Product Review

(About.com 2012 Readers' Choice Award Winner, Favorite New Special-Needs Parenting Book!)

DOWN SYNDROME PARENTING 101 is a savvy book for parents, grandparents, teachers, and anyone who shares life with a person with Down syndrome! It's full of uplifting advice and best practices gleaned from the author's personal and professional experiences raising a son, now an adult, and teaching educators and parents how to teach children with Down syndrome to read.

DOWN SYNDROME PARENTING 101 offers inspired takes on a host of important issues, from learning to recognize and celebrate your child's personality and gifts to finding a great teacher for him, and from insisting your child pull his own weight to giving your child his space as an adult. The author--equal parts mentor, humorist, enthusiast, and realist--takes readers by the hand and walks them through the various life stages, experiences, and people they will encounter with their child including: getting to know and fall in love with your child, interacting with medical professionals, literacy, discipline, school, transitioning, and independence.

Chapters are short, a plus for busy parents, and can be read individually or sequentially. Throughout, many characters--the author's son, friends, and students--appear, serving as anecdotal evidence in support of the author's points and adding to the storytelling effect. As an added bonus, the book includes a Foreword by Martha Beck, parent of a child with Down syndrome and author of the New York Times bestseller, EXPECTING ADAM. Turn to this upbeat book for credible, realistic advice and for a dose of bibliotherapy when you need validation and perspective.