One Small Starfish [Hardcover]

Anne Addison (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 16, 2002

Winner of an iParenting Media Award!

Anne Addison was overwhelmed when she brought Jack home from the hospital. In those first few days, Anne had a vague intuition that something was not right. Two years later, Jack was diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, speech and language delays, sensory integration problems, and subsequently, was found to have Asperger’s Syndrome. In this book, Anne shares the easy-to-implement strategies and solutions that she and her family found to the myriad of problems facing parents and those who work with children who are behaviorally challenging, from everyday life skills such as getting dressed and going to bed to crafting a circle of friends, effectively working with the school, encouraging hobbies and interests, and negotiating public situations. Winner of a Benjamin Franklin Award, One Small Starfish is a deep and compassionate story of one mother’s struggle and triumph to raise a child beyond what the world thought he could be.

 

Editorial Reviews

Review

“This personal story about raising one little boy will resonate with every parent of a child with significant attentional, socio-emotional, and sensory issues. The strategies for helping children like Jack are top-notch.”
Carol Stock Kranowitz, M.A., author of The Out-of-Sync Child and The Out of Sync Child Video
 

“Anne Addison will make you laugh, cry, gasp, and think. Perhaps her greatest gift, however, is that One Small Starfish will allow you to see how one family worked together to address every hurdle, every setback, and every triumph. The guidance Anne Addison offers will help every family!”
Michael D. Powers, PsyD, Director, Center for Children with Special Needs
 

“One Small Starfish is one large contribution to assist parents and other family members in understanding what they really need to do at the hands-on level, when dealing with the day-to-day challenges of a child with severe developmental, emotional, or behavioral disorders. This is One Small Starfish you won’t throw back.”
Peter S. Jensen, MD, Department of Child Psychiatry, Columbia University

 

About the Author

Anne Addison’s marketing success in the consumer packaged goods industry, founding of a management consulting firm, and health care background did not prepare her for the enormous challenges that laid ahead for her as a mother, but her courage, spirit, and faith did. Driven by a desire to understand and connect with a child who was in constant motion, Anne determined her way into her son’s world to learn what she must do to change the course of his life.

Anne Addison graduated from Georgetown University with a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy and earned a Masters of Business Arts from Kellogg School of Management. She worked for nearly ten years in marketing management for several Fortune 100 companies before she launched her own management consulting practice. Today, her son is a strong student and has been involved in outside sports, church choir, and music over the years. Anne lives in Connecticut with her husband and two children.

 

Product Details

• Hardcover: 373 pages
• Publisher: Future Horizons (September 16, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1885477872
• ISBN-13: 978-1885477873
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.3 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,629,861 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #73 in Books > Health, Fitness & Dieting > Personal Health > Children's Health > Learning Disorders

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars I'm having a hard time with this one, June 6, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: One Small Starfish (Hardcover)

As the mother of a young boy with ASD, I am a devotee of 1st person narratives dealing with the autism experience. Anne Addison's book shares many practical, fairly easy to implement suggestions, but the book got under my skin as well. This book is indeed easy to use and read. However, the author just has too much money to throw at situations to create a realistic portrait of raising a special needs child. I cannot "hire" the "help" that Anne is able to hire for fulltime babysitters, housecleaners, and random other folks who keep hearth and home for her. Nor can I afford (and I don't believe that the majority of us out there can) to fly my child around the country to the have consultations with the leading experts in the field, as Addison repeatedly does. Yet, these means are frequently recommended to the readers.

Addison also came off like a "supermom," even though her advice was to try not to be one. I'm sorry, bot only a person who does not have to clean, watch her children, run errands and cook is going to be able to write all of the letters to insurance companies, teachers and other team members that she recommends.

This book did have some valuable insights. Her advice on hospitalization was particularly compelling, and worth the read for that alone.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A sister speaks, November 8, 2002

A Kid's Review

This review is from: One Small Starfish (Hardcover)

My own brother has the exact same problems as the boy in the story. I am 13 years old, and it is hard to cop with someone who is not like the other brothers and sisters that you want and that your friends have. This sister dealt with the brother in different ways, helping me to find what works for my family. This is the best book that i have read yet! It helped me so much more then i would have thought. I would recommend it to anyone who has a sibling, it helped me to understand that someone else was dealing with the same issues as i was.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "Parent friendly", highly recommended observations, January 6, 2003

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: One Small Starfish (Hardcover)

One Small Starfish: A Mother's Everyday Advice, Survival Tactics & Wisdom For Raising A Special Needs Child is the true story of Anne Addison, a mother who worked hard to raise a child diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Asperger's Syndrome, and developmental delays, and sensory integration problems. Facing the formidable challenges of teaching a child who is constantly pulled onto paths only he understands, Addison mastered the basic necessities of familial survival and helped her son learn how to cope in a dangerous world. One Small Starfish is a 372-page compendium of practical, "parent friendly", highly recommended observations and experiences from which the mothers and fathers of special needs children can draw information, advice, and hope. Addison's son is currently a successful student in a typical fourth grade classroom and, as other boys his age, actively participates in sports, church choir, and music.