The Elephant in the Playroom: Ordinary Parents Write Intimately and Honestly About the Extraordinary Highs and Heartbreaking Lows of Raising Kids with Special Needs (Hardcover)

by Denise Brodey (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Candid, passionate, personal, and heartbreakingly funny, a view from within the whirlwind of parenting a child with special needs

Three years ago, magazine editor Denise Brodey’s precocious four-year-old son, Toby, was diagnosed with a combination of sensory integration dysfunction and childhood depression. As she struggled to make sense of her new, often chaotic, often lonely world, what she found comforted her most was talking with other harried, hopeful, and insightful parents of kids with special needs, learning how they coped with the feelings they encountered throughout the day.

In The Elephant in the Playroom, moms and dads from across the country write intimately and honestly about the joyful highs and disordered lows of raising children who are "not quite normal." Laying bare the emotional, medical, and social challenges they face, their stories address issues ranging from if and when to medicate a child, to how to get a child who is overly sensitive to the texture of food to eat lunch. Eloquent and honest, the voices in this collection will provide solace and support for the millions of parents whose kids struggle with ADD, ADHD, sensory disorders, childhood depression, Asperger’s syndrome, and autism—as well as the many kids who fall between diagnoses.

Offering readers comfort, community, and much-needed perspective, The Elephant in the Playroom is sure to become essential reading for parents of special needs kids.

About the Author
Denise Brodey has spent the past fifteen years at the country’s top women’s magazines. Her writing has appeared in the New York Times, Glamour, Prevention, Child, People, and O: The Oprah Magazine.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Hudson Street Press; 1 edition (April 19, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1594630356
• ISBN-13: 978-1594630354
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (41 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #166,029 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Must-have for parents of kids with autism, May 20, 2007

By	K. Maxwell (CA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book fills a much-needed void in the literature of books written for parents of special needs children. It's not a how-to manual on getting your child diagnosed, treated, or educated. It doesn't tell you what's the best kind of doctor to go to for your child's disability, or where the best resources are in your state. Instead, it tells very personal stories by parents you recognize, even though you've never met.

Any parent who has felt that agonizing pain of strangers judging them because of how their special needs child behaves in public, or who has been isolated from family or friends because they don't understand that the normal rules of discipline don't apply, should read this book. You will know that you aren't alone.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Heart rendering, April 26, 2007

By	Michelle Rup "missmickey" (Michigan) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The essays in this book are written mostly by mothers and fathers who have children, young, teenagers and adults, with special needs. Their sad and hopeful recollections are so heart rendering and honest. Valiantly the families asked for, fought, and begged for the proper services for their children. Denise Brody opens each chapter with her feelings of the discussed relevant issues, such as medical, educational, social, emotional, and familial. These parents daily their utmost to be their child's best advocate.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If you know any family with a special needs child you must read this book, July 15, 2007

By	L. Joss "parent" (Mokena, IL) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book tells it like it is - the good, the bad and the ugly. As the mother of a child with autism, this book brought out a whole range of emotions for me. I really enjoyed the honesty, and I appreciated that the stories were not all negative. This book should be required reading for any professional who works with special needs families, as well as friends and other family members. If you want to know what it's really like, read this book.