Books, Websites and Audio/Video Clips
BOOKS
Ayres, Jean A
Sensory Integration and Learning Disorders
Dr. Jean Ayres began her scientific approach to studying sensory integrative function at a time when few occupational therapists were interested in research. She was dedicated to providing services to children who would otherwise be lost in the education and health care systems. Her resolute drive to improve the knowledge and application of sensory integrative principles through continuous research was founded on the desire to help these children.
Dr. Ayres was concerned about major problems confronting the use of sensory integrative theory. These problems included inappropriate application of sensory integrative theory and unrealistic claims of treatment efficacy. She lamented the theory was either accepted with absolute enthusiasm or rejected entirely. "It is believed to be either omnipotent or no good at all," Dr. Ayres said, "and knowledge simply does not develop that way."
Dr. Ayres dedicated her life to the ongoing development of sensory integration theory and practice and the children whom it benefited.
Beck, Martha
Expecting Adam, A True Story of Birth, Rebirth and Everyday Magic
“It is hardly important that this is a story about bearing and raising an exceptional child—a son with Down syndrome—in exceptional circumstances. Beck is telling it for all women who have raised exceptional children and ended up feeling privileged, and for all mothers who have found communities that put a high value on material accomplishments simply unbearable.” – The New York Times Book Review
Bluestone, Judith
The Fabric of Autism: Weaving the Threads Into a Cogent Theory
Infused with rare insights into the impetus behind autistic behaviors, The Fabric of Autism weaves the various threads of autism into a "make-sense" theory, hard won through personal experience and decades of study. From neuroscientific research, explanations of developmental processes and clinical outcomes emerge the probable causes of autism. The Fabric of Autism is both a significant clinical work and a moving memoir that illuminates the humanity hidden beneath the bewildering facade of autism.
Bluestone, Judith and Brenner, Lisa
The Churkendoose Anthology
The Churkendoose Anthology is a pioneering approach that applies neuroscience to enhance human capability, offering hope to families and professionals struggling to meet the challenges of individuals with neurological differences.
Dengate, Sue
FED UP Understanding How Food Affects Your Child and What You Can Do About It
Based on new Australian research, Fed Up is Sue Dengate's comprehensive analysis of the effects of foods on children's behavior, learning ability and health. This book is a guide for pressured parents and a revelation for puzzled teachers. Fed Up helps parents to manage their children's behavior and learning problems without medication using remarkable new findings from Australian research into food intolerance.
Eikenboom, Joep
Foundations of the Extra Lesson
The exercises by Audrey McAllen as published in The Extra Lesson are not just an example of what an individual teacher can develop when confronted with the needs of her students. Audrey developed an archetypal concept, deeply rooted in Rudolf Steiner’s anthroposophy, which goes far beyond the level of the individual. The exercises address the spirit forces within the body and integrate the movements of the students into the universal movements of the earth. Practicing the exercises oneself will reveal their effectiveness; studying the concepts from which these exercises are developed will deepen our understanding of why they work.
Goddard Blythe, Sally
Reflexes, Learning and Behavior: A Window into the Child’s Mind,
A non-invasive approach to solving learning and behavior problems
Few people are aware of the foundational role that primitive reflexes play in child development. While primitive reflexes do not directly affect cognitive development, their presence, when they should have integrated by the age of 3, may produce a variety of behavior, learning and social challenges. Sally Goddard does a spectacular job of outlining the development of reflexes and their purpose from a scientific perspective and why they affect learning and behavior. The purpose of this book is not only to provide the why, but the how to identify the child at risk and overcome the obstacles which keep the children from succeeding in school and life. This book includes selected papers by Sally that are brilliantly presented.
Goddard Blythe, Sally
The Well Balanced Child: Movement and Early Learning
The Well Balanced Child is a passionate manifesto for the ‘whole body’ approach to learning which integrates the brain, senses, movement and play. This fully revised edition includes a new chapter on what parents can do to help children reach their full potential, physically and mentally.
Gold, Seva J.
If Kids Just Came With Instruction Sheets!
Whether we are raising our own children or helping or helping those of the global village, this book deals with connections, not just single answers. Whether we are exploring behavior problems, learning disabilities, attention problems, delinquency or drug abuse, rarely does not just one remedy apply. Neither do all remedies apply to every child.
Even if only one of the many approaches suggested here helps only one child in a hundred, and that one child in a hundred happens to be your child, or a child in your acquaintance, this may be the most important book you ever read.
Hannaford, Carla Ph.D.
Smart Moves: Why Learning is Not All in Your Head
The body’s role in thinking and learning is presented for the first time in popular readable format, thoroughly supported by scientific research. Neurophysiologist and educator Carla Hannaford, tells us why we must move—and shows us how to move to fully activate our learning potential. Her remarkable insights will be of great and immediate value to learners of all ages, from gifted to the so-called learning-disabled.
Hannaford, Carla, Ph.D.
The Dominance Factor: How Knowing Your Dominant Eye, Ear, Brain, Hand & Foot Can Improve Your Learning
Neuroscientist and educator Dr. Carla Hannaford charts the fascinating frontier of knowledge about the mind/body connection and its impact on learning and thinking at all ages. Her earlier book, Smart Moves, Why Learning is Not All In Your Head, has been hailed for its insights into the body’s role in learning. Joseph Chilton Pearce calls it “a major work of profound importance to our understanding of child development and education.”
Heen, Sheila, Patton, Bruce and Stone, Douglas
Difficult Conversations: How To Discuss What Matters Most
Much as we try to avoid them, difficult conversations are part of life. And we often handle them badly. This ground breaking book will give you the know-how to tackle even the most challenging conversations: know when to speak and when to listen, stop laying blame and start being positive, the of feelings yours and theirs, say what you mean and don’t make others guess, understand what’s not being said as well as what is and transform a battle into a learning conversation.
Holt, John
How Children Learn
This enduring classic of educational thought offers teachers and parents deep, original insight into the nature of early learning. John Holt was the first to make clear that, for small children, “learning is as natural as breathing.” In this delightful yet profound book, he looks at how we learn to talk, to read, to count and to reason, and how we can nurture and encourage these natural abilities in our own children.
Koester, Cecilia, M.Ed.
Movement Based Learning for Children of All Abilities
In this practical, insightful book you will find an approach to learning that has almost been forgotten. The activities in the book are based on the idea that all movement “grows the brain.” The skills involved in the areas of comprehension, organization, physical mobility, and the ability to focus or communicate are addressed in a clear and easy to implement style. Cecilia Koester, an educator in the field of special needs for over twenty-five years, presents in this book, ways in which therapists, parents and teachers can use movement to enhance learning for every child—and more specifically, children who have special needs.
Koing, Karl
The First Three Years of the Child: Walking, Speaking, Thinking
The author examines the first three years of the life of a child in relation to the three major achievements of that time: learning to walk, to speak and to think.
Dr. Konig makes his philosophical approach clear at the outset when he says that one is dealing here with something ‘more than instinct, more than adaptation, more than the unfolding of inherited faculties.’ These are the three basic faculties that make us human, and the acquisition; Konig argues is ‘an act of grace’ in every child. He goes on to provide a detailed analysis of this extraordinarily complex process.
McAllen, Audrey
Teaching Children Handwriting
Teaching Children Handwriting is not just another book about teaching block printing and cursive script. It is a reference for the whole language arts curriculum for the first three grades and beyond. It begins with the young child’s orientation in space and presents written language in the context of the child’s development of human consciousness. With practical suggestions for activities, posture, choice of writing instruments and much more, it also gives helpful insights into learning difficulties that can be seen through writing.
McAllen, Audrey
The Extra Lesson
This revised and expanded edition of The Extra Lesson gives careful and thorough instructions for the remedial drawing, painting and movement exercises developed by Audrey McAllen. The difficulties experienced by students struggling to learn writing, reading and arithmetic are addressed by the activities described in this book. Students of elementary and high school age are able to find a new connection to who they are and to their tasks, thus overcoming obstacles to their learning.
McAllen, Audrey, Et. Al.
Learning Difficulties: A Guide for Teachers, Waldorf Insights and Approaches
“The increasing recognition of Audrey McAllen’s work in many parts of the world is due to her unique insights arising from Rudolf Steiner’s work. I have the highest regard for this hands-on approach, which is neither curative nor medical, but springs entirely out of her long experience in the field of Waldorf pedagogy. I hope that her work will receive the recognition it strongly deserves.”
- Rene M. Querido, Former director of Rudolf Steiner College in Fair Oaks, California.
Pollock, Joy and Waller, Elisabeth
English Grammar and Teaching Strategies,
Lifeline to Literacy
Many Teachers were not exposed at school to rigorous instruction in grammar and now find it a daunting subject to teach. This book aims to demystify grammar and equip any teacher to teach it in the classroom. Carefully set out for ease of reference, each grammatical term is clearly defined. Varieties of usage are illustrated and teaching strategies can easily be extended according to the age and key stage of the pupil. These strategies are both for spoken and written language. They can be used for the whole class, small groups with pupils who have special educational needs and in classes for English as an additional language. Teachers who are anxious about grammar will welcome this "lifeline to literacy" for themselves and their pupils.
"The teacher of any age group who uses Joy Pollock’s ideas in the making of materials and in the preparation of class lessons will be well equipped to deal with her pupils’ spelling difficulties in an individual and systematic way." - The Guardian
Rahima Baldwin Dancy
You Are Your Child’s First Teacher
Early childhood Waldorf educator Rahima Baldwin Dancy speaks up for a fresh sensibility about raising children, one that helps children be children while enabling you to recognize your important role as a parent. Completely revised and updated from the 1989 first edition, You Are Your Child’s First Teacher offers new ways of seeing and understanding your child that will provide fertile ground for your own creativity and help increase your confidence in what you are doing. Making the most of your magical years from birth to age six will enrich the lives of you and your child now and for years to come.
Rosenberg, Marshall B. Ph.D.
The Heart of Social Change
This practical booklet will help you learn how to differentiate between the basic human needs you want to serve and the strategies you use to meet those needs. In turn, you’ll deepen your connection to the values that motivate your involvement.
Rosenberg, Marshall B. Ph.D.
We Can Work It Out
In more than forty years of mediating conflicts between parents and children, husbands and wives, management and workers, police and communities, and warring groups around the world—Marshall Rosenberg has learned it is possible to resolve conflicts peacefully, and to everyone’s satisfaction. Using the powerful process of Nonviolent Communication it’s not about compromise—its creating a caring and respectful quality of connection between parties in conflict.
Rosenberg, Marshall B. Ph.D.
Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life
Rosenberg founded a worldwide network of trainers who use his four-step model for expressing and listening:
- Facts (vs. evaluation or exaggeration)
- Feelings (emotion vs. I feel like you…)
- Needs/desires (clarify the larger issue)
- Requests (measurable and provides an opportunity for success)
- Let go, detach from the outcome. It’s not a demand.
WEBSITES
Bal-A-Vis-X: is a series of Balance/Auditory/Vision eXercises, of varied complexity, all of which are deeply rooted in rhythm. Exercises are done with sand-filled bags and racquetballs, sometimes while standing on a balance board.
The Center for Nonviolent Communication
First Class Reaches Beyond Labels to Enhance Human Functioning
The Institute for Neuro - Physiological Psychology
Audio and Video Clips
It Happens All The Time In Heaven
It happens all the time in heaven,
And some day
It will begin to happen
Again on earth –
That men and women who are married,
And men and men who are
Lovers,
And women and women
Who give each other
Light,
Often will get down on their knees
And while so tenderly
Holding their lover’s hand,
With tears in their eyes,
Will sincerely speak, saying,
“My dear,
How can I be more loving to you;
How can I be more
Kind?”
- Hafiz, The Subject Tonight is Love