Power to the Aspies is exactly that... the blow-by-blow fight against autism, bringing her child from total despair to overcoming power. Becca, an American university student married to a German businessman, was suddenly shocked into the reality that she was the divorced mom of a son born with Aspergers autism, in a country totally foreign to her. This is a detailed account of how Becca lived through the isolated, helpless, powerless grief of mothering a very sad son as he faced his school days with the pain of rejection and failure on every hand, and not knowing why. After years of in-the-trenches life, battling school administers, many "I'm just not sure... I can't help" doctors; and in-depth studying of books written about troubled children, Becca offers this book, showing parents how to help their child reach his/her full potential, and love every minute of it! “Power to the Aspies is a tremendously informative read for anyone interested in human behavior. The conversational writing style is easy to read and engaging. Each chapter helps one understand an aspect of Aspergers and shares helpful advice. This book is loaded with compassion and practical help.” — Barbara Booth, M.S., LBSW Dallas, Texas “Becca Kline has unlocked the capabilities of her eldest son, and has helped many other parents to do so. I have had the opportunity to work just a bit with him in the area of basic mathematics. He has a marvelous ability to focus on whatever academic pursuit he undertakes. He has not only taught himself languages other than his own German and English, but he has a wonderful grasp of scientific subjects as well. He now has his Masters Degree in chemistry and is employed by a prominent laboratory in London, England." — Dr. Howard Duck, Ed.D

I thoroughly enjoyed reading The Standoff and Kramer Too by Donald E. Sexauer! As a mother of two sons, this lovely story about two brothers who just can’t seem to get along, brought back memories of my own children. In the story, the adorable kitten, Kramer Too, shows them that they can work as a team and still remain individuals. This book is sure to appeal to parents and children alike. A great read aloud to my students with its message about working together, family, and best of all, love! Lauren Fitzpatrick 2nd Grade Teacher Stony Brook, NY The Standoff and Kramer Too! is a charming, memorable book about family dynamics. Children will recognize their own sentiments and personal experiences in the story. The evocative illustrations and captivating lines drew me in immediately. I found myself cheering on David and Jack: “Find Kramer Two. Together you can do it!” Donald E. Sexauer shows us the meaningful and important role animals can play in the lives of people of all ages. Linda Osterman Hamid Woodbury, Connecticut

Jack Lack is a mainstreamed eleven-year-old with high-functioning autism. Because he can "talk and did well on spelling tests," he doesn't qualify for the sanctuary of the autism classroom, but instead has been thrown into the BD/JD [behavior-disordered/juvenile delinquent] classroom, which is full of wise-cracking malcontents. Jack is the only one who doesn't constantly misbehave, but because he lacks social skills, he is the one who is invariably blamed for everyone else's misdeeds.

After a "typical" school day, Jack returns home to find out that he and his parents will be spending a month with his extended family, to help plan his eccentric Aunt Eva's second wedding. The good news is that he will be taken out of school; the bad news is that he will have to spend that month with his scheming, nefarious cousins, who have always been "out to get him."

And in fact, as the month progresses, mysterious things happen, things that (of course) Jack is always blamed for. Determined to prove his innocence, Jack becomes a self-styled detective, hunting for clues to find the real villain. In the process, he ends up finding out things about himself and his extended family that surprise everyone.

Cover art by Lauren Williams.

Learn more at www.outtogetjack.com

An "enhanced" biography of a handicapped person, a deaf mute, who never felt handicapped. This person raised five children, mostly single-handed, all five successful professionals. The story is more extraordinary because she was one of three deaf mute children born into a family with no antecedents of this impediment.

In "Is this really my Child", Dr. Olsen provides the reader with an innovative uplifting alternative approach to ADD and ADHD. She believes in food and behavior correlation. This book provides hope and encouragement. Dr. Olsen's  knowledge and expertise is based on her own experience with her children and through her professional practice.

Even if your child is not on medication, or if you are dealing with a difficult child not yet diagnosed, or a child who seems just so very difficult but does not fall within the classification of ADD or ADHD,  her approach will be beneficial to you.

Dr. Olsen walks you step by step through the process of how certain foods impact behavior and what to do about it. Moreover she discusses how to overcome negative behavior with love and the BECLL approach.

Dr. Olsen's book leaves you uplifted, full of hope and encouragement. You will enjoy your child again.

    Heads Up Helping is the story of a mother's journey as she observes her son's special learning challenges and responds with love and dedication. Drawing on her years of experience as a speech pathologist, Melinda begins her pursuit of educational methods and materials that will help her son achieve the potential she is convinced exists. With fierce determination, Melinda sought information to help her son Joshua both accept himself and find areas in which he could excel despite his attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), social difficulties, and sensory issues.
    Over time, and with much experimentation, Melinda recognized which strategies, materials, and instructional approaches were most effective for her son and other children. By becoming an astute observer and student herself, she gradually distinguished those techniques that worked most frequently out of the multitude of ideas she tried and those successes are shared in depth throughout her book.
    Melinda offers practical strategies from both her personal and professional experience in helping children with auditory and visual distractibility, sensory issues, fidgeting and hyperactivity, daydreaming, and social communication difficulties. She offers teaching tips and information on how to effectively reach students in ways that are compatible with brain-based teaching techniques. The suggestions for modifying curriculum and adapting the learning environment are easily implemented and applied.
    With heart-wrenching honesty and with humor, Melinda's real-life examples reveal the trials and joys of teaching and parenting a child with challenges. Heads Up Helping is sure to be a wealth of encouragement and practical support for parents, teachers, therapists, and others who are devoted to helping all kinds of special children.

For more information please visit www.headsupnow.com

    "Heads Up Helping by Melinda Boring is a quick and easy read offering practical tips and ideas with every turn of the page. It will be a treasure trove for any parent interested in home schooling a child with ADHD. I especially like this book not only because it offers lots of solid suggestions but also because it does so in the context of REAL family life. No challenges are sugar coated, but hope and joy still permeate this terrific book!"

Lisa Simmons
Director, Ideal Lives Project
www.ideallives.com

    I have just finished your book. It has been a long time since I have been able to finish a book in one day but your book held my interest and I found time to stick with it to the end. Josh is so much like my son Jeremy (age 9 and in the third grade) that I could just cry. Only three days ago on Monday, I was in tears trying to understand how I could help Jeremy. I had tried many things over the last three years of home schooling. Some worked, some didn't work, but all left me exhausted. I have seen him make progress and I have long felt that he does better in our home school environment, but the struggle to get work completed in a timely manner has been an uphill battle. On Monday night I cried myself to sleep in frustration over how difficult he had been in school. Mondays are always the hardest day of the week and with it being the end of the year, I am experiencing burn out and exhaustion. I prayed with all my heart Monday night.
    It was no accident that you sold me a copy of your book on Wednesday. It was an answer to prayer. After reading your book I am filled with new ideas and new hope. I had been avoiding the idea that Jeremy was ADHD because of the negatives associated with the label. I now see that addressing ADHD head-on is required in order for us to use some of your ideas in our home school and in order for us to move forward. Not only did the book help me see some of your ideas in action. Josh used the timer and ear plugs the whole time. He completed each test carefully. He was wonderful when it came to clean-up time also. He pitched in and helped with tables and chairs. It was so encouraging to see a nice, polite and helpful young man with ADHD.
    Josh is very special and my heart warms with the thought that Jeremy can be like him when he is Josh's age. I have felt all of the feelings you describe in your book from the sense of isolation when well intentioned nursery workers report to me about my son, to the exhaustion of burnout, to the humbleness before God, and also the awe of seeing just how wonderful and creative Jeremy is. I thank-you for writing this book. I think it would make a wonderful book on tape. Please feel free to call me anytime if you would like to see if an idea would help other ADHD kids. I think trying new ideas will help Jeremy and my other son Bobby (not ADHD but creative & enjoys variety) and me stay excited, interested, and hopeful about home schooling. Good luck with your workshop at the CHEO conference. May God Bless you!

Pam Williams
Powell, Ohio

    "Melinda opens the door to her world and invites us in to experience what life is really like with ADHD. Offering practical solutions that are easily applied this book will take you on an emotional journey that will arm you with the tools to help both you and your children."

Andrea King-Dalton
recreation technologist and mother of three www.kidztime.ca

    Being new to the world of having a child evaluated with AD/HD, I found Melinda's informal writing in Heads Up Helping well suited for parents and/or teachers who interact with AD/HD children day in and day out. The determination to help her children succeed is evident in that she always looks at each situation differently and comes up with a solution that will get the best out of each child. Taking into consideration that each child is unique, what works for one may not work for the other, the book offers new ways that parents and teachers can connect with children with AD/HD and sensory issues.
    Heads Up Helping offers alternatives to medicating children with AD/HD, to deal with things like distractibility, fidgeting, and hyperactivity, such as using a Therapy Ball, sitting disks, and fidget toys. Although geared toward home-schoolers, Melinda offers teaching techniques and classroom aids that can help children focus on the task at hand in any learning environment. Also included are ways to improve social behaviors and communicating skills, which our children will need to be successful adults.
    I am both encouraged and inspired after reading all the different ways a parent/teacher can help children with special needs face learning and life with a "heads up" attitude. Having a child who looks at the world a little differently will just require me to look at the world a little differently. One cannot find better testimony than through Melinda's eyes. She's living it and thankfully, sharing it with others!

Robyn M. Harper,
Partner and Webmaster, Mom To Mom Chat.com
www.momtomomchat.com

    Teachers will benefit through Melinda's personal approach to children with learning challenges. It is a realistic look on how we should be supporting children in their journey through learning and through life.

C.Deubner
Title One Reading-Reading Recovery Teacher

    I just read your book "Heads Up Helping!!" I enjoyed it very much and will recommend it in the next class I conduct on ADHD in Oct

Frank, courageous, and deeply moving, Natural Harmony is the memoir of an endearing little girl named Jade, who was born with Down syndrome and a congenital heart defect. Placed in foster care at birth, she was eventually reunited with her mother, who struggled against all odds to get the best for her child. While the story recounts many setbacks and disappointments, its heart is Jade herself, with all of her comical antics. Despite the formidable obstacles she faced at times, this child was able to elicit genuine, deep emotion from everyone who came into contact with her.

Readers will be enlightened by Natural Harmony's universal life themes of frustration and coping, sadness and joy, loss and lasting love--and they will be touched irrevocably by this heartfelt re-creation of Jade's unique spirit.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading The Standoff and Kramer Too by Donald E. Sexauer! As a mother of two sons, this lovely story about two brothers who just can’t seem to get along, brought back memories of my own children. In the story, the adorable kitten, Kramer Too, shows them that they can work as a team and still remain individuals. This book is sure to appeal to parents and children alike. A great read aloud to my students with its message about working together, family, and best of all, love! Lauren Fitzpatrick 2nd Grade Teacher Stony Brook, NY The Standoff and Kramer Too! is a charming, memorable book about family dynamics. Children will recognize their own sentiments and personal experiences in the story. The evocative illustrations and captivating lines drew me in immediately. I found myself cheering on David and Jack: “Find Kramer Two. Together you can do it!” Donald E. Sexauer shows us the meaningful and important role animals can play in the lives of people of all ages. Linda Osterman Hamid Woodbury, Connecticut

Mitchell's Story.... Living with Cerebral Palsy is about a mother who has a touching and somewhat sad tale to tell about her only son who contracted the frustrating disease called cerebral palsy.

The remarkable thing about this book is the courage displayed by Lynda and Grant Thompson as they began a daily struggle to give their son as normal of a life as they possibly could.

Lynda feels that this book can be of great assistance to those who are just now finding out that their son or daughter has this awful disease. She speaks of obstacles she has encountered which can prepare the new parents of CP kids for the challenges that lie ahead.

Part of the book deals with the help she received as she was dealing with her son on a day to day basis. Inside the book is information that new parents might find valuable in dealing with and helping their child.

We hope that everyone who reads her story will find that it helped him or her in some way.

Kramer??!

This touching story of a family who has lost a pet...is one we have all experienced. The miracle of this tale is what dreams are made of, when a kitten appears who looks just like their beloved Kramer.

It is a story of hope and love and illustrated in the beautiful classical illustrations of Mr. Sexauer. It is a story everyone in the family will love, and the third in this book series, each one warming your heart in a new way. All the while these books are helping children build vocabulary and have a special appreciation of real art, from the author’s heart.

This book will be read again and again as the perfect bedtime story as the family lives “happily ever after”.

Kramer??!

This touching story of a family who has lost a pet...is one we have all experienced. The miracle of this tale is what dreams are made of, when a kitten appears who looks just like their beloved Kramer.

It is a story of hope and love and illustrated in the beautiful classical illustrations of Mr. Sexauer. It is a story everyone in the family will love, and the third in this book series, each one warming your heart in a new way. All the while these books are helping children build vocabulary and have a special appreciation of real art, from the author’s heart.

This book will be read again and again as the perfect bedtime story as the family lives “happily ever after”.

After a difficult birth and deprivation of oxygen, Richard didn't develop normally, and was diagnosed with cerebral palsy, unlikely ever to use his limbs or to speak. His parents were appalled when doctors told them he was not of normal intelligence and that they should put him into a home, forget him and start their family again.

They refused to accept it and this inspiring book by his mother, describes their heroic struggle against all odds to help him to learn to read, write and communicate with the help of a pointer strapped to his head. At first communication was through a letter board, but later a computer. He gained a place at grammar school and a university education at York, where he gained a BA (Hons) and culminating in a PhD from the University of Wales at Swansea. He also wrote two books of poems which expressed his feelings and his care for others and learned to paint.

Despite his enormous difficulties and life in a wheelchair, he was able to accept and give a great deal of love. The family greatly valued Richard and later a sister, Debbie, arrived and then a brother, Michael. Now, it is hoped that this amazing story of love, courage and faith, will bring encouragement to others who may be in a similar position.

After a difficult birth and deprivation of oxygen, Richard didn't develop normally, and was diagnosed with cerebral palsy, unlikely ever to use his limbs or to speak. His parents were appalled when doctors told them he was not of normal intelligence and that they should put him into a home, forget him and start their family again.

They refused to accept it and this inspiring book by his mother, describes their heroic struggle against all odds to help him to learn to read, write and communicate with the help of a pointer strapped to his head. At first communication was through a letter board, but later a computer. He gained a place at grammar school and a university education at York, where he gained a BA (Hons) and culminating in a PhD from the University of Wales at Swansea. He also wrote two books of poems which expressed his feelings and his care for others and learned to paint.

Despite his enormous difficulties and life in a wheelchair, he was able to accept and give a great deal of love. The family greatly valued Richard and later a sister, Debbie, arrived and then a brother, Michael. Now, it is hoped that this amazing story of love, courage and faith, will bring encouragement to others who may be in a similar position.

Child and Family Advocacy is a road map to help you help your child. You know your child best and when you get that "gut" feeling that something is wrong, you are usually correct. What do you do? What are the laws? Who is on your side? Why won't they listen to you? What are your rights?

Many questions are answered here written specifically for the Parent and Family that no one has taken the time to share their rights with them. To give them informed consent of what they plan to do with their child, to make them an equal participating member of the "Team" for Identification, Referral, Evaluation, Planning, Implementation and Review of their child's life.

This endeavor includes specific Chapters on your Child's Advocacy, Psych-Social and Developmental History, Education, Special Education, Parental Rights, Developmental Disabilities, Juvenile Justice, Behavioral Health/Grief, Funding, Laws to Advocate By, Conflict Resolution and Advocacy Management and Documentation.

The Appendix covers National Resources, State Resources, copy of your Parental Safeguards from IDEIA 2004, Key Concepts and lists of acronyms from several children's systems.

Two hands-on tools for Parents to control and drive their child's trip to success; The Psych-Social/Developmental History can be completed at your convenience without being rushed and missing key elements. An incomplete Psycho-Social/Developmental History can be as damaging to your child as none at all. The second tool is the, Advocacy Plan which will help you to identify what you believe is the Problem. It will assist you in defining the goal including objectives, methods, resources, strengths, laws and systems required to get your child's needs met.

Never forget you know your child best and their most valued and successful advocate because you hold that one element that no one can match, Love.

Frank, courageous, and deeply moving, Natural Harmony is the memoir of an endearing little girl named Jade, who was born with Down syndrome and a congenital heart defect. Placed in foster care at birth, she was eventually reunited with her mother, who struggled against all odds to get the best for her child. While the story recounts many setbacks and disappointments, its heart is Jade herself, with all of her comical antics. Despite the formidable obstacles she faced at times, this child was able to elicit genuine, deep emotion from everyone who came into contact with her.

Readers will be enlightened by Natural Harmony's universal life themes of frustration and coping, sadness and joy, loss and lasting love--and they will be touched irrevocably by this heartfelt re-creation of Jade's unique spirit.