JKP author Cara Koscinski MOT, OTR/L, The Pocket Occupational Therapist for Families of Children With Special Needs, explains how play can benefit your special needs child. Occupational Therapy, Developing Skills Through Play Occupational therapists are fortunate enough to be a critical part of the treatment team for children with special needs.   Any difficulties children may…

By Charlotte E. Thompson, M.D., author of Grandparenting a Child with Special Needs.  Having a brother or sister with special needs can create life-long emotional problems for the siblings unless they receive a great deal of one-to-one attention and love. If the parents have to spend long periods of time in an intensive care nursery with…

This article was written by Patricia Irwin Johnston, author of Adoption is a Family Affair!: What Relatives and Friends Must Know (Revised Edition, Jessica Kingsley Publishers, Jan. 2012), originally published by Perspectives Press. It first appeared as an article in Adoption Today magazine. The Commitment What’s wrong with this picture? Bob and Alice met through…

“It’s a Small World, Asper-All” A Global Glimpse at Your FAQ’s (Installment #1) Following a whirlwind tour of the United Kingdom, author Jennifer Cook O’Toole (Asperkids, The Asperkid’s (Secret) Book of Social Rules) shares her thoughts on the universality of the Aspie world. She highlights some of the key questions she’s been asked, and offers…

This article written by Vera I. Fahlberg, M.D., ancillary to material from A Child’s Journey Through Placement (Jessica Kingsley Publishers, Jan. 2012), originally published by Perspectives Press. The article first appeared in Pact Press, the magazine of Pact: An Adoption Alliance. The Life Story Book Every individual is entitled to his or her own history. It…

JKP author Kate Reynolds (Party Planning for Children and Teens on the Autism Spectrum: How to Avoid Meltdowns and Have Fun!) gives tips about planning and enjoying a ‘Not-So-Scary Halloween’ with your child on the autism spectrum: Not-So-Scary Halloween Three years ago I took my two children to Disneyland in Florida for Halloween. At the…

The Who Cares? conference will examine the unique challenges facing adults with autism as they age, and present best practice from experts in the field including JKP authors Dr Wendy Lawson, author of The Passionate Mind and Understanding and Working with the Spectrum of Autism, and Professor Digby Tantam, author of Autism Spectrum Disorders Through the Life…

This article written by Mary Hopkins-Best, adapted from her book Toddler Adoption: The Weaver’s Craft (Jessica Kingsley Publishers, Jan. 2012), originally published by Perspectives Press, first appeared in the Autumn, 1997 issue of The Post, the newsletter of the Parent Network for the Post Institutionalized Child: More and more adopted children are arriving home between…

JKP author Eileen Riley-Hall (Parenting Girls on the Autism Spectrum) discusses growing as a parent along with your special needs child in her new article for the New York Times blog Motherlode- Adventures in Parenting: “My 15 year-old daughter Lizzie is very angry with me right now. Over breakfast this morning, she sputtered through tears:…

JKP author Eileen Riley-Hall (Parenting Girls on the Autism Spectrum: Overcoming the Challenges and Celebrating the Gifts) has written a helpful article for the Special-ism website about how to structure summer free time for kids with special needs, specifically making use of summer camps. Here is a brief summary of the pointers she offers: My first…