What's in Your Home Library?

What do parents do after receiving the diagnosis of a child's learning disabilities? Old school training sends many straight to the library for resource books. New school research starts online. Either way, the search for information can be intimidating and confusing. With some time-tested resources on the shelves at home, parents can have reliable and practical help at their fingertips.

Kids Enabled asked Atlanta-area psychologists, Dr. Stephen Garber of Behavior Institute of Atlanta and
Dr. Kathleen Platzman of Floortime Atlanta, to recommend books they feel would be helpful to families of children with learning differences. The following is their recommended reading list of books on various aspects of learning disabilities.

General Information About Learning Disabilities

All Kinds of Minds: A Young Student's Book About Learning Abilities and Learning Disorders
Mel Levine, M.D.
Best read with a child. There is a workbook available for complementary exercises.

A Mind at a Time,
Mel Levine, M.D.
Dr. Levine proposes that teaching to a child's strengths will bring about far greater progress than teaching to improve their weaknesses.

Playground Politics: Understanding the Emotional Life of Your School-Age Child
Stanley Greenspan, M.D.
A classic book for understanding peer socialization and its importance to the learning process.

The Growth of the Mind: And the Endangered Origins of Intelligence
Stanley Greenspan, M.D., 1997
This book takes a look at learning from the perspective of social development. Dr. Greenspan explains how a good emotional environment is best for developing brains.

The Misunderstood Child: Understanding and Coping with Your Child's Learning Disabilities
Larry B. Silver, M.D.
Opening with, "A learning disability is a neurological disorder," Dr. Silver sets a factual tone. From an early review in Children Today, May-June 1985, the author asserts his major purpose is to make parents "informed consumers and assertive advocates." Standing the test of time, it is now available in a new fourth edition. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_ m1053/is_v14/ai_3748790

Educational Care (Second Ed. )
Mel Levine, M.D.
Dr. Levine explains learning disabilities and provides suggestions for parents to incorporate at school and at home.

Perceptual-motor, Visual-Spatial, Sensory Processing

Brain Gym, Teacher's Edition (Revised)
Paul E. Dennison, Ph.D., and Gail E. Dennison.
A book of movement and other exercises which help academic skills, as well as help improve motor functioning, focus, memory, visual tracking and hand-eye coordination. Many of the activities involve "crossing the midline," which help get the two halves of the brain working simultaneously. (Order through the Educational Kinesiology Foundation at 1-800-356-2109.)

Thinking Goes to School, Piaget's Theory in Practice
Hans F. Furth and Harry Wachs, 1975.
A book on "thinking games," which are exercises for everything from a mental map of the body to auditory thinking games to logical thinking games.

The Out-of-Sync Child: Recognizing and Coping with Sensory Processing Disorder,
Carol Kranowitz, 1998
This classic describes what sensori-motor processing differences look like in young children using language that early childhood professionals commonly use. The author stresses the value of early intervention for the best results in a child.

Language & Math

Visualizing and Verbalizing for Language Comprehension,
Nanci Bell and Patricia Lindamood
The Lindamood-Bell program is a comprehensive reading and math program, with particular emphasis on "visualizing and verbalizing" throughout the reading process. (www.lblp.com)

Overcoming Dyslexia: A New and Complete Science-Based Program for Reading Problems at Any Level,
Sally Shaywitz, M.D., Knopf, 2003
This book explains reading differences. Dr. Shaywitz said in an online interview, "It is simply not true that reading comes naturally and easily to everyone," and "A dyslexic child has a weakness in decoding surrounded by a 'sea of strengths.' " http://content.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=1493

Teaching the Tiger: A Handbook for Individuals Involved in the Education of Students with Attention Deficit Disorders, Tourette Syndrome or Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
Marilyn Dornbush, Ph.D. and Sheryl Pruitt, M.Ed
This is a reference for parents of children with any kind of learning differences. It is organized to guide teachers, parents, students and relatives to take full advantage of individual educational plans (IEP) developed to help these children.

Parent Support

For Parents, By Parents: 2003 Edition, A Resource Guide, ICDL, www.icdl.com
This resource provides guidance for parents with children on the autism spectrum. It includes an overview, therapeutic approaches, biomedical interventions, sensory processing, educational interventions, law and advocacy and a home program guide.

The SpecialEd Advocate, www.wrightslaw.com, is an online newsletter about effective advocacy, special education and the law.

Perfect Targets: Asperger's Syndrome and Bullying–Practical Solutions for Surviving the Social World
Rebekah Heinrichs, Brenda Smith Myles (Foreword)
Provides helpful guidelines for parents, administrators and teachers to reference while managing the difficulties associated with bullying.

Some of the authors above have been active in their field for more than 20 years. Their work stands the test of time and experience. There is also valid and influential work being published regularly. Check with a trusted practitioner, teacher and/or therapist to learn about the latest research on and practical applications for children with learning differences. Happy reading!