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Uncommon Voyage: Parenting Children with Special Needs (a guidebook)
Laura Shapiro Kramer, author
Laura Shapiro Kramer has turned her experience raising a special-needs child (already detailed in her successful memoir) into a guidebook for other parents.
This guidebook was developed based on different aspects of being the parent of a special-needs child. Each chapter offers Navigation Points (tasks to help you chart your course and identify what tools you have and what tools you need), and lighthouses illuminating Laura’s Insights ((comments offering support and giving context for the endeavor to help you maintain your course).
Within Uncommon Voyage there are an array of resources and experiments. There is a suggested reading list within each chapter, and at the end of the book you will find a glossary, appendices, and additional suggested reading lists.
The e-book and web site contain multiple resources and the author is building a community of support through Facebook, Twitter, and at uncommonvoyage.com.
Reviews
Kramer, author of a 1997 book (also titled Uncommon Voyage) that recounts her struggles to find alternative therapies to treat her son’s cerebral palsy, returns with a guidebook to help parents cope with the burdens and joys of raising a special-needs child. As she explains to new readers, after her son, Seth, was diagnosed with cerebral palsy, she found herself dissatisfied with what conventional medicine was offering and thus sought out new treatments. Throughout this new book, Kramer’s experience and empathy shine through. Parents are encouraged to recognize that they are experts on their own children and that they should feel confident in their own knowledge. There is ample guidance regarding finding the help your child needs as well as an extensive resource section. Kramer also offers practical advice to parents on how to prevent their children’s needs from consuming them. The concern and respect Kramer shows for the children of her readers and the advice she gives to parents about their children are informed by her son’s willingness to speak for himself in a world uncomfortable with disabilities. This is a well-thought-out guide for parents that provides a flexible and compassionate approach to learning how best to help your child and yourself. (BookLife)
