The Child With Special Needs: Encouraging Intellectual and Emotional Growth

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Summary: A fantastic resource
Review: Although the strategies in this book are definately time consuming, it is all completely worth it when your child makes a communication breakthrough. My daughter went to a pre school where the teachers followed the methods outlined in this book, and the students (who were all autistic or language learning disabled) left able to function in a regular education environment. I strongly recommend that parents follow the guidelines in this book, it will make a world of difference for your child.

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Summary: A Fantastic Resource for Parents and Educators
Review: As a clinician I have read many books on special needs children and I was particularly impressed with this book. The tone is positive, pro-active and gives parents concrete things they can do in order to meet their children exactly where they are. Also, no other books describes the symptoms of many syndromes with such clarity, so that parents and therapists can work with empathy and vision. For some situations, additional therapy modalities may be necessary and this may feel too "light," but taken as, at the very least, an adjunct to whatever therapy is given, this book is just top notch. I can't rate it highly enough. For ... .

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Summary: Greenspan provides the perfect intervention model.
Review: As a parent of an autistic son, Greenspan's "Floortime" model has great appeal. The methods are clearly outlined and, in practice, progress is immediate and unmistakable. This approach is more than mere theory. Greenspan discusses his many years of hands-on work with children with autism and their families and bases his book on a 200 patient chart study. While many experts in this field contradict each other and challenge our parental instincts, Greenspan offers, through "floor time," a clear, sensible and effective attack on a most baffling disorder. Above all, it preserves my desire to keep my son's childhood as joyful, intact and normal as possible.

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Summary: All Parents Should Check This Out
Review: As a step parent, some of this info is a bit slow paced and detailed for stepping into the real thing. Luckily the other half knows :) All parents should check out this info as it pertains to all growing children

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Summary: Perfect for families just beginning with a diagnosis!
Review: As parents of a child w/special needs we stumbled across this right after the initial diagnosis. It provided us with the direction we needed to work with our son at home. The early intervention program our school (in Iowa) used was based on this floor time approach and was incredibly effective. Now in the DC area our son is one of his patients. The book and Dr Greenspan's approaches literally turned our son's life around. An excellent follow up as your child enters elementary school--Playground Politics.

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Summary: Perfect for families just beginning with a diagnosis!
Review: As parents of a child w/special needs we stumbled across this right after the initial diagnosis. It provided us with the direction we needed to work with our son at home. The early intervention program our school (in Iowa) used was based on this floor time approach and was incredibly effective. Now in the DC area our son is one of his patients. The book and Dr Greenspan's approaches literally turned our son's life around. An excellent follow up as your child enters elementary school--Playground Politics.

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Summary: If you were only going to buy one book . . .
Review: Buy this one! Our daughter was recently diagnosed with a developmental disorder and this book is just a wonderful resource, particularly for the period just after diagnosis, when parents are scrambling to find the right treatment options and at a loss for what to do. After reading this book, we felt suddenly empowered to begin working with our daughter, even though we don't yet have our full team in place. We realized that we were doing all the wrong things with the best of intentions, often making our interactions with her frustrating on both sides. The floor time descriptions and techniques have really helped us interact with our sometimes withdrawn and difficult child and even better, really enjoy the time we spend playing and working with her.

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Summary: Right on the mark for my child
Review: Early in the book Dr. Greenspan described 3 components typically involved in develomentally delayed children: sensory input, sensory processing, and motor planning. This was the first time I had seen in print a description of exactly what seemed to be affecting my son. We have never had a diagnosis for him so I also appreciate that the book does not get bogged down in labelling a child. The developmental path that he suggests a child must follow gave us a fairly clear "map" to follow. Excellent book.

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Summary: Going in Circles?
Review: Every waking minute of each day was spent shadowing our daughter, who had been diagnosed with autism, who was desperately trying to come to terms with this world. I was going in circles until I found out how to make it work for her, for me, for us. Greenspan's approach makes sense, it is fun, the stuff you get from it is real. It is not robotic, flat or taught. It is learned. It created laughter, it has induced communication from the ground level up, it has given us a powerful relationship and a platform to spring from. Now we close circles all day and it has taken us to a new place.

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Summary: Trust
Review: From his other books, my wife and I have learned to trust the thinking and advice of Stanley Greenspan.