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June 02, 2007
SWAN - Syndromes Without A Name
It is plenty hard enough to care for a child with special needs when we know what's wrong. Knowing what's wrong tells us a little bit more about what to do, what might or might not work to help, gives us an extra tool for talking to schools, insurance companies, and other support resources. But when you don't have an official diagnosis, doesn't that mean nothing is wrong? Of course not! But it makes all those other aspects just that much more difficult.
We are glad to find out that there is an organization to provide support and help to parents of children with special needs whose special needs don't quite fit into a nice tidy package.
Syndromes Without A Name (SWAN):
USA: http://www.undiagnosed-usa.org/
UK: http://www.undiagnosed.org.uk/
Australia: http://www.swanaus.bigpondhosting.com/
"It is estimated that between 30 and 40% of special needs children do not have a definitive diagnosis."
Here are some more articles about the problems of lacking a diagnosis and what you can do.
Crow, Kristyn. Agonizing Journey: The Undiagnosed Child. 24 Jul 2006 09:12 PM Families.com: http://special-needs.families.com/blog/agnoizing-journey-the-undiagnosed-child
GM.TV: Undiagnosed illness: http://www.gm.tv/index.cfm?articleid=20188
Posted by pfa at 11:26 AM | Comments (0)
June 01, 2007
UPDATE: Help! I'm Being Bullied Now Available in US
Remember last October when we mentioned a really innovative and excellent new book on bullying? At that time the book was only available in the UK, but now we are delighted to announce it is available through a US distributor!
Help! 'm Being Bullied by Emily Lovegrove is very highly recommended, and has been very much in demand locally. What makes it so unusual is that it is so practical and useful and doable.
This book is designed to be used in close partnership with the parent and child, giving tips and tricks that can be easily remembered when under stress about how to react and defuse situations. It gives a very clear methodology with instructions for how to remember the strategy, which approaches word best in whicih situations, how to avoid escalation -- all with training exercises to help the child remember what to do and help the parent know how to work with the child and give the child appropriate cues.
You can find Help! I'm Being Bullied listed on page 29 of teh Sping 2007 catalog for this distributor. The catalog is available as a PDF on their web site.
Dufour Editions
http://www.dufoureditions.com/
Phone:
1-800-869-5677
610-458-5005
Address:
PO Box 7
Chester Springs, PA
19425
Posted by pfa at 10:17 AM | Comments (0)