A Different Kind of Normal

A Different Kind of Normal PDF Author: Abigail Balfe
Publisher: Crown Books for Young Readers
ISBN: 0593566467
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
In this joyfully illustrated memoir, Abigail Balfe recounts her journey growing up autistic and the challenges of navigating the “normal” world around her. This is a perfect book for both neurodivergent and neurotypical kids to learn more about neurodiversity. When Abigail was growing up, she was missing Very Important Information about herself. The information? That Abigail is autistic! In fact, Abigail didn’t know she was autistic until she was (kind of) an adult. This is Abigail’s story about what it was like growing up autistic in a confusing “normal” world. With entertaining anecdotes and funny accompanying illustrations, Abigail details her experiences and explains some Very Crucial Information about autism. And about neurodiversity too— a word that celebrates the importance of all brain types! Essential, funny, and completely unique, this book is for anyone who has ever felt different.

A Different Kind of Normal

A Different Kind of Normal PDF Author: Abigail Balfe
Publisher: Crown Books for Young Readers
ISBN: 0593566467
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Get Book Here

Book Description
In this joyfully illustrated memoir, Abigail Balfe recounts her journey growing up autistic and the challenges of navigating the “normal” world around her. This is a perfect book for both neurodivergent and neurotypical kids to learn more about neurodiversity. When Abigail was growing up, she was missing Very Important Information about herself. The information? That Abigail is autistic! In fact, Abigail didn’t know she was autistic until she was (kind of) an adult. This is Abigail’s story about what it was like growing up autistic in a confusing “normal” world. With entertaining anecdotes and funny accompanying illustrations, Abigail details her experiences and explains some Very Crucial Information about autism. And about neurodiversity too— a word that celebrates the importance of all brain types! Essential, funny, and completely unique, this book is for anyone who has ever felt different.

A Different Sort of Normal

A Different Sort of Normal PDF Author: Abigail Balfe
Publisher: Penguin UK
ISBN: 0241508800
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
Languages : en
Pages : 244

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Book Description
CHILDREN'S NON-FICTION BOOK OF THE YEAR, THE BRITISH BOOK AWARDS - SHORTLISTED BLUE PETER BOOK AWARDS BEST BOOK WITH FACTS - LONGLISTED OBSERVER CHILDREN'S BOOK OF THE MONTH Discover the award-winning true story of one girl's journey growing up autistic and undiagnosed – a must-read book about autism, neurodiversity and embracing who you are - for kids and adults alike. If you've ever felt different, out of place, like you don't fit in - this book is for you. 'This book is what I needed as a kid! Empathetic, joyful and beautifully authentic.' - Elle McNicoll, author of A Kind of Spark 'I REALLY love it. It's the book I wish I'd had when I was a kid. Buy it for your kids, your parents, your grandparents. Mostly buy it for yourself' - Holly Smale, author of the Geek Girl Series ‘Honest, real and downright brilliant’ - Louise Gooding, author of Wonderfully Wired Brains Hi! My name is Abigail and I’m autistic. But when I was a child I didn’t know I was autistic. In fact - it wasn’t until I was in my thirties that I discovered my neurodivergence and my life finally started to make sense. This book follows my journey of self discovery from childhood through adulthood, as I attempt to navigate the confusing world around me - a world predominantly built for neurotypical brains. In this book you’ll find: VERY IMPORTANT FACTS about neurodiversity, neurodivergence, autistic traits, autism and gender, sensory sensitivities, social communication, emotions, friendships, bullying, sensory overload, meltdowns, family, school, special interests, masking, puberty AND MORE VERY PERSONAL STORIES involving toilets, cats, poo, swimming pools, my ridiculous family, my slightly unusual way of trying to make friends, falling up the French stairs wearing a skirt, getting locked in a cinema overnight and MORE embarrassing (and often hilarious) moments like these... PLUS TIPS for supporting the neurodivergent people in your life, advocating for your own needs as a neurodivergent person, and learning to embrace what makes you different. It’s for children. It’s for adults. It’s for neurodivergent people. It’s for neurotypical people. It’s for parents, carers, siblings, teachers, librarians, psychiatrists, doctors, nurses - and everyone else too. Basically - it’s for you. EXTRA IMPORTANT AND LITTLE KNOWN FACT: A Different Sort of Normal is also indirectly a story about growing up as an auDHD person - because nearly a year after this book was published I received my ADHD diagnosis! Discover why readers love A Different sort of Normal: ‘Funny, poignant and wise, with a rich seam of understanding and empathy . . . one of the best children's non-fiction books I've read in a long time’ The Bookseller ‘Probably the most accessible & engaging book I have ever read’ Dyslexic Reviews ‘Insightful, accessible and easy to navigate, this is an essential book for autistic and allistic (non-autistic) readers of all ages’ BookTrust 'Funny, fascinating . . . a rewarding and highly entertaining read' Guardian ‘A hugely engaging, funny and informative account of being neurodivergent’ Observer ‘Empathic, informative, hilarious, endearing gem of a book’ - ****** Reader Review ‘My 9yr old has read this cover to cover so many times but I’d recommend it for a huge age range including adults too...This book was our favourite and most useful purchase post diagnosis. It is written with such care, kindness and good humour about many of the insights into autistic life that would never feature in the DSM.’ - ****** Reader Review ‘I’m so happy this book exists. It’s laugh-out-loud funny, warm and wise. Abigail Balfe is like the fun but ultimately responsible and trustworthy big sister all autistic kids need in their lives.’ ***** Reader Review ‘This helped me feel seen and heard as a late dx'd adult. My local autism services now recommend this book to newly diagnosed people as it is easy to digest with lots of personal anecdotes as well as facts about autism written in an easy to understand way.’ ****** Reader Review ‘Although I don’t have Autism, I do have ADHD. If you are familiar with ADHD, you may or may not know that a lot of ADHD symptoms overlap with autism. I instantly felt a connection with Abigail, her brain ticks like mine, and it’s fantastic! ... I wish little me who struggled growing up, had this book to read. I instantly felt like someone else understands me without having to say anything’ ****** Reader Review

A Different Kind of Normal

A Different Kind of Normal PDF Author: Cathy Lamb
Publisher: Kensington Publishing Corp.
ISBN: 0758279930
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 416

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Book Description
From acclaimed author Cathy Lamb comes a warm and poignant story about mothers and sons, family and forgiveness--and loving someone enough to let them be true to themselves. . . Jaden Bruxelle knows that life is precious. She sees it in her work as a hospice nurse, a job filled with compassion and humor even on the saddest days. And she sees it in Tate, the boy she has raised as her son ever since her sister gave him up at birth. Tate is seventeen, academically brilliant, funny, and loving. He's also a talented basketball player despite having been born with an abnormally large head--something Jaden's mother blames on a family curse. Jaden dismisses that as nonsense, just as she ignores the legends about witches and magic in the family. Over the years, Jaden has focused all her energy on her job and on sheltering Tate from the world. Tate, for his part, just wants to be a regular kid. Through his blog, he's slowly reaching out, finding his voice. He wants to try out for the Varsity basketball team. He wants his mom to focus on her own life for a change, maybe even date again. Jaden knows she needs to let go--of Tate, of her fears and anger, and of the responsibilities she uses as a shield. And through a series of unexpected events and revelations, she's about to learn how. Because as dear as life may be, its only real value comes when we are willing to live it fully, even if that means risking it all. Beautifully written, tender and true, A Different Kind of Normal is a story about embracing love and adventure, and learning to look ahead for the first time. . .

Some Kind of Normal

Some Kind of Normal PDF Author: Juliana Stone
Publisher: Sourcebooks, Inc.
ISBN: 1402291515
Category : Young Adult Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 261

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Book Description
WHAT IS NORMAL? For Trevor, normal was fast guitar licks, catching game-winning passes, and partying all night. Until a car accident leaves him with no band, no teammates, and no chance of graduating. It's kinda hard to ace your finals when you've been in a coma. The last thing he needs is stuck-up Everly Jenkins as his new tutor—those beautiful blue eyes catching every last flaw. For Everly, normal was a perfect family around the dinner table, playing piano at Sunday service, and sunning by the pool. Until she discovers her whole life is a lie. Now the perfect pastor's daughter is hiding a life-changing secret, one that is slowly tearing her family apart. And spending the summer with notorious flirt Trevor Lewis means her darkest secret could be exposed. This achingly beautiful story about two damaged teens struggling through pain and loss to redefine who they are—to their family, to themselves, and to each other—is sure to melt your heart. Praise for Boys Like You: "The classic miscommunications, the emotional pushing and pulling, the "will she?" and "won't he?" of the destined-to-be-in-love. Readers of Miranda Kenneally, Jenny Han, and Susane Colasanti will enjoy Stone." —VOYA "The story handles challenging subjects like sex, drunk driving, and faith after tragedy in a sensitive and age-appropriate way ...just what readers need." —School Library Journal

A New Kind of Normal

A New Kind of Normal PDF Author: Carol Kent
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
ISBN: 1418566578
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 238

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Book Description
Carol Kent has lived every parent's nightmare. After her only son was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, Carol's life took a permanent detour. She and her husband, Gene, have been adjusting ever since, moving to Florida to be near the prison, starting a new ministry for prison inmates and their families, and sharing the faithfulness of God with anyone who will listen. A New Kind of Normal begins with the story of that horrible night when Carol and Gene learned their son had been arrested, but it doesn't end there. In fact, Carol knows what it means to live with an unthinkable circumstance that will never change-and to still make hope-filled choices. Through the eight chapters in this book, Carol will use their own story, the story of Mary mother of Jesus, and stories of women who have experienced their own "new normal" to share how God has led them to choose life, gratitude, vulnerability, involvement, forgiveness, trust, and action.

Back to Normal

Back to Normal PDF Author: Enrico Gnaulati, PhD
Publisher: Beacon Press
ISBN: 0807073350
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 204

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Book Description
A veteran clinical psychologist exposes why doctors, teachers, and parents incorrectly diagnose healthy American children with serious psychiatric conditions. In recent years there has been an alarming rise in the number of American children and youth assigned a mental health diagnosis. Current data from the Centers for Disease Control reveal a 41 percent increase in rates of ADHD diagnoses over the past decade and a forty-fold spike in bipolar disorder diagnoses. Similarly, diagnoses of autism spectrum disorder, once considered, has increased by 78 percent since 2002. Dr. Enrico Gnaulati, a clinical psychologist specializing in childhood and adolescent therapy and assessment, has witnessed firsthand the push to diagnose these disorders in youngsters. Drawing both on his own clinical experience and on cutting-edge research, with Back to Normal he has written the definitive account of why our kids are being dramatically overdiagnosed—and how parents and professionals can distinguish between true psychiatric disorders and normal childhood reactions to stressful life situations. Gnaulati begins with the complex web of factors that have led to our current crisis. These include questionable education and training practices that cloud mental health professionals’ ability to distinguish normal from abnormal behavior in children, monetary incentives favoring prescriptions, check-list diagnosing, and high-stakes testing in schools. We’ve also developed an increasingly casual attitude about labeling kids and putting them on psychiatric drugs. So how do we differentiate between a child with, say, Asperger’s syndrome and a child who is simply introverted, brainy, and single-minded? As Gnaulati notes, many of the symptoms associated with these disorders are similar to everyday childhood behaviors. In the second half of the book Gnaulati tells detailed stories of wrongly diagnosed kids, providing parents and others with information about the developmental, temperamental, and environmentally driven symptoms that to a casual or untrained eye can mimic a psychiatric disorder. These stories also reveal how nonmedical interventions, whether in the therapist’s office or through changes made at home, can help children. Back to Normal reminds us of the normalcy of children’s seemingly abnormal behavior. It will give parents of struggling children hope, perspective, and direction. And it will make everyone who deals with children question the changes in our society that have contributed to the astonishing increase in childhood psychiatric diagnoses.

A Nearly Normal Family

A Nearly Normal Family PDF Author: M. T. Edvardsson
Publisher: Celadon Books
ISBN: 1250204429
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 361

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Book Description
Now a Netflix Limited Series "...A compulsively readable tour de force." —The Wall Street Journal New York Times Book Review recommends M.T. Edvardsson’s A Nearly Normal Family and lauds it as a “page-turner” that forces the reader to confront “the compromises we make with ourselves to be the people we believe our beloveds expect.” (NYTimes Book Review Summer Reading Issue) M.T. Edvardsson’s A Nearly Normal Family is a gripping legal thriller that forces the reader to consider: How far would you go to protect the ones you love? In this twisted narrative of love and murder, a horrific crime makes a seemingly normal family question everything they thought they knew about their life—and one another. Eighteen-year-old Stella Sandell stands accused of the brutal murder of a man almost fifteen years her senior. She is an ordinary teenager from an upstanding local family. What reason could she have to know a shady businessman, let alone to kill him? Stella’s father, a pastor, and mother, a criminal defense attorney, find their moral compasses tested as they defend their daughter, while struggling to understand why she is a suspect. Told in an unusual three-part structure, A Nearly Normal Family asks the questions: How well do you know your own children? How far would you go to protect them?

No Such Thing as Normal

No Such Thing as Normal PDF Author: Bryony Gordon
Publisher: Headline
ISBN: 1472284127
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 182

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Book Description
'Mental illness has led to some of the worst times of my life... but it has also led to some of the most brilliant. Bad things happen, but good things can come from them. And strange as it might sound, my mental health has been vastly improved by being mentally ill.' From depression and anxiety to personality disorders, one in four of us experience mental health issues every year and, in these strange and unsettling times, more of us than ever are struggling to cope. In No Such Thing As Normal, Bryony offers sensible, practical advice, covering subjects such as sleep, addiction, worry, medication, self-image, boundary setting, therapy, learned behaviour, mindfulness and, of course - as the founder of Mental Health Mates - the power of walking and talking. She also strives to equip those in need of help with tools and information to get the best out of a poorly funded system that can be both frightening and overwhelming. The result is a lively, honest and direct guide to mental health that cuts through the Instagram-wellness bubble to talk about how each of us can feel stronger, better and just a little bit less alone.

Finding a Different Kind of Normal

Finding a Different Kind of Normal PDF Author: Yenn Purkis
Publisher: Jessica Kingsley Publishers
ISBN: 1846424690
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 194

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Book Description
Jeanette Purkis spent her early life reacting violently against her feelings of embarrassment, anger and confusion about her 'difference' from other people. She was unaware until well into adulthood that everything she found difficult, including her lack of success in forming relationships, could be a result of having Asperger Syndrome. Used to being a misfit from a very young age, Jeanette found that being a member of a group in which she had a label - Jeanette the Communist; Jeanette, Enemy of the State; Jeanette the convict; Jeanette the drug addict - gave her a sense of order she could depend on, particularly in prison, where each day had a set routine and the inmates accepted her because of her rebel attitude. Finally diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome at the age of 20, the author only began to accept her diagnosis some years later when she felt for the first time that she might learn to cope with being herself. Jeanette's remarkable life and her journey towards finding a different kind of normal is compelling and inspiring reading for people with autism spectrum disorders, and those living or working with them.

The Other Side of Normal

The Other Side of Normal PDF Author: Jordan Smoller
Publisher: Harper Collins
ISBN: 0062101331
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 247

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Book Description
Psychiatry has ignored the normal. The focus on defining abnormal behavior has obscured what turns out to be a more fundamental question—how does the biology of the brain give rise to the mind, which in turn gives rise to everything we care about: thoughts, feelings, desires, and relationships? In The Other Side of Normal, Harvard psychiatrist Jordan Smoller shows us that understanding what the mind was designed to do in the first place demystifies mental illness and builds a new foundation for defining psychiatric disorders—from autism to depression. Smoller argues there are no bright lines between normal and abnormal. Psychiatric disorders are variations of the same brain systems that evolved to help us solve the challenges of everyday life. How do we become who we are? Smoller explains where our personalities come from, and how the temperaments we had as infants actually stay with us into adulthood. Why do we choose to date, love, and marry the people we do? Why do some of us form healthy relationships while others form unstable ones? Our relationships are shaped by the biology that drives two imperatives: maternal-child bonding and child-parent attachment. Along the way, Smoller tackles an even greater question—what do we mean by "normal"?—as he explores the puzzles behind the epidemics of multiple personalities and koro, the shocking phobia that one's penis is shrinking. He also looks at the controversial history of psychiatric classification and the explosive debates over how much early experiences influence our minds and to what degree genetics affect our temperaments, personalities, and emotional lives. Throughout this examination, Smoller explores the hidden sides of such questions as: How are trust and love rooted in biology? How much does sexual attraction stem from biology rather than culture? And what can the scientific study of normal behavior tell us about what it means to be human? Based on the author's groundbreaking research and personal experiences treating psychological disorders, The Other Side of Normal changes the way we think about the human condition.