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Your favorite inspirational book on special needs children?


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I would like some recs on good books to read that would be very inspiring to see my child not only as a special needs child, but as a truly special and whole child just the way he is. Not sure if I expressed this correctly :glare:

 

Which book(s) inspired you the most?

 

If it's from a Christian point of view,even better and if the book has to do with how to teach a SN child , that would be the ideal book I'm looking for!

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We recently found out that our dd8 more than likely has a mild intellectual impairment. It was devastating to me when we were told this because I really thought they were going to tell us she had dyslexia or some other learning disabilities.

 

I'm currently reading a book that I got from my local library that has really helped. It's called A Different Kind of Perfect : Writings by Parents on Raising a Child with Special Needs. It is edited by Cindy Dowling, Neil Nicoll, and Bernadette Thomas. Cindy Dowling and Bernadette Thomas are both parents of special needs children. Neil Nicoll is a therapist that has worked with many parents of special needs children. He writes an introduction to each chapter (Grief; Denial; Anger; Depression; Acceptance; Empowerment; Marriage, Family, and Friends; Love and Joy; Spirituality; Laughter; How Some Parents Unwind). Then each chapter contains several essays written by parents of special needs children. Each essay is relatively short -- usually two to four pages. So it is easy to pick up and read an essay or two whenever you have time.

 

It is not written from a Christian perspective, although many of the parents do mention their Christian beliefs. Some of them make it clear that they are not Christians.

 

Reading it has really helped me not feel so alone. All of the essays acknowledge the grief and other difficult feelings that a parent of a special needs child has to deal with. Some are brutally honest about the negative feelings they had early in the process. They also all show that once you accept the situation there can be great joy and happiness for your child and your entire family.

 

I don't know if that's exactly what you're looking for, but it has really helped me a lot.

Edited by kimintenn
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I did a Bible study several years ago with the text Parenting: From Surviving to Thriving by Charles Swindoll.

 

I really liked this book and got a lot out of it.

 

The very beginning talks about how your child is wonderfully made by God.

 

I didn't agree with every single word in the book, but I did with the vast majority.

 

There is a lot about not "keeping up appearances" and not copying other parents instead of doing what is right for your own child. (I think -- unless I am confusing it with another book, but I remember talking about this in the Bible study so I think it must be this book.)

 

Anyway -- just a Christian parening book I liked. I think there is just a chapter about special needs, written about one of his grandkids. But I think a lot of it could apply to some special needs issues generally. My son was having a lot of behavior problems at the time I did the study and it was the right book at the right time with the right people for me to a great extent.

 

It would not have anything about teaching.

Edited by Lecka
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Sounds like something we might need to read. Just put it on hold at the library. Thanks!!

 

You're welcome! I hope it helps you as much as it has helped me. I've cried several times while reading because something in an essay hits so close to home. No matter how empathetic someone tries to be, I think only another parent of a special needs child can really get it.

 

I wanted to tell you I just looked at your blog and I LOVE your "Motherhood is not for Quitters" post. That post could have easily been part of the book I'm reading!

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