Customer Reviews

Special Children, Challenged Parents: The Struggles and Rewards of Raising a Child With a Disability

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Usually when I review a book, I'm looking for one that's reader-friendly (a quick read, written in understandable language, and offering practical ideas). By that definition, this book may not fit. Is "Special Children, Challenged Parents" written in
understandable language? Yes. Does it offer practical ideas? Definitely. Will it be a quick read? Probably not. You see, Dr. Naseef's book is going to touch your emotions. This is perhaps the most honest book I have ever read on the grieving process of parents struggling to accept and raise a child with special needs. By sharing his own story and those of other parents he has interviewed and worked with, Dr. Naseef discusses why this process is so hard and what parents can do to survive the process and come out on the other side. But perhaps Dr. Naseef's most valuable contribution is his message for fathers. Fathers very rarely fit comfortably into the role of fathering a child with special needs and Dr. Naseef's unique
qualifications as both a father and a psychologist have given him rare insights to help other Dads facing this challenge. This may not be an "easy read", but if you're a parent struggling with your emotional responses to your child -- it is definitely a "must read".

This book is a good, basic book outlining the grief process and other major common emotional issues in raising a child with a disability. However, as the mother of an autistic child who is with her child 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, I can't help but wonder about the authenticity of the author's personal experience "parenting" an autistic child, as his own autistic child has been institutionalized for a huge segment of his life while the author went on to have more children and a very normal homelife. It feels to me like the man "skipped out" on the real experience of raising his autistic son himself and elected to become a part-time parent to the child, then felt himself capable of writing a book about it. I find it hard to believe that he truly understands the day to day life of a full-time parent of an autistic child, given his own choices, however "right" they may have been for his son.

I am a psychologist who works with children and families, many of whom are grappling with difficult issues related to a medical condition, behavioral problem, or learning disability. This book provides sound advice written in plain English from a psychologist whose son is autistic. I have recommended Dr. Naseef's book to a number of my clients because of how thoughtfully he combines his own story with a practical guide for parents and others who care for a child with special needs. A wide range of issues are covered, and all are essential. A great find on Amazon- thanks!

As a parent of a medically fragile child with special needs, Dr.Naseef's book has been a wonderful resource for me, my wife, and our family and friends. The author's experience as a father of a special child of his own and as a psychologist shine through its pages. This book is a must read for parents, teachers, medical professionals, caregivers, and others whose lives are touched by a child with special needs. Full of practical strategies for coping, from the initial grief to working effectively with medical and educational professionals, to staying together as a family. It's not easy explaining to our friends and family how we stay positive while faced with so many challenges -- Special Children, Challenged Parents has been a great help to us and the people who are close to our son.

Robert Naseef clearly understands the complex range of issues that accompany raising a special child. He is a gentle father and husband, and he interweaves the story of his own son's battle with autism into the lives of others he meets and counsels along the way. He offers plenty of good advice here about how to maintain one's sanity, health and marriage while still doing all one can and should for one's special child.

This is a terrific book that will help a parent move through the stages of adjustment to their child having special needs. It acknowledges the grieving process that most parents experience, while giving parents some things they can do to help them move towards a temporary acceptance of the situation. It introduces parents to the idea of meeting their child where they are and helping them grow to their greatest potential, rather than trying to "fix" the child and make him/her "normal". It also talks about the behavioral issues some kids with special needs have and encourages a parent to try to understand why the child is displaying the behavior instead of simply reacting to the behavior. It even moves on to talk about how a child with special needs effects the parents as a couple and the more typically developing siblings. In short, this book is a comprehensive discussion of all the difficult and wonderful things of having a child with special needs. I highly recommend it.

Although this was a tough one to get through (at times, pretty depressing), as an inclusion teacher, I really appreciated this book. Naseef provides an excellent balance between stories from his own experience as a father of a child with a disability and advice and suggestions from his career as a psychologist specializing in working with parents of children with disabilities. Definitely a must-read for parents coming to terms with the news that their child has a disability, as well as for educators and other professionals working with these parents, as it is so important for us to understand what they've been through and what they've had to deal with.

I would recommend this book to anyone with children even those without special needs. Dr. Naseef tells of his experience as a parent as well as a therapist. It's one of those books that when you read it you catch yourself thinking "I thought I was the only one who felt that way". I would also recommend seeing one of Dr. Naseef's lectures or looking up his webpage oneline.