about it.
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Subjects:  1. Asperger's syndrome    2. Autistic children    3. Education    4. Education (Elementary)    5. Education / Teaching    6. Elementary    7. Philosophy & Social Aspects    8. Special Education - Socially Handicapped   

Reviews (4)

Totally Unhelpful!
I bought this book because a reviewer said it would teach people with Asperger's syndrome how to make and manintain eye contact. It doesn't. It just says you should make and maintain eye contact, it doesn't teach you how.This book only tells you what society expects of you, so if you already know what society expects of you, but just cannot figure out how to do it smoothly, don't buy this book. If you already know stuff like, "pull up your pants before coming out of the bathroom", don't buy this book.

Great Resource for Social Skills
This book is a must have for anyone whose life is touched by someone with autism.Myles teaches her readers that teaching social skills is not an insurmountable task.It just requires a conscious effort by all.

Finally! A simple solution!
One of the missing components to the concept of teaching "social skills" to children and young adults on the autism spectrum, is that instructors focus on textbook manners instead of teaching REAL life practical knowledge. The Hidden Curriculum explains that every society has unstated rules, the things that no one explains to you, but which you are supposed to pick up somehow on your own. Remember how awkward and geeky most of us were in Jr. High? And there were always the "cool kids" who somehow knew just how to dress, just what to say and meanwhile you (and I) were clueless? It's because they understood the unstated rules, they had an unkanny ability to pick up the exact tools necessary for "coolness." As we grow up, we learn better how to adapt to social situations, we know how to behave in a variety of settings, even perhaps cross culturally. Adults grow into a sense of ease in our surroundings, we know what we are supposed to do. Now, imagine that you never got over that awkward phase, you were perpetually spending your life roaming around trying to figure out the world with little to go on. No one pulled you aside and explained, "This is how it is, Kid." That's exactly what it's like for our kids on the spectrum. Well, here comes The Hidden Curriculum to the rescue! Not only does it explain many of these "unstated rules" (many of which are humorous--who doesn't know you should take tuna in your school lunch because it stinks? many of our AS kids!) It also goes beyond to explain how to uncover them. It highlights how crucial it is for us as parents, as educators and just as a society to literally pull our AS folks aside and say, "These are the rules." For example, "Don't pick your nose." Good advice right? But p-leeeze, everybody picks their nose! (Okay, not me, but everybody else! :-) What we really need to teach our kids is not, don't pick your nose, but not to pick their nose where people can see them. Sound silly? Our children and friends on the autism spectrum just need for us to teach them one little tidbit like this every day and they'll find their way with increasing ease. And wouldn't you have liked someone to pull you aside in Jr. High and done the same for you? Let's equip our kids with the real skills to make their way in the world. The Hidden Curriculum does just that! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Education / Teaching    2. General    3. Social Science    4. Sociology    5. Special Education - General