Ordinary Families Special Children

This popular clinical reference and text provides a multisystems perspective on childhood disability and its effects on family life. The volume examines how child, family, ecological, and sociocultural variables intertwine to shape the ways families respond to disability, and how professionals can promote coping, adaptation, and empowerment. Accessible and engaging, the book integrates theory and research with vignettes and firsthand reflections from family members.

This comprehensive and clinically useful resource provides a multisystems perspective on childhood disability and its effects on family life. The volume examines the many variables that shape the ways families respond to childhood disability and the extent to which they can overcome the physical, cultural, and social barriers to a satisfactory lifestyle. Integrating theory and research with evocative first-hand accounts from parents, siblings, and grandparents, the authors demonstrate how to apply a social and family systems-based approach to assessment and intervention with diverse families.

An ordinary day in an ordinary neighborhood turns out to be quite extraordinary in this moving story about the circle of life. It’s an average day in the neighborhood—children play, roses are watered, and a crow watches over it all. But then two visitors arrive at two houses, one to help a family say hello to a new baby and one to help a family say goodbye to a beloved pet. This sensitive picture book takes a gentle look at life, death, the bonds of family, and the extraordinary moments that make ordinary days so special.