Special-Needs Reading List

This ambitious sourcebook, a successor to the publisher's Reader's Guide for Parents of Children with Mental, Physical, or Emotional Disabilities, seeks to carve out a niche for itself as a "where to look first" guide. Because of what the author calls "an information explosion in the disabilities field," the guide is selective rather than comprehensive. The books, newsletters, journals, and other information sources that are included were chosen because they are up to date, accurate, written for parents, and affordable. There are also some books that, while not strictly current, are considered classics. Excluded are publications that deal primarily with adults or with chronic illness or that are not easily obtainable in the U.S.

There are two main sections. The first part, "All Disabilities," is organized into chapters covering broad subject areas, such as awareness, infants and toddlers, and sexuality and relationships. This first part will be especially helpful to parents new to disability issues, who don't know where or to whom to turn. The second part is organized by more than 20 specific disabilities, from attention deficit disorder to visual impairment and blindness.

Each chapter includes a section on books and periodicals and a section on organizations. Entries for books and periodicals provide bibliographical information, including price and ISBN or ISSN, followed by brief evaluative description. Some of the publications are written for children and teens, and there are a few fiction titles. Organizations are listed with complete addresses, Web site URLs, and e-mail addresses. The purpose of the organization is noted along with its publications and its services. Some of the listings are repeated in more than one section. For example, the ADA Disabilities Information Line appears in several chapters, though with different publications listed. An appendix gives publisher addresses. There are four indexes, providing access by organization, author, title, and subject.

This helpful book is recommended for any library that serves patrons who are searching for information to assist in the everyday issues of raising and caring for children with disabilities. It will be useful as a collection-development tool as well as a parents' resource.