Rating: 
Summary: Great advice for raising all kids, quirky or not
Review: Almost all parents worry that their children "don't fit in" at one time or another - children are bound to exhibit some quirky behavior at one time or another. However, most of the books I've seen on rearing 'quirky kids' are either too technical to be useful, or talk down to readers with obvious suggestions. This book strikes the right balance - it is informative about medical options, while providing practical suggestions that will help any parent raising a child. Parents shouldn't be misled by the title - while the book focuses on quirky kids, it has practical suggestions for raising all children. I particularly liked the suggestions on family life, such as bedtimes, dealing with children in public and other issues of everyday life. There are several suggestions I plan to use for my own child. The examples in the book are particularly illuminating. They absolutely ring true regarding the challenges parents and children face today. This is a rare example of a book that is both a "good read" and informative. I cannot recommend this book highly enough.
Rating: 
Summary: Strong point of view, helpful suggestions,some bias
Review: As the parent of what this book terms a quirky child, and as a fan of Klass' other works, I read this book eagerly. In many ways I was not disappointed. I liked the strong point of view here---the authors were not afraid to take stands on such issues as how much therapy is really helpful to a child (they believe, as I do, that a child needs some time to just be a child!) and they took a strong stance in favor of vaccines, and had skepticism about diets that some say can "cure" autism related disorders. They were great at putting things in perspective, and saying it was okay to enjoy your child's personality and see their good points, and they were honest about how hard childhood can be for a quirky child---as despite what many think, childhood is a time when a great deal of conformity is expected. My quibbles with this book involved the same thing as its strong points---a sometimes one-sided point of view. For example, public schools are given weak praise, with statements along the lines of "most kids will have to have at least some time in public schools, and they usually do fairly well" (not an exact quote, but along those lines). Private schools are given much more time and discussion, although it is acknoledged briefly that for many of us, private schools are out of the question financially! Also, we are told it is best if mothers keep working, to keep their identity and have some time away from parenting---all well and good, but what if you have decided to be a stay at home mom and were not working to start with, or what if your job involves working at something that is not terribly rewarding, instead of being a pediatrician or lawyer or the like? Overall, I would recommend this book, for its positive outlook and solid ideas, but it should not be used alone---as with most books on special needs, they work best as part of much reading, to get many viewpoints.
Rating:
Summary: Strong point of view, helpful suggestions,some bias
Review: As the parent of what this book terms a quirky child, and as a fan of Klass' other works, I read this book eagerly. In many ways I was not disappointed. I liked the strong point of view here---the authors were not afraid to take stands on such issues as how much therapy is really helpful to a child (they believe, as I do, that a child needs some time to just be a child!) and they took a strong stance in favor of vaccines, and had skepticism about diets that some say can "cure" autism related disorders. They were great at putting things in perspective, and saying it was okay to enjoy your child's personality and see their good points, and they were honest about how hard childhood can be for a quirky child---as despite what many think, childhood is a time when a great deal of conformity is expected. My quibbles with this book involved the same thing as its strong points---a sometimes one-sided point of view. For example, public schools are given weak praise, with statements along the lines of "most kids will have to have at least some time in public schools, and they usually do fairly well" (not an exact quote, but along those lines). Private schools are given much more time and discussion, although it is acknoledged briefly that for many of us, private schools are out of the question financially! Also, we are told it is best if mothers keep working, to keep their identity and have some time away from parenting---all well and good, but what if you have decided to be a stay at home mom and were not working to start with, or what if your job involves working at something that is not terribly rewarding, instead of being a pediatrician or lawyer or the like? Overall, I would recommend this book, for its positive outlook and solid ideas, but it should not be used alone---as with most books on special needs, they work best as part of much reading, to get many viewpoints.
Rating:
Summary: Quirky Parents
Review: I must confess, I am a quirky parent with quirky kids, well at least two of them are. This book is terrific and should be included in every school library and a must read for every teacher. It has helped me to balance my quirks with my children's quirks and allow us to draw from each other's strengths. Also recommended: How to Negotiate With Kids, by Scott Brown, and Mommy-CEO (Constantly Evaluating Others) 5 Golden Rules, by family columnist of Parent to Parent, Jodie Lynn. These three books are a must have for all parents whether or not your kids are quirky or you are a quirky parent or just normal. The essential guidelines and rules from all three books will make a difference in your family life and personal life. Now, how about someone having all three authors make a tape combining the successful tips and rules from all three books? The tapes would surely enlighten the world in normal, quirky and stubburn kids and make parenting a little easier. Please get all three in every library across the map so each parent can achieve happiness and the very least sanity.
Rating:
Summary: A Must read for Every Parent With a Quirky Kid
Review: I would have loved to have this book two years ago. My son, then just shy of 3, was sweet and rambunctious, but just a little bit off the normal developmental trajectories. He had a phenomenal memory (he could walk into a store in a different state we had visited only once years earlier and remember EXACTLY where the bathroom was...), but he showed little interest in playing with other kids and his speech was delayed. Our worries peaked when another parent at Isaac's gymnastics class turned to us, identified himself as a pediatrician, and asked us what therapies Isaac was receiving because it was "obvious" he was a special needs child. Needless to say, we were more than a little distraught at this off-the-cuff diagnosis and wound up spending the next several months having Isaac undergo various types of evaluation. He ultimately was diagnosed with PDD-NOS and has shown tremendous gains after receiving early intervention and speech therapy. Looking back over that confusing, scary time, when we feared that something was "wrong" with Isaac but didn't know what, I realize that our fear and uncertainty would have been greatly diminished had I known of and read "Quirky Kids." Indeed, I think this book would be most helpful to those parents who are just starting the journey toward diagnosis and treatment. Parents like myself who have long gone through the evaluation process and have read extensively on these topics, etc. will not find much new in this volume. That did not stop me from reading and enjoying the book, however; I just really wish I had read the book much earlier, as it would have helped me greatly in understanding what was going on with my son. There were several aspects of the book I thought were particularly strong. First, I was glad to see the authors devote so much time to the etiology of these disorders, and I was EXTREMELY glad to see them debunk several of the popular myths floating around (e.g., the MMR vaccine) regarding the causes of autism. I also found the section on common medications prescribed and their side effects to be very helpful; parents need full knowledge of the possible benefits and negative consequences of the medications that health professionals can sometimes be too eager to prescribe. The aspect of the book I found most helpful, however, was the authors' calm reassurance regarding children who fall under the diagnoses covered by the book. The title itself captures this feeling of reassurance: These children are "quirky," and as the authors stress repeatedly, these diagnoses are fairly new. As recently as 10 or 20 years ago, these children would not have received a diagnosis at all. This has important implications, and perhaps the authors could have pointed out more explicitly the Catch-22 that parents of quirky kids face today: Early intervention helps, but receiving such intervention entails attaching a diagnostic label to your child that could stigmatize him or her and last a lifetime. Perhaps the greatest service this book provides is to walk parents through the maze of evaluation and diagnosis and subsequent therapies so that parents know better what they are getting themselves and their families into. This book raises a broader philosophical question: To what extent are we becoming a country obsessed with perfection and intolerant of any sort of deviation from the norm? When quirky kids who are, for the most part, functional and happy are given a diagnosis and thrown into therapy to get them to play and talk like other children, are we at risk of losing or devaluing some of the incredible diversity of human behavior that makes life interesting? I sometimes wonder. I know that my son has always been and is now one of the happiest children I have ever seen. He has an enthusiasm for life that brings smiles to the faces of everybody who sees him. Quite frankly, it bothers us--his parents--that he has few friends more than it does him. The admirable quality of "Quirky Kids" is that the authors help us to cherish the differences in our children and remind us that the most important thing, in the long run, is to help them enjoy their childhood and to let them be a kid first, and quirky second.
Rating:
Summary: Great source of reassurance and information
Review: I would have loved to have this book two years ago. My son, then just shy of 3, was sweet and rambunctious, but just a little bit off the normal developmental trajectories. He had a phenomenal memory (he could walk into a store in a different state we had visited only once years earlier and remember EXACTLY where the bathroom was...), but he showed little interest in playing with other kids and his speech was delayed. Our worries peaked when another parent at Isaac's gymnastics class turned to us, identified himself as a pediatrician, and asked us what therapies Isaac was receiving because it was "obvious" he was a special needs child. Needless to say, we were more than a little distraught at this off-the-cuff diagnosis and wound up spending the next several months having Isaac undergo various types of evaluation. He ultimately was diagnosed with PDD-NOS and has shown tremendous gains after receiving early intervention and speech therapy. Looking back over that confusing, scary time, when we feared that something was "wrong" with Isaac but didn't know what, I realize that our fear and uncertainty would have been greatly diminished had I known of and read "Quirky Kids." Indeed, I think this book would be most helpful to those parents who are just starting the journey toward diagnosis and treatment. Parents like myself who have long gone through the evaluation process and have read extensively on these topics, etc. will not find much new in this volume. That did not stop me from reading and enjoying the book, however; I just really wish I had read the book much earlier, as it would have helped me greatly in understanding what was going on with my son. There were several aspects of the book I thought were particularly strong. First, I was glad to see the authors devote so much time to the etiology of these disorders, and I was EXTREMELY glad to see them debunk several of the popular myths floating around (e.g., the MMR vaccine) regarding the causes of autism. I also found the section on common medications prescribed and their side effects to be very helpful; parents need full knowledge of the possible benefits and negative consequences of the medications that health professionals can sometimes be too eager to prescribe. The aspect of the book I found most helpful, however, was the authors' calm reassurance regarding children who fall under the diagnoses covered by the book. The title itself captures this feeling of reassurance: These children are "quirky," and as the authors stress repeatedly, these diagnoses are fairly new. As recently as 10 or 20 years ago, these children would not have received a diagnosis at all. This has important implications, and perhaps the authors could have pointed out more explicitly the Catch-22 that parents of quirky kids face today: Early intervention helps, but receiving such intervention entails attaching a diagnostic label to your child that could stigmatize him or her and last a lifetime. Perhaps the greatest service this book provides is to walk parents through the maze of evaluation and diagnosis and subsequent therapies so that parents know better what they are getting themselves and their families into. This book raises a broader philosophical question: To what extent are we becoming a country obsessed with perfection and intolerant of any sort of deviation from the norm? When quirky kids who are, for the most part, functional and happy are given a diagnosis and thrown into therapy to get them to play and talk like other children, are we at risk of losing or devaluing some of the incredible diversity of human behavior that makes life interesting? I sometimes wonder. I know that my son has always been and is now one of the happiest children I have ever seen. He has an enthusiasm for life that brings smiles to the faces of everybody who sees him. Quite frankly, it bothers us--his parents--that he has few friends more than it does him. The admirable quality of "Quirky Kids" is that the authors help us to cherish the differences in our children and remind us that the most important thing, in the long run, is to help them enjoy their childhood and to let them be a kid first, and quirky second.
Rating:
Summary: A great resource for parents and educators.
Review: Quirky Kids is a wonderful reference for parents. It offers excellent insights into the evaluatiion of specialists, diagnoses and therapies for children. The solid advice about how to approach your child's school, how to deal with the extended family, and how to live daily life with a harder-than-usual kid were most helpful to me. I was reassured by the authors' understanding and appreciation of "special" children and their behaviors. Drs. Klass and Costello have obvious compassion for and insight into the issues facing families with quirky kids!
Rating:
Summary: An excellent book, well worth the effort....
Review: There are so many books out there devoted to helping the parents of "special" kids. Most of them, I've found, are either way too touchy-feely or too text-booky. You can usually tell within the first few chapters what particular agenda the author will be focusing on, and with a few exceptions (such as "The Out-of-Sync Child") I hadn't yet found one that really worked for me. This book, however, drew me in right away and kept me coming back at any opportunity I could grab. (Any book that can have me reaching for it during the few minutes it takes to cook fish sticks in the microwave, well, that's a big deal.)
My child is not just "difficult" or "spirited" - and he's also not afflicted in an "obvious" way (ie., on one of his good days, I doubt anyone would think something was amiss with the boy). He exists in that strange place where his behaviors, many of which are far beyond his control, just don't fit in with typical society...a true "quirky kid". This book addresses so many of the issues and situations that our family deals with on a daily basis (and those we will probably have to deal with in the future), and offers sensible, real-life suggestions. The authors seem to have a true understanding of what our kids go through, what the families go through, and where we might be able to make some changes for the better.
Rating:
Summary: A Must read for Every Parent With a Quirky Kid
Review: This book is full of the practicle information parents need to guide their Quirky kids through life.
Rating: 
Summary: Some good information, but otherwise misses the boat
Review: This book provides some useful content in explaining various developmental issues, however if it were not for that, I would have given it a mimimum rating. This book is really about dealing with "autistic spectrum children" and what disturbs me the most is that the well-educated authors dismiss the dramatic rise in autism coinciding with the increased use Thimerosal laced childhood vaccines beginning in the early 90's. (Just do a google search on "Thimerosal" if you don't know what I'm talking about, or "Dave Weldon Autism" if you think this is on the fringe). In fact, the authors suggest that the increased use of vaccines has allowed us to spend more time dealing with development issues that were formerly undiagnosed - how dare they suggest that when there is an undisputed autism epidemic in this country acknowledged by the mainstream medical community? If you are an adult, how many autistic kids did you know as a child?
|
