When Marvin’s name is not on the class roster on the first day of school, he feels like he’s one too many – in fact he doesn’t even have a desk. Plus, Marvin can’t seem to catch on to reading as quickly as the other kids. Perhaps a little help from his teacher and his parents will give Marvin the boost he needs.

The author lays out a clear vision of what responsive middle level teaching should be. This is a book for all reasons - help for the novice teacher, support for the mid-career teacher wanting to improve her craft, and inspiration and confirmation for the later-career teacher as well. Part I creates a culture of learning, leading to Part II and many specific ideas on promoting higher student achievement through innovative and accomplished practice. Part III cycles back to the middle school context - effective teams, teacher-student advisories, outdoor adventures, and working with parents.

Negotiating the Special Education Maze is one of the best tools available to parents and teachers for developing an effective education program for their child or student. Every step is explained, from eligibility and evaluation to the Individualized Education Program (IEP) and beyond. This edition covers changes in disability laws, including the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). It reviews early intervention services for children from birth to age three, and for those who have young adults with special needs, it also covers transitioning out of school.

Do you know a child who is bright, charming and articulate, but has no friends? A child who showed early signs of intelligence, but is now floundering, academically and emotionally? Children with Nonverbal Learning Disabilities (NLD) are an enigma. They’re children with extraordinary gifts and heartbreaking challenges that go far beyond the classroom. Nonverbal Learning Disabilities at Home explores the variety of daily life problems children with NLD may face, and provides practical strategies for parents to help them cope and grow, from preschool age through their challenging adolescent years. The author, herself the parent of a child with NLD, provides solutions to the everyday challenges of the disorder, from early warning signs and self-care issues to social skills and personal safety. User-friendly and highly practical, this book is an essential guide for parents in understanding and living with NLD, and professionals working with these very special children.

In Overcoming Underachieving two nationally recognized experts in children’s school problems show you how to become your child’s advocate, coach, and guide through the educational process. Using numerous case examples, they help you pinpoint your child’s unique learning patterns and the problems that interfere with learning, behavior, and achievement. This information-packed book provides dozens of creative, parent-tested tools to help your child overcome difficulties with reading, math, handwriting, study skills, memorization, attention span, and many other problems that affect school success.

Peer Power explodes existing myths about children’s friendships, power, and popularity, and the gender chasm between elementary school boys and girls. Based on eight years of intensive insider participant observation in their own children’s community, the authors discuss the vital components in the lives of preadolescents: popularity, friendships, cliques, social status, social isolation, loyalty, bullying, boy-girl relationships, and afterschool activities.

In Raising Cain, Dan Kindlon, Ph.D., and Michael Thompson, Ph.D., two of the country’s leading child psychologists, share what they have learned in more than thirty-five years of combined experience working with boys and their families. They reveal a nation of boys who are hurting—sad, afraid, angry, and silent. Kindlon and Thompson set out to answer this basic, crucial question: What do boys need that they’re not getting? They illuminate the forces that threaten our boys, teaching them to believe that “cool” equals macho strength and stoicism. Cutting through outdated theories of “mother blame,” “boy biology,” and “testosterone,” the authors shed light on the destructive emotional training our boys receive—the emotional miseducation of boys.

In this practical handbook for parents, clinical psychologists Brooks and Goldstein draw on their considerable experience working with children and families to demonstrate that parents’ core goal should be to instill in their children a sense of inner recourse. “A resilient child is an emotionally healthy child, equipped to successfully confront challenges and bounce back from setbacks,” they contend, and to this end they provide 10 parenting “guideposts” for nurturing the kind of resilience that helps children thrive.

In Ready to Learn, Stan Goldberg draws on thirty years of clinical experience (and personal experience as the father of two kids with learning differences) to provide an easy-to-use guide to helping children overcome any problems and improve their learning skills.

This practical volume is designed to help school practitioners and educators build stronger connections with families and enhance student achievement in grades K-12. Beyond simply getting parents involved in schoolwork, the book describes how positive family-school relationships can socialize and support children and adolescents as learners throughout their academic careers. Identified are key pathways by which professionals and parents can develop common goals for learning and behavior, a shared sense of accountability, better communication, and a willingness to listen to different perspectives. The focus is on assumptions, goals, attitudes, behaviors, and strategies that professionals can draw on both to assess school-home connections that are currently in place and to implement new, more productive practices. Grounded in theory and research, the book features case examples, self-reflective exercises, and discussion questions in every chapter.