Psychology WNY Sibshop Library | Canisius University

Library For Siblings:

The Sibling SLAM Book: What it’s REALLY Like to have a brother or
sister with Special Needs
Edited by Don Meyer with a foreword by David Gallagher
Summary: Starred Review. Grade 6 Up–This multifaceted vehicle for eliciting some unique and many universal emotions is designed specifically for siblings of special-needs children. An adolescent mainstay, the slam book is the chosen venue for encouraging the venting of opinions, hopes, fears, frustrations, and triumphs. Comments by 81 young people display the recurring theme of optimism, complicated by hard work, dedication, resentment, and fierce protection, all as by-products of love. –Sharon A. Neal, Alvernia College, Reading, PA
My Brother Charlie
By Holly Robinson Peete and Ryan Elizabeth Peete
Summary: In an honest, simple narrative, young Callie talks about how much she loves her autistic twin brother, Charlie, and how much they share. As she explains what autism is and how her family cares for Charlie, she also speaks frankly about challenges. The mixed-media illustrations, in bright, opaque colors, show the loving connections in Callie’ s African American family, as well as the tension and anger. This is a great choice for introducing the subject of autism to young children or for starting discussion in any family dealing with disability. Grades K-3. --Hazel Rochman
Special Siblings: Growing Up With Someone With a Disability
By Mary McHugh
Summary: For siblings of those with physical, mental, or emotional disabilities, here is helpful advice, comfort, and the company of others who've been there. Moving on from her own experience, McHugh offers information, understanding, and resources for others, on a wide range of issues: from childhood fears about the parents marriage, to troubles in ones own marriage caused by caring for a disabled sibling, to the urge to somehow make it all better. -- Copyright ©1999, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
Views from our Shoes: Growing Up with a Brother or Sister with Special Needs
Edited by Donald Meyer
Summary: A collection of 45 brief essays by children and young adults who have a sibling with special needs, ranging from mental retardation through a number of rare syndromes. This is certainly a different kind of book on developmental disabilities and, as such, fills a need. -Margaret C. Howell, West Springfield Elementary School, VA Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Living with a Brother or Sister with Special Needs: A Book for Sibs
By Donald Meyer and Patricia Vadasy (Second Edition, Revised and
Expanded)
Summary: "Living with a Brother or Sister with Special Needs" focuses on the intensity of emotions that brothers and sisters experience when they have a sibling with special needs, and the hard questions they ask: What caused my sibling's disability? Could my own child have a disability as well? What will happen to my brother or sister if my parents die? Written for young readers, the book discusses specific disabilities in easy to understand terms.

Library For Parents:

Sibshops: Workshops for Siblings of Children with Special Needs
By Don Meyer and Patricia Vadasy (x2)
Summary: This new edition is the long-awaited revision of the essential guidebook to organizing and running support groups for siblings of children and adults with special needs. Don Meyer is one of a handful of authors who was addressed this lackwith his enormously popular Sibshops, among other books and articles he has written about siblings, their needs, how they can deal with issues of loneliness and anger, and how to help them socialize.
Making Sense of Autistic Spectrum Disorders: Create the Brightest Future for Your Child with The Best Treatment Options
By James Coplan, M.D
Summary: A developmental pediatrician who has worked with children on the autism spectrum for more than 30 years, Coplan presents a detailed analysis of the disorder. In Part I, the author discusses the causes and symptoms while in Part II he focuses on treatment, including a thorough examination of behavior management techniques and medications. Finally, the focus in Part III is on the family as the child ages. (Apr.) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
A Special Mother: Getting Through The Early Days of a Child’s Diagnosis of Learning Disabilities and Related Disorders
By Anne Ford with a foreword by Judy Woodruff
Summary: From the author of Laughing Allegra and On Their Own, a reassuring and invaluable book filled with personal stories and practical guidance to help parents of a child just diagnosed with a learning disability or related disorder.In A Special Mother, Ford offers reassurance and information on gettingthrough the early period surrounding the diagnosis:
- Guidance about coping with the emotional upheaval and confusion of a child’s diagnosis
- Information on getting an accurate diagnosis and understanding what it means
- Advice on caring for your own psychological needs
- Knowing your rights
- Suggestions for striking a balance between advocacy and obsession
Finding a Treasure: 101 Devotions for Parents of Special Children
By Tracy Breland
Summary: The book offers encouraging 101 devotions for parents of special need children. Written by a mother of five and a special education teacher, each devotional is founded on Bible principles and shares daily doses of inspiration from the heart of a mother.
The Best Kind of Different: Our Family’s Journey with Asperger’s Syndrome
By Shonda Schilling with an introduction by Curt Schilling
Summary: In The Best Kind of Different, Shonda details every step of her family's journey with Asperger's, offering a parent's perspective on this complicated and increasingly common condition. Looking back on Grant's early years, she describes the signals she missed in his behavior and confronts the guilt that engulfed her after she came to understand just how misguided her parenting had been before the diagnosis. A tribute to Grant's strength and a candid glimpse into a family coming to terms with its differences, The Best Kind of Different is an intimate portrait of two parents struggling to understand the complex beauty of their son.
Autism Spectrum Disorders: The Complete Guide to Understanding Autism, Asperger’s Syndrome, Pervasive Developmental Disorder, and Other ASDs
By Chantal Sicile-Kira and foreword by Temple Grandin, Ph.D.
Summary: Winner of the 2005 Autism Society of America's Outstanding Literary Work of the Year Award-Based on the author's personal and professional experiences, this comprehensive and accessible source covers all aspects of autism conditions, including Asperger's Syndrome and Pervasive Developmental Disorder.
Adolescents on the Autism Spectrum: A Parent’s Guide to the Cognitive, Social, Physical, and Transition Needs of Teenagers with Autism Spectrum Disorders
By Chantal Sicile-Kira
Summary: From the award-winning author of Autism Spectrum Disorders, comes Adolescents on the Autism Spectrum, a complete guide to the cognitive, emotional, social, and physical needs of preteens and teenagers with autistic disorders, ranging from the relatively mild Asperger's Syndrome to more severe ability impairment. Using clear examples, practical advice, and supportive insights, this book covers:
- Health risks such as seizures and depression
- Treatments, therapies, and teaching strategies
- Teaching skills to cope with puberty, self-care, and social skills
- Teenage emotions, sexuality, appropriate relationships, and dating
- Middle school, high school, and developing an Individual Educational Program
- Preparing for life after high school
The Autism Book: What Every Parent Needs to Know About Early Detection, Treatment, Recovery, and Prevention
By Robert W. Sears, MD, FAAP
With clarity and compassion, Dr. Robert Sears guides the reader through the maze of autism, explaining what precautions parents can take to decrease their baby's risk, how to detect autism at the earliest possible age, and how to proceed once a diagnosis has been made. The book provides parents with a simple and clear understanding of the biomedical treatment approach that Dr. Sears has used successfully with many of his young patients. It lays out a plan for developmental, behavioral, and learning therapies; shows parents how to begin treatments without a doctor's help; presents information on vaccines and their safe use; and includes an extensive resources section. THE AUTISM BOOK provides all the information and reassurance parents need.
How to Talk so Teens will Listen & Listen so Teens will Talk
By Adele Faber & Elaine Mazlish
Summary: International acclaimed parenting experts Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish have helped millions of families with their breakthrough, best-selling books such as How to Talk so Kids will Listen & Listen so Kids will Talk and Siblings Without Rivalry. Now, they return with a lively, down-to-earth approach that tackles the tough issues teens and parents face today. It’s a strategy that curbs conflict, reduces frustration, and promotes thoughtful communication about everything from curfews and drugs to schoolwork and sex.
Look me in the eye: my life with asperger’s
By John Elder Robison with a foreword by Augusten Burroughs.
Summary: Starred Review. Robison's story is much more fully detailed in this moving memoir, beginning with his painful childhood, his abusive alcoholic father and his mentally disturbed mother. Robison describes how from nursery school on he could not communicate effectively with others; something his brain is not wired to do, since kids with Asperger's don't recognize common social cues and body language or facial expressions. In the end, Robison succeeds in his goal of helping those who are struggling to grow up or live with Asperger's to see how it is not a disease but a way of being that needs no cure except understanding and encouragement from others. (Sept.)
1001 Great I deas for Teaching & Raising Children with Autism or Asperger’s
By Ellen Notbohm and Veronica Zysk with a foreword by Temple Grandin,
Ph.D.
Summary: Winner of Learning Magazine's Teachers Choice Award, the first edition of 1001 Great Ideas has been a treasured resource in the autism community since 2004. Now, in this expanded edition, Ellen Notbohm (best-selling author of the revolutionary book Ten Things Every Child with Autism Wishes You Knew) and Veronica Zysk (award-winning author and editor of Autism Asperger's Digest magazine) present parents and educators with over 1800 ideas try-it-now tips, eye-opening advice, and grassroots strategies.
The Everyday Advocate: Standing up for Your Child with Autism
By Areva Martin, Esq. – President and Cofounder of Special Needs Network.
Summary: Nationally recognized expert on autism advocacy Areva Martin shares her hard-won knowledge as a parent of an autistic child and an individual rights attorney. In The Everyday Advocate, she lays out vital and relevant step-by-step instructions to parents facing the seemingly impossible odds of advocating for a child with autism.
The Way I See I t: A Personal Look at Autism & Asperger’s
By Temple Grandin, Ph.D.
Summary: In this innovative book, Dr. Temple Grandin gets down to the REAL issues of autism, the ones parents, teachers, and individuals on the spectrum face every day. Temple offers helpful do's and don'ts, practical strategies, and try-it-now tips, all based on her "insider" perspective and a great deal of research. These are just some of the specific topics Temple delves into:
- How and Why People with Autism Think Differently
- Economical Early Intervention Programs that Work
- How Sensory Sensitivities Affect Learning Behaviors
- Caused by a Disability vs. Just Bad Behaviors
- Teaching People with Autism to Live in an Unpredictable World
- Alternative Medicine vs. Conventional Medicine
- Employment Ideas for Adults with Autism and many more!
Helping Children with Down Syndrome Communicate Better: Speech nd Language Skills for Ages 6-14
By Libby Kumin, Ph.D., CCC-SLP.
Summary: A children with Down syndrome reach age 6 they encounter more complex speech and language demands in their learning and relationships with others. This is when gaps in communication abilities between children with Down syndrome and their typically developing peers begin to widen. Helping Children with Down Syndrome Communicate Better provides parents and professionals with the information and resources they need to improve their child s communication at school, at home, and in the wider community.
Emergence: Labeled Autistic (A True Story)
By Temple Grandin, Ph.D. and Margaret M. Scariano.
Summary: A true story that is both uniquely moving and exceptionally inspiring, Emergence is the first-hand account of a courageous autistic woman who beat the odds and cured herself. As a child, Temple Grandin was forced to leave her "normal" school and enroll in a school for autistic children. This honest account captures the isolation and fears suffered by autistics and their families and the quiet strength of one woman who insisted on a miracle.
Topics in Autism-Second Edition-Siblings of Children with Autism: A Guide for Families
By Sandra L. Harris, Ph.D. and Beth A. Glasberg, Ph.D.
Summary: Now in a brand new and expanded edition, SIBLINGS OF CHILDREN
WITH AUTISM explores the basics of sibling relationships and the complexities that surface in families of children with autism. Chapters cover how to explain autism to siblings, how to get siblings to share their feelings and concerns, how to master the family-balancing act, and how to foster play between siblings. New chapters have been added concerning what siblings actually believe or understand about autism at different ages and how autism continues to impact adult sibling relationships, careers, and caregiver roles. Throughout the book, there are stories about individual families, giving readers points of comparison and helpful insights along the way.
Louder Than Words: A Mother’s Journey in Healing Autism
By Jenny McCarthy
"Jenny McCarthy takes us on journey of a mom dealing with her son’s Autism diagnosis and treatment. We learn what it is like to be a parent and have your dreams shattered. We learn about a disease and about how others dealing with similar circumstances can aid one another. We learn about alternative approaches that seem promising. We learn about healing, hope, and faith."
— David Feinberg, from the foreword, MD, MBA Medical Director, Resnick Neuropsychiatric Hospital at UCLA
The Ultimate Guide to Sensory Processing Disorder: Easy, Everyday Solutions to Sensory Challenges
By Roya Ostovar, Ph.D.
Summary: Shockingly, 1 in every 20 children experiences symptoms of Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD Foundation), affecting their ability to fully participate in everyday life. When sensory processing is impaired, lights can be too bright, sounds too loud, and clothes can actually be painful on the skin. It can be practically impossible for children to tolerate their day, let alone learn in a classroom. In this book, endorsed by best-selling special needs author Carol Kranowitz, neuropsychologist Dr. Roya Ostovar helps parents to help their children. She provides clear explanations, up-to-date research, step-by-step strategies, and case examples that bring her proven methods to life.
A Different Kind of Perfect: Writings by Parents on Raising a Child with Special Needs
Edited by Cindy Dowling, Neil Nicoll, and Bernadette Thomas.
Summary: While all parents worry about their offspring, parents of children with special needs face a unique set of challenges that is served well by this touching collection. The conflicting emotions and frustrating dilemmas of raising special needs kids are well represented by more than 50 short essays; parents will find honest confessions that are wrenching, warming and probably familiar.
Married with Special-Needs Children: A Couple’s Guide to Keeping Connected
By Laura E. Marshak, Ph.D. and Fran Pollock Prezant, M.Ed., CCC-SLP.
Summary: For parents looking for ways to strengthen their marriage, prevent future strife, or resolve or move on from significant relationship difficulties, this guide offers guidance and expertise for taking the next step. Married with Special-Needs Children is also invaluable to mental health professionals, giving them a realistic view of what many of their clients are dealing with on a day-to-day basis.
Asperger Syndrome and ANXI ETY: A Guide to Successful Stress Management
by Nick Dubin with a foreword by Dr. Valerie Gaus
Summary: Many people suffer from feelings of stress and anxiety in their everyday lives. For people with Asperger Syndrome (AS), this stress can be particularly difficult to manage. As a person with AS who has struggled with feelings of anxiety and learnt how to overcome them, Nick Dubin shares his own tried and tested solutions along with up-to-date research on stress management for individuals with AS, including a chapter on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). Asperger Syndrome and Anxiety" provides real solutions to a common problem and is essential reading for anyone with AS who has trouble managing stress. The book will also be of interest to family members, teachers and other professionals working with individuals with AS.
Mother Warriors: A Nation of Parents Healing Autism Against All Odds
By Jenny McCarthy with a foreword by Jay N. Gordon, M.D.
Summary: No two autistic children heal in exactly the same way. And in her new book, Jenny expands her message to share recovery stories from parents across the country. Mother Warriors, shows how each parent fought to find her own child’ s perfect “ remedy of interventions” and teaches parents how to navigate safely through the many autism therapies.
Thinking in Pictures: My Life with Autism
By Temple Grandin with a foreword by Oliver Sacks
Summary: In this unprecedented book, Grandin delivers a report from the country of autism. Writing from the dual perspectives of a scientist and an autistic person, she tells us how its inhabitants experience that country and how she managed to breach its boundaries to function in the outside world. What emerges in Thinking in Pictures is the document of an extraordinary human being, one who, in gracefully and lucidly bridging the gulf between her condition and our own, sheds light on the riddle of our common identity.
Thicker than Water: Essays
By Adult Siblings of People with Disabilities edited by Don Meyer
Summary: In this thought-provoking essay collection, thirty-nine adult siblings reflect on how their lives have been indelibly shaped by their relationship with a brother or sister with special needs. Edited by Don Meyer, creator of Sibshops and an expert on sibling issues, Thicker Than Water reveals both positive and negative aspects of growing up with someone who might have received the lions share of his parent’s attention or who now requires extra support as an adult.
Being the Other One: Growing Up with a Brother or Sister Who Has Special Needs
By Kate Strohm
Summary: Being the Other One is based on the author's own experience (as a sibling of a sister with cerebral palsy) and on extensive interviews she conducted with siblings of all ages. In clear and compassionate terms, Strohm explores the often-secret feelings of siblings and offers valuable strategies for coping with the challenges they face.

The Everything Guide to Cooking for Children with Autism (From everyday meals to holiday treats—200 tasty recipes your child will love to eat)
By Megan Hart, MS, RD, and Kim Lutz
Summary: The gluten-free, casein-free diet offers new hope for children with autism-- if parents can change their kid's eating habits. With this pragmatic, proactive handbook, you can conquer this seemingly complicated diet--and prepare food your kids will love to eat. Packed with information on preservatives, additives, and good nutrition, this guide serves up 200 delicious recipes any parent can prepare, including:
- Crispy Potato Pancakes
- Rotini with Bolognese Sauce
- Barbeque Chicken Pizza
- Creamy Salsa Dip
- Macaroni and Cheese
- Baja-Style Fish Tacos
- Chocolate Chip Cookies

Teen SibShop Library

Fasten Your Seatbelt: A Crash Course on Down Syndrome for Brothers & Sisters
By Brian G. Skotko & Susan P. Levine
Summary: Brain & Susan have run many workshops for siblings of people with disabilities. At each workshop, they kick the parents out and let the siblings write down ANY question that they have regarding Down syndrome. This book is written in that style: question/answer and covers the facts, learning, family issues, behavior, managing uncomfortable situations, feelings, advocating & the future. Not only is it wonderful for siblings, but also it has great insight for leaders, teachers, and other family members.
The Sibling Slam Book
(3 copies available)
Edited by Don Meyer
Summary: Self-narrative stories from siblings (13-18) of special needs children discussing Life with their siblings and life in general. Formatted like the slam books passed around in many junior high and high schools, this one poses a series of 50 personal questions. THE SIBLING SLAM BOOK doesn't "slam" in the traditional sense of the word. The tone and point-of-view of the answers are all over the map. Some answers are assuredly positive, a few are strikingly negative, but most reflect the complex and conflicted mix of emotions that come with the territory. Whether they read it cover to cover or sample it at random, teenagers will surely find common ground among these pages and reassurance that they are not alone. It is a book that parents, friends, and counselors can feel confident recommending to any teenager with a brother or sister with a disability.
Living with a Brother or Sister with Special Needs: A Book for Sibs
(available at the April 2010 meeting)
By Don Meyer and Patricia Vadasy
Summary: Living with a Brother or Sister with Special Needs focuses on the intensity of emotions that brothers and sisters experience when they have a sibling with special needs, and the hard questions they ask. Written for young readers, the book discusses specific disabilities in easy to understand terms. The book is a wonderful resource, not just for siblings and their parents but also for teachers and other professionals who work with children with special needs.
Thicker Than Water: Essays by Adult Siblings of People with Disabilities
Edited by Don Meyer
Summary: In this thought-provoking essay collection, thirty-nine adult siblings reflect on how their lives have been indelibly shaped by their relationship with a brother or sister with special needs. Recommended by: Sandra Rice, Parish Ministry Consultant, Bethesda Lutheran Communities.
The Ride Together: A Brother and Sister’s M emoir of Autism in the Family
By Paul and Judy Karasik Summary:
This groundbreaking work was excerpted in The New York Times for its ability to honestly, eloquently, and respectfully set forth what life is like with autism in the family. Combining their talents, this brother-sister team has created a compassionate account of life with their autistic brother, David, interspersing prose chapters with comic chapters to offer an unusual memoir. Judy was once an editor at Henry Holt, while Paul draws cartoons for the New Yorker. Their collective work in this book spans five decades, beginning with David's birth in 1948 and ending in the present (he now lives in a community for people with autism). Roughly chronological, Paul's comics and Judy's prose are carefully intertwined so that the writing and the art amplify each other. Judy describes her family as "a cup of human fruit cocktail dumped onto the top of the house, each piece different but all out of the same can."
Riding the Bus with My Sister: A true life journey
By Rachel Simon
Summary: Rachel Simon’s sister Beth is a spirited woman who lives intensely and often joyfully. Beth, who has mental retardation, spends her days riding the buses in her Pennsylvania city. The drivers, a lively group, are her mentors; her fellow passengers are her community. One day, Beth asked Rachel to accompany her on the buses for an entire year. This wise, funny, deeply affecting book is the chronicle of that remarkable time. Rachel, a writer and college teacher whose hyperbusy life camouflaged her emotional isolation, had much to learn in her sister’ s extraordinary world. These are life lessons from which every reader can profit: how to live in the moment, how to pay attention to what really matters, how to change, how to love—and how to slow down and enjoy the ride. Elegantly woven throughout the odyssey are riveting memories of terrifying maternal abandonment, fierce sisterly loyalty, and astonishing forgiveness. Rachel Simon brings to light the almost invisible world of mental retardation, finds unlikely heroes in everyday life, and, without sentimentality, portrays Beth as the endearing, feisty, independent person she is. This heartwarming book about the unbreakable bond between two very different sisters takes the reader on an inspirational journey at once unique and universal.
Views from Our Shoes: Growing up with a Brother or Sister with Special Needs
Edited by Don Meyer, Illustrated by Cary Pillo
Summary: Essays by siblings of special needs children. The kids whose essays are featured here range in age from four to eighteen and are the siblings of youngsters with a variety of special needs, including autism, cerebral palsy, development delays, ADD, hydrocephalus, visual and hearing impairments, Down and Tourette syndromes. Their personal tales introduce young siblings to others like them, perhaps for the first time, and allow them to compare experiences. A glossary of disabilities provides easy--to--understand definitions of many of the conditions mentioned.
Sibshops: Workshops for Siblings of Children with Special Needs (rev.)
By Don Meyer and Patricia Vadasy
Summary: This guide is used by Sibshops across the United States and worldwide. Chapters two, three, and four offer insight into the sibling perspective by referencing relevant literature and including anecdotal accounts by siblings.