Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)This is the one book to get if you have a child with special needs. I cannot state enough how wonderful this book is in helping your child grow and develop above and beyond their current level, not just incrementally, but in leaps and bounds! I have a daughter with autism and first I tried the Behavioral books, such as "Behavioral Intervention for Young Children with Autism" along with all the other books based on the Lovaas Method and the Behavioral Model of teaching which is shaping behavior step-by-step using reinforcers (just how Pavlov got a dog to ring a bell for food or how, in my Psychology class, I got a pigeon to peck a red dot for food) I tried the Lovaas method for one year, also called ABA or Applied Behavioral Analysis, and my child did not progress in her development. She was also enrolled in an Early Start class and was getting speech therapy. Finally I bought Dr. Greenspan's book when my daughter turned 3, one year after her diagnosis. I only wish I found this book earlier! This is based on the Developmental approach to learning. It is full of hope, not false hope like dietary cures, but real hope based on real methods that are simple to learn, make a lot of sense and are based on how children actually learn. It really makes perfect sense when you read it: Play with your child, keep an interaction going, keep them actively engaged, block them from self-stimulating or hiding into their own world, keep them interacting with you. This is a lot of work, but it is natural and rewarding and you can do it yourself without training. You do not have to do this all day long. Dr. Greenspan recommends several 30-minute sessions of "Floortime" each day. Do not believe the bad reviews on this book that say something like, "If your child flaps their arms, flap with them." I kept away from this book for one year based on such reviews, but that is not how it is at all! This book is empowering and enlightening. Dr. Greenspan's entire premise is based on this: Although your child is disabled, they can learn and grow way beyond any level you could imagine for them or any teacher could vision for them, by having high expectations and not limiting them based on their label. Yes it is work, but with a little effort on your part, your child can really improve and learn self-help skills to become an independent adult. That is the goal for all children with special needs and it's not easy to get them there, but for most all children it is doable with work, time and attention and high expectations that it can and will happen! Dr. Greenspan does not throw out the Behavioral approach of Lovaas at all- he even states that for some children both approaches are necessary to learning, he has an entire chapter on this. Each child is unique and each child needs an approach tailored to what works best for that child. For my daughter, Greenspan's approach really works and after using this method for several months, she is now enrolled in an integrated Preschool with mostly typically developed children- Something she never could have achieved without the Greenspan approach!
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Stanley Greenspan, internationally known for his work with infants, young children, and their families, and his colleague, nationally recognized child psychologist Serena Wieder, have for the first time integrated their award-winning research and clinical experience into a definitive guide to raising children with special needs. In this essential work they lay out a complete, step-by-step approach for parents, educators, and others who work with developmental problems. Covering all kinds of disabilities-including autism, PPD, language and speech problems, Down syndrome, cerebral palsy, and ADD-the authors offer a new understanding of the nature of these challenges and also specific ways of helping children extend their intellectual and emotional potential.The authors first show how to move beyond labels to observe the unique profile-strengths and problems-of the individual child. Next, they demonstrate the techniques necessary to help the child not only reach key milestones but also develop new emotional and intellectual capacities. Greenspan's well-known "floortime" approach enables parents, as well as clinicians, to use seemingly playful interactions that help children actually move up the development ladder and often master creative and abstract thinking formerly thought beyond their reach. Including vivid case histories, the book also offers deep and compassionate understanding of the stresses and rewards involved in raising a child with special needs.whose amazing work with autistic and other special needs children is nationally known, and his colleague, child psychologist Serena Wieder, have integrated a lifetime of research and clinical practice into a single, comprehensive guide for parents. Covering all kinds of disabilities-including cerebral palsy, autism, retardation, ADD, PDD, and language problems-the book offers specific ways of helping all children reach their full intellectual and emotional potential.First the authors show how to move beyond the label and observe the strengths and problems of the particular child and the key milestones that must be reached. Next, they move step by step through the techniques necessary to help the child reach these milestones and show how to tailor these to each child. Finally, with a deep and compassionate understanding they outline the marital, educational, and social stresses and rewards in raising a special needs child.
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