Best Friends, Worst Enemies: Understanding the Social Lives of Children

This book deals with visual thinkers and computer data visualization, neurological research and gifted persons with learning difficulties — examining the role of visual-spatial strengths and verbal weaknesses in the lives of ten historical persons, including Albert Einstein, Michael Faraday, James Clerk Maxwell, Sir Winston Churchill, Gen. George Patton and William Butler Yeats.

In the Mind’s Eye was selected as one of the “Outstanding Academic Books of 1998” by Choice magazine, a publication of the Association of College & Research Libraries of the American Library Association. In January 1999, the book was designated as among the “best of the best” for 1998, being among 13 books in the psychology category recommended for inclusion in college and university libraries. Selection for the award is based on “overall excellence in presentation and scholarship, importance relative to other literature in the field, distinction as a first treatment.”

Ted Cheltoni, 12, has a good friend, a great girlfriend, and would have a pretty normal life if it weren’t for his little brother, Harry. Harry’s not bad on purpose, but Ted would sure like to fix the kid up so everybody would stop asking him to undo Harry’s hyperactive, outrageous behavior. The tension at home gets so bad that Ted’s afraid his parents will get divorced. One day, after Harry finds out he’s suspended from school and kicked off the bus for the following week, Ted finds him packing to leave home. Ted knows he has to do something, and quick, to help his little brother.

Today’s parents are increasingly concerned about the reading and spelling skills taught in schools and are taking charge of their children’s education. Full of ideas and suggestions — from innovative preschool exercises to techniques that older children can use to increase reading speed and comprehension — Straight Talk About Reading will instantly help any parent lay a solid foundation for their child’s formative educational years.

Twenty talented, successful people with LD tell their own stories in this inspiring book. Some are famous (one received a MacArthur Foundation Award), most are not, but all are positive role models for people with or without LD. B&W photos.

This inspiring resource shows parents of children with disabilities how to obtain the educational services their children rightfully deserve. It examines the internal workings of the education system, reveals the challenges that await, lists the services that are available, and discusses the rights that are federally guaranteed. Complete with a resource list, directions for filing a complaint, and explanations of relevant legislation and regulations, this powerful handbook can make a difference for parents as well as educators.

This book tells the stories of eight people who never stopped trying. From humiliation in school and the anxiety of coping with everyday life unable to read street signs and menus, to shopping, driving, and working, these people lived in a world of dashed hopes and dreams — regardless of outward appearances — until they discovered their learning disability and unlocked their true gifts. Anyone who has ever endured a failure in school will appreciate the heartache of people who knew nothing but failure, yet held great potential.

Called “retarded,” “lazy,” “immature,” “delinquent,” and more, they managed to get by, all the while thinking that deep down they were worthless people—that everything anyone ever said about them was true. Except, as they would discover later in life, it wasn’t. Proceeds from the sale of The Pretenders will be used to further the work of the H.E.L.P. Program.