Special Children, Challenged Parents: The Struggles and Rewards of Raising a Child With a Disability

asked by anton584 on November 10, 2006 9:48 AM

Not just another resource on parenting. More than a book on autism. This important book is a must-have guide for any parent of a child with a disability as well as anyone who works with or cares for those families. Special Children, Challenged Parents shares the unique perspective of a father of a son with autism, with additional reflection from his perspective as a clinical psychologist who specializes in working with families of children with disabilities.

This moving book illustrates the impact that a child's disability has on the entire family. It is a valuable aid to parents dealing with fear, guilt, shame, sibling rivalry, marital strain, and other challenges. Though the author's personal experience is with autism, this book will be a valuable resource for families of children with a wide range of disabilities. Readers learn about resources, such as support groups, for working through complex emotions and about techniques for communicating effectively with professionals.

Special Children, Challenged Parents addresses issues of bonding between parent and child and presents strategies for dealing with challenging behavior. Additional chapters are devoted to special issues for the family of a child with a disability, including the relationship between the parents, the effect on siblings, and the needs of fathers, who the author feels often require special support to express and deal with their emotions in the challenging role of parent to a child with special needs. This book provides a unique and touching look at parenting and disability.

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Reviews

This book is a good, basic book outlining the grief process and other major common emotional issues in raising a child with a disability. However, as the mother of an autistic child who is with her child 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, I can't help but wonder about the authenticity of the author's personal experience "parenting" an autistic child, as his own autistic child has been institutionalized for a huge segment of his life while the author went on to have more children and a very normal homelife. It feels to me like the man "skipped out" on the real experience of raising his autistic son himself and elected to become a part-time parent to the child, then felt himself capable of writing a book about it. I find it hard to believe that he truly understands the day to day life of a full-time parent of an autistic child, given his own choices, however "right" they may have been for his son.

reviewed by shirley49 on November 18, 2006 9:54 AM

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Usually when I review a book, I'm looking for one that's reader-friendly (a quick read, written in understandable language, and offering practical ideas). By that definition, this book may not fit. Is "Special Children, Challenged Parents" written in
understandable language? Yes. Does it offer practical ideas? Definitely. Will it be a quick read? Probably not. You see, Dr. Naseef's book is going to touch your emotions. This is perhaps the most honest book I have ever read on the grieving process of parents struggling to accept and raise a child with special needs. By sharing his own story and those of other parents he has interviewed and worked with, Dr. Naseef discusses why this process is so hard and what parents can do to survive the process and come out on the other side. But perhaps Dr. Naseef's most valuable contribution is his message for fathers. Fathers very rarely fit comfortably into the role of fathering a child with special needs and Dr. Naseef's unique
qualifications as both a father and a psychologist have given him rare insights to help other Dads facing this challenge. This may not be an "easy read", but if you're a parent struggling with your emotional responses to your child -- it is definitely a "must read".

reviewed by formula on November 25, 2006 4:32 AM

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