"An insightful and helpful book with a compelling story that instils the importance of positivity in parenting and everyday life."
Born from Elaine Halligan’s experiences of raising her son Sam, each chapter in My Child is Different deals with a specific stage of childhood and development. The format is simple and easy to follow when reading the book from cover to cover, or locating a specific age or time frame.
Elaine’s story in its own right is insightful and honest, allowing the reader to find out about Sam’s development and some of the obstacles that were faced by the entire family. The additional content from Melissa Hood deals specifically with the events in each chapter, any specific underlying causes as well as broader behaviour examples before efficiently providing a range of possible solutions or parenting changes that could help to provide a marked improvement.
This book has something for everyone. The recollection of Elaine and Sam’s hard work and endurance is compelling; Melissa's helpful advice, explanations and techniques are perfect not only as parenting techniques but also as points for reflection for interacting with people in the world around you. In the Epilogue, Elaine states the ways that using positive parenting skills has made her more accepting and can help to get the best out of everyone. I would definitely recommend.
| Primary Genre | Parenting |
| Recommendations: |
This book is a useful tool for for parents whose child is "slightly different", and who want to try and find out why. It can be a long road to diagnosis, but here you can find out some of the answers and learn about various neurodiverse conditions and their acronyms! Sadness, prejudice and reality sit alongside humour in this amazing book.
This is a great book for anyone whose child seems to be struggling with life in general. It portrays the neurodiverse child with sensitivity, accuracy and a good dollop of humour, told from the perspective of the parent and the professional. Although not a long book, it is a good self starter for parents setting out on the uncertain road to diagnosis, explaining acronyms such as ADHD and IEP which all parents of such children are certain to encounter. The story of Sam is interwoven between the facts, and gives hope to parents worrying about how their child will cope throughout life. It ends on a positive note giving hope to both parents and children alike.... Read Full Review
A must read for any parent or professional person coping with a child with challenging behaviour.
My Child’s Different is an amazing insight into dealing with a child diagnosed with many of the acronyms we hear about today. ADHD, ADD, ASD – the list seems to get added to every year! Autism, dyslexia, tourettes, I’m sure many of us are aware of children with these ‘labels’, plus those just known as ‘difficult’ or ‘naughty’. For anyone who has a child like this, or for professionals who work with challenging children on a daily basis, reading this book would be an absolute must as it offers many useful strategies and helpful insights to transform the lives of both children and their families.... Read Full Review
My Child's Different - a worthwhile read for everyone working with children and parents too
As a mum of 2 who has worked with children in a variety of settings over the past 16 years, this was an interesting (and sometimes emotional) book as Sam and his family tried to find the correct educational establishments to meet his specific learning needs and to make his life less stressful.
Thank you to Elaine and Sam for sharing their story so eloquently. Hopefully this book will inspire other families to keep pushing for their own child/children to find the correct school to help them.... Read Full Review
