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Type of bind: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 649
EAN num: 9781885477873
ISBN number: 1885477872
Label: Future Horizons
Manufacturer: Future Horizons
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 373
Printing Date: September 16, 2002
Publishing house: Future Horizons
Sale Popularity Level: 935445
Studio: Future Horizons
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How can my son develop friendships when he has poor social skills?
What can we do to get the school services that our daughter needs?
Anne Addison is a mother of a boy with ADHD, Asperger’s Syndrome and developmental delays, who shares her techniques and strategies for overcoming the little and large challenges of raising an exceptional child. Translating her successful business skills and health care knowledge to the world of special needs, Anne shows how she determined her way into her son’s world to learn what she must do to change the course of his life.
From every day life skills such as getting dressed and going to bed to crafting a circle of friends, effectively working with the school, encouraging hobbies and interests and negotiating public situations, Anne shares easy-to-implement strategies and solutions to the myriad of problems facing parents and those who work with children who are behaviorally challenging. One Small Starfish is a deep and compassionate story of one mother’s struggle and triumph to raise a child beyond what the world thought he could be. A must-read for parents, educators, therapists and anyone working with special needs children.
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Rated by buyers -
This is one of the best books about a child with Asperger's that I have ever read. Despite the word "perseverate" which is a damning and harmful word (it also speaks to intolerance) which is better replaced with "repetition/special interests," this is an excellent work. Anne Addison deserves a round of applause for this stellar work. I love the Beatle influence by entitling a chapter "Getting By With a Little Help From Your Friends." That Beatle influence - it's a good one!
Her second child, Jack was born in 1991, a year after his sister Sarah. While Sarah was described as a low maintenance child, Jack had behavioral and sensory issues from the beginning. I like the way Addison looks back at Jack's early behavior and realizes what might have caused it, such as a meltdown he had at age 2 when he wanted a juice box while visiting an unfamiliar relative.
I also like the way she describes her son's schooling; the resource tools she used and the overall layout of Jack's classrooms. Jack initially had a good school experience in pre-kindergarten, but that came to a crashing end the following year. Claustrophobic and highly active (Jack was also described as being ADD/ADHD), Jack was forced to sit in a closet for a time out. The boy was understandably scared out of his mind.
When Jack was in second grade, his world unravelled. He had a meltdown in class; was not well matched for the teacher he had that year and engaged in dangerous behavior such as jumping out of a moving car. He was subsequently hospitalized and the experience sounded nothing short of traumatic. Jack's day in the emergency ward until he was sprung was horrifying enough, but the two month sentence he served in a local hospital (December 1998 - February 1999) sounded horrifying to me. The one thing I took issue with was Addison's wondering if being there on Christmas would affect Jack. Of course it would! The boy probably felt he was being punished and to serve time in a hospital on Christmas - ouch! On Christmas Eve, he wrote a note saying he wanted to get out of that place and who could blame him? Another horrifying event was Jack being locked naked in a seclusion room while Addison waved good-bye. That was very upsetting and one can't help but wonder if Jack felt that was being sanctioned.
The only good thing to come of this experience that I could see was that Jack was on a strict behavior modification program. That helped him learn what social boundaries are. Once released, Jack attended the hospital school (Partial Hospital Program - PHP) until more suitable placement could be found.
After many trials and errors with medication and different types of therapies, including alternative methods such as one that involved manipulating the boy's head and neck, an appropriate school was found for Jack. Readers soar with his progress and growing development.
Since autism/Asperger's (a/A) is a sensory condition, Jack's behavior made perfect sense from a sensory, sensible standpoint. He disliked haircuts because he didn't like the way shorn hair felt on his skin. He found parties too loud and confusing. He understandably didn't like the physical therapies because of his sensitive sensory issues. He had to follow a detailed, routine sequence to perform many routine tasks such as dressing and brushing his teeth.
There were two things that I found confusing: In the chapter entitled What's Going On With the Other Kids in the Family, John is called "Ken" twice. In the Sample Medication Log, Jack is called "William" twice. Who was Ken? Also, the chapters did not line up with the Table of Contents and were off by one number.
Parts of this book were funny. When Jack was asked to cheer a neighbor's daughter whose mother had just died, Jack juggled pillows because he said he thought that would cheer her up. Jack's behavior was logical and he was doing what he thought was right at the time. I thought that was funny.
I like the way strategies are included in this book along with a good resource guide. This is the book parents of children on the spectrum have prayed for. Be sure to get this and make it a very close friend. You will find it to be an invaluable resource and you will be mighty glad to have it close at hand.
Rated by buyers -
This is a great personal story of a mother's struggles and successes in raising a son with Asperger's. After years of meeting with teams of professionals and individuals in the field, she has come up with alot of very useful information for anyone that has or works with kids with asperger's.
Rated by buyers -
This is a touching, in-depth look at a mother's personal account of life and daily struggles of having a child with autism. She tells of the importance not just to "survive", but really deals with one's own attitude and how that affects the overall picture. I thought One Small Starfish was very well-written, stressing the need to cheer your child on and teaching them to be the best they can be.
Rated by buyers 
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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.
Rated by buyers -
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.
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