One Small Starfish

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Summary: A Must Read for Parents of Special Education Students
Review: "One Small Starfish" is an honest and intelligent book about one parent's experience with her son's journey through the special education and mental health systems. It takes you from the initial indications that her son was symptomatic, through numerous failed attempts to properly diagnose and treat the true nature of his impairment while her son's conditioned worsened to the point of long-term hospitialization, to the eventual successful treatment and subsequent marked improvement in her son's academic, emotional, and behavioral functioning. Anne Addison writes in a poignant and revealing manner that captures the reader's heart while simultaneously offering valuable insights into the inner workings of the special education/mental health systems and the manner in which to negotiate these systems toward optimal treatment for your child. This book is a joy to read and a valuable resource to parents of children who present with symptoms of Asperger's or various other emotional and behavioral difficulties that warrant special education/mental health services.

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Summary: Comfort for Moms of Special Needs Children
Review: A sensitive and thoughtful book by a heroic mom of a special needs child. Faced with the challenges of raising two special needs children myself, I found this book to be both comforting and informative. On a daily basis I find reasons to feel alienated, isolated and inadequate as I'm forced to deal with the demands of my unique situation. Reading how this mom handled almost identical experiences brought tremendous relief and comfort.

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Summary: I'm having a hard time with this one
Review: As the mother of a young boy with ASD, I am a devotee of 1st person narratives dealing with the autism experience. Anne Addison's book shares many practical, fairly easy to implement suggestions, but the book got under my skin as well. This book is indeed easy to use and read. However, the author just has too much money to throw at situations to create a realistic portrait of raising a special needs child. I cannot "hire" the "help" that Anne is able to hire for fulltime babysitters, housecleaners, and random other folks who keep hearth and home for her. Nor can I afford (and I don't believe that the majority of us out there can) to fly my child around the country to the have consultations with the leading experts in the field, as Addison repeatedly does. Yet, these means are frequently recommended to the readers.

Addison also came off like a "supermom," even though her advice was to try not to be one. I'm sorry, bot only a person who does not have to clean, watch her children, run errands and cook is going to be able to write all of the letters to insurance companies, teachers and other team members that she recommends.

This book did have some valuable insights. Her advice on hospitalization was particularly compelling, and worth the read for that alone.

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Summary: A must-read for frustrated parents
Review: As the parent of a child with Asperger Syndrome/high-functioning autism, I have read many first-hand accounts dealing with challenging behaviors and suggested solutions. I have found One Small Starfish to be among the very best. Ms Addison's understanding, compassion, and inventive solutions are a delight to read. She combines her very practical business sense with the intuition that comes with motherhood,the humor that can soften adversity, and even a special spirituality that enhances her techniques. Readers will no doubt find some very useful and helpful suggestions among these chapters. I highly recommend this book!

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Summary: Strategies for success
Review: Having worked with many special needs children over the years, I have had the opportunity to use many strategies that I was then able to offer to parents. However, Anne Addison has made this list exhaustive and incredibly practical. She has included real life suggestions, that were both successful for her and her family and suggestions that were not, but might be for another family. She delivered her messages sprinkled with humor and sincerity, but smothered in love and spirituality. It was truly a heartwarming and encouraging story about an entire family's experiences with her special needs child.

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Summary: Excellent tool for parent with autistic/asperger children
Review: I found this book to be quite effective. Anne Addison does a remarkable job outlining ways for parents to cope with their challenged children from day-to-day routine activities to dealing with a community of support. My husband and I have a child who is autistic and we have been able to use this book as our guide to solve everyday problems. It has helped us tremendously!

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Summary: A sister speaks
Review: My own brother has the exact same problems as the boy in the story. I am 13 years old, and it is hard to cop with someone who is not like the other brothers and sisters that you want and that your friends have. This sister dealt with the brother in different ways, helping me to find what works for my family. This is the best book that i have read yet! It helped me so much more then i would have thought. I would recommend it to anyone who has a sibling, it helped me to understand that someone else was dealing with the same issues as i was.

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Summary: "Parent friendly", highly recommended observations
Review: One Small Starfish: A Mother's Everyday Advice, Survival Tactics & Wisdom For Raising A Special Needs Child is the true story of Anne Addison, a mother who worked hard to raise a child diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Asperger's Syndrome, and developmental delays, and sensory integration problems. Facing the formidable challenges of teaching a child who is constantly pulled onto paths only he understands, Addison mastered the basic necessities of familial survival and helped her son learn how to cope in a dangerous world. One Small Starfish is a 372-page compendium of practical, "parent friendly", highly recommended observations and experiences from which the mothers and fathers of special needs children can draw information, advice, and hope. Addison's son is currently a successful student in a typical fourth grade classroom and, as other boys his age, actively participates in sports, church choir, and music.

Rating:
Summary: One Small Starfish
Review: This book offers a diversity of reader satisfaction. This story of a family growing with their special needs child is an enjoyable literary read as well as a helpful guide in the daily challenges of raising a child who 'beats to his own drummer'.
The author is comprehensive an addressing all situations that can arise with a child who often sees and reacts to his environment in an atypical fashion. She takes you down each road that is critical to a child's development, including educational, medical, clinical, social and emotional needs. The author's story is heartwarming as well as wrenching at times, and
yet is interspersed with pratical strategies and recommendations to a wide variety of daily living situations. The author is sincere in her wisdom, sharing strategies that she has used that failed as well as succeeded. How a special needs child has impacted a sibling's life as well as the marital relationship are examples of the wholistic approach the author takes in learning and living with a challenging child. This book is an excellent resource for all individuals who interact with special children. And it will make you laugh and cry....