Customer Reviews

Alphabet Kids - From ADD to Zellweger Syndrome: A Guide to Developmental, Neurobiological and Psychological Disorders for Parents and Professionals

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Let me preface this by stating that I am a veteran special educator, and I've worked in special education in the public and non-public settings for many years. I have worked with both self-contained and co-taught classes, individuals in crisis, and I have worked as an administrator.

This book is AMAZING. It is simply written, and easily accessible. It lists in alphabetical order an exhaustive number of the different disabling conditions a special educator or co-teacher, or even an educational administrator might encounter. It explains the etiology of the condition, the behaviors that might be associated with the condition (invaluable for manifestation determinations), implications for academics, socialization, and general growth of the student.

If you have a student with a particular condition, you can look it up here and get a clear, concise explanation of what it means to the special or general educator. It is mercifully free of jargon, and what terms it does use are clearly and cleanly defined.

OK, having praised this book as a resource for special educators, general educators, and administrators, I need to be fair. This is NOT a book for clinicians. There are no decision trees, there is no differential diagnosis. The conditions are not grouped by similarities in etiology or symptom logy. For those things, you need a DSM (Descriptive and Statistical Manual of Mental Illnesses.) The DSM is huge, expensive, and akward, but an invaluable tool for the clinician.
It is difficult for the special educator, and nearly incomprehensible to the layman. This book was aptly described by a co-worker as a 'reader's Digest DSM.'

Further, if you need in depth information on a condition, this is not your best bet. That would be found in a book on that particular condition. This book is thorough, but it is neither complete nor authoritative. This is a collection of research designed for use as a reference.

For that purpose, this is an incredible book. I am amazed that it wasn't written decades ago.

I strongly recommend that every special educator, co-teacher, and educational administrator buy a copy of this book.

After 36 years of teaching I am still excited to find resources in the market place that I can use to expand my knowledge and benefit the students in my classroom. ALPHABET KIDS From ADD to Zellweger Syndrome is one of those must have resource and reference books for every teachers' personal library.
Every classroom teacher can benefit from Robbie Wolivers guide to Developmental, Neurobiological and Psychological Disorders for Parents and Professionals. The information presented for each disorder is in a format that allows for quick access of the material. It is compiled in section subtitles: Sounds Familiar, Did You Know? Signs and Symptoms, Cause, Diagnosis, Treatment, Prognosis and Sources and Resources. This repeated organization for each disorder makes the reading very clear. The real-life accounts presented for each disorder underscores the need for ALPHABET KIDS, so parents and teachers can help with the challenges that face their children and students.
ALPHABET KIDS will be the book I will recommend to the parents-caregivers of those children in need in my classroom.

"Alphabet Kids" is designed as a guide for parents whose children exhibit symptoms of a possible disorder that may impede their physical, psychological, intellectual, or emotional development, but it's a helpful resource for anyone who works with children.

Having taught everything from pre-school to high school, I've often been informed that a student has "Down Syndrome" or "Autism," and I've just as often been baffled as to what such designations meant. In the introduction, author Robbie Woliver states that one is six children are affected by one of more of the disorders in his book, and the reader may feel overwhelmed simply after skimming the table of contents. From ADD (Attention-deficit Disorder) and AN (Anorexia Nervosa) to Dyslexia and ZS (Zellweger Syndrome) and on and on and on, "Alphabet Kids" provides the signs, symptoms, causes, diagnosis and treatment for each, as well as a brief narrative passage describing the condition.

The author cautions the reader that "Alphabet Kids" is not a medical text, and, therefore, should not be considered the final step in determining whether a child is affected, nor is it a comprehensive investigative report. It does not answer the really big question which is why is Autism "the fastest growing, serious developmental disability in the United States and other countries around the world"? In 2007, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that one in 150 children in the U.S. are autistic. In some cases, it's questionable whether a disorder really qualifies as a medical condition. Could a "disorder" merely be an excuse to prescribe medication and expand the market for the pharmaceutical industry?

These are issues worthy of another book. For what it is - a guide to provide clarity where confusion is the norm - "Alphabet Kids" is an exceptional and necessary tool for parents and educators alike.

Brian W. Fairbanks

I really thought I would like this book. I have an autistic daughter and a son that at one point was diagnosed with Aspergers Syndrome, so I am a little familiar with what this book called Alphabet Kids---kids with diagnoses that run the alphabet gambit. However, I was quite disappointed with it.

First of all, like many survey books like this, it really doesn't have a clear use. If your child has one of the syndromes talked about here, you want much more in depth info. If you don't know WHAT your child has, this book is quite useless in figuring it out. It's just in alphabetical order and seems to include disorders mainly based on whether they are often referred to by initials. Even then, I think some were included just to have things starting with certain letters, like Zellweger Syndrome--I am sure there were other more common disorders that didn't make the cut.

Once you find a topic you want to read about, you still don't get much help here. Most topics start with a first person or third person account of someone with what is being talked about, like ADHD. These accounts are very uneven. Some are long and meandering and include details about small things that seem quite unimportant, some describe very untypical presentations of the disorders, and way too many describe adults, not kids. Often the accounts don't mention until near the end the main feature of a disorder, like with hyperlexia---the early reading. Another part of each section is a long list of signs and symptoms. These are totally unweighted---signs that are ALWAYS present are given just as much weight as signs that are rarely present. I think reading a list like this would be totally overwhelming if it was all the information you had.

I do think there is a need for a book parents could use as a reference source to various disorders. However, they need one that is more organized and less general than this one. With the internet, most of us can find out basics on-line. I don't know why people would buy a fairly expensive book to read the few pages that were relevant to them, when even those few pages aren't terribly helpful.

Alphabet Kids lives up to its promise. It delivers an easily digestible book on the most common and some highly uncommon childhood developmental disorders.

While the material itself can be found in any diagnostic manual, Mr. Woliver does a marvelous job of introducing each condition with at least one anecdotal account of or from a person afflicted by the disease. This is extremely valuable both emotionally and mentally for the parent reading about the disorder for the first time and realizing they aren't alone in dealing with it.

Having worked for many years with families struggling to understand these issues, I often thought to myself while reading this book, WHY wasn't this written a decade a go? Of course I know that our understanding of many of this afflictions was not nearly as comprehensive as it is now.

While most parents may not have to face any of the disorders listed in this text, I'd still recommend all new parents be given this to have on hand. The very best way to treat most of the issues that can be managed is by early detection.

I caution against folks using this text to make lay-diagnoses. However, as any parent knows, when you sense something wrong with your child you're probably right. This book is an invaluable reference for helping those confronting such matters seek more focused help early on.

"Alphabet Kids" serves as an indispensable manual for parents, caregivers, special educators and anyone who is interested in understanding the multitude symptoms and possible diagnoses of the various alphabet disorders. The text is written in an easy-to-understand format that makes the work very accessible to laymen.

In the introduction, the author does stress that 'Alphabet Kids" is not a medical text and should not be used in place of an official diagnosis by a qualified professional. That being said, this book does a lot of things - it shows where the various Alphabet disorders intersect, it emphasizes the necessity for early diagnosis and early intervention, the crucial need for parents to act as advocates for their children, and even provides real-life profiles of individuals who are alphabet kids.

Each chapter covers all the disorders under a particular alphabet and discusses the signs and symptoms, causes, diagnosis, treatment and prognosis. At the end of each disorder covered, there is a list of sources and resources. The end of the book also lists an extensive list of sources. It would have been helpful if there had been an index at the end to facilitate looking up the different disorders.

All in all, I found "Alphabet Kids" a well-compiled resource for those with an interest in the subject of alphabet disorders.

I am a counselor in a k- 8 school. Many of the students I meet with have a learning disability. As part of my work I try to help the students and their parents understand their disability and how it impacts their life. This book is such a valuable educational tool! I have found that its simple language makes the information accessible to everyone I have used it with. I have learned about a great many disorders that I hadn't heard of before as well as gaining a better understanding of ones I thought I knew all about! I highly recommend this book to anyone working with children.

I am a special education teacher, having worked with children from K-12. This book is an excellent resource for a succinct explanation of the many conditions and disabilities with which children are faced. Often professionals don't understand the ramifications of the disability and become frustrated with the child. They either refuse to approach the child in an appropriate way to allow him or her to express the potential that is there, or they lower expectations and don't challenge the child. With a resource such as this, a professional who doesn't have time or the expertise to read the DSM, can quickly understand the basics of the condition. I do like the way the related conditions are defined and references are made to the DSM. It is an excellent effort to use scientifically-based information and simplify it for those who work with children and need the information in simplified form. I highly recommend this book for all teachers, related professionals such as related service professionals (SLP, OT, PT) and paraprofessionals, for social workers, child librarians, people who work with children in their places of worship, for anyone working with children. It is also interesting for parents and anyone who is interested in the clinical diversity in the world. I read the whole book and was amazed at the information I learned.

Alphabet Kids: A Guide to Developmental Neurobiological and Psychological Disorders for Parents and Professionals by Robbie Woliver;

I love this book! I am a parent of two children who have diagnoses that fall under the Autism Umbrella. I found this book to be very well organized and easy to read and understand. I highly recommend any and every parent with a child with developmental disabilities to read this book. It will arm the parent with the knowledge and hence, confidence in how best to proceed and manage parenting their special needs children better. I am only sorry it was not written and available to me years ago! An incredible find!

I also recommend it for parents who have not had a diagnoses of their child but question their childrens difficult to understand behaviors. This book will serve as a terrific guide in determining what is going on inside the minds of their children and how best to proceed in dealing with them and help in finding the right resources to help them further.. A true eye opener that will provide answers to questions they are seeking.

It will also serve as an invaluable guide for professionals (teachers and otherwise), whose work brings them in contact with children of special needs, making their jobs easier at the same time as providing a gateway for the children themselves to best reach their highest potential. As Mr Woliver suggests, these professionals all need to work together. It simply makes great sense.

Mr Woliver is a gifted, wise and fascinating author who has thankfully provided a long overdue, comprehensive book that is perfect for everyday use by common/lay persons such as myself as well as professionals. A sort of bible if you will, for those concerned about, working with and or trying to understand children with developmental disabilities!

I have formed a list of persons, both parents and professionals, I know would benefit from Mr Wolivers book who will be gifted with it from me shortly!

I just finished Alphabet Kids: A Guide to Developmental Neurobiological and Psychological Disorders for Parents and Professionals by Robbie Woliver. It contains a great deal of information that all parents who have children with developmental disabilities should have. It is easy to use, very well organized and is extremely readable. It provides parents with "signs and symptoms" as well as diagnoses and treatments related to a range of disabilities from A to Z. The book also contains case studies of families who have children with disabilities to provide parents with inspirational life stories related to each disorder. This presents the clinical information within a context that parents can more readily understand. Having written several textbooks myself, I know the amount of work that went into this wonderful book. I recommend it highly to parents.

Dr. Ellenmorris Tiegerman
Founder and Executive Director
School for Language and Communication Development