Special Needs

 Books that include references to/or practices of the Catholic faith and Catholic values are in bold. 

 Books for Parents & Adults: 

A Different Dream for My Child: Meditations for Parents of Critically or Chronically Ill Children by Jolene Philo (2009)

A Miracle Named Mark: The True Story of Mark J. Hublar by Gregory S. Hublar (Down Syndrome, 2021)  

A Parent’s Guide to High-Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorder, Second Edition: How to Meet the Challenges and Help Your Child Thrive by Sally Ozonoff, Geraldine Dawson, and James C. McPartland (2014)

Adrenal Insufficiency 101: A Patient’s Guide to Managing Adrenal Insufficiency by Winslow E. Dixon and Adrenal Alternatives Foundation

Awakening at Lourdes: How an Unanswered Prayer Healed Our Family and Restored Our Faith by Christy Wilkens (2021)

Baby Sign Language Made Easy: 101 Signs to Start Communicating with Your Child Now by Lane Rebelo (2018)

Better Than Ok: Finding Joy as Special-Needs Parent by Kelly Mantoan (2021)

Beyond the Diagnosis: The Path to Thriving as a Special Needs Parent by Amy Mattson (2019)

Bible Promises for Parents of Children with Special Needs by Amy E. Mason (2017)

Borderline Personality Disorder in Adolescents, 2nd Edition: What To Do When Your Teen Has BPD: A Complete Guide for Families by Blaise Aguirre (2014)

Childhood Speech, Language, and Listening Problems by Patricia McAleer Hamaguchi (2010)

Children With Cerebral Palsy: A Parents’ Guide by Elaine Geralis (1991)

Children With Spina Bifida: A Parent’s Guide (The Special Needs Collection) by Marlene Lutkenhoff (1999)

Children with Tourette Syndrome: A Parents’ Guide by Tracy Lynne Marsh (1992) 

Couriers of Grace: My Daughter, the Sacraments, and a Surprising Walk of Faith by Nancy Jo Sullivan (Down Syndrome, 2017)

30 Days to Your Special Needs Trust: A Quick-Start Guide to Your Special-Needs Estate Plan by Rob Wrubel CFP (2020)

Down, Looking Up: Eric’s World of Living Within the Confines of Cerebral Palsy by Connie Rubsamen (2021)

Down Syndrome Parenting 101: Must-Have Advice for Making Your Life Easier by Natalie Hale (2011)

Eli’s Reach: On the Value of Human Life and the Power of Prayer by Chad Judice (2017)

Embracing This Special Life: Learning To Flourish as Mother of a Child with Special Needs by Jenn Soehnlin (2018)

Freeing Your Child from Anxiety: Powerful, Practical Solutions to Overcome Your Child’s Fears, Worries, and Phobias by Tamar Chanksy Ph.D. (2004)

Special Children, Blessed Fathers: Encouragement for Fathers of Children with Special Needs by Randy Hain (2015)

Epilepsy Journal for Children: Easily Track Your Child’s Seizures, Medications, Triggers, & Side Effects by Medjournal Essentials (2019)

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome: A Guide for Families and Communities by Ann Streissguth (1997)

Faith, Family, and Children with Special Needs: How Catholic Parents and Their Kids with Special Needs Can Develop a Richer Spiritual Life by David Rizzo (2012)

Growing With Eli: Our Journey into Life and Light by Chad Judice (2018)

Half A Brain: Confessions of a Special Needs Mom by Jenni Basch (2020) 

Held: Learning to Live in God’s Grip: A Bible Study for Special-Needs Parents by Sandra Peoples and Lee Peoples Jr. (2013)

Help! My Child Has Dyslexia: A Practical Guide for Parents by Sandra Peoples and Lee Peoples Jr. (2013)

How to Nourish Your Child Through an Eating Disorder: A Simple, Plate-by-Plate Approach to Rebuilding a Healthy Relationship with Food by Casey Crosbie and Wendy Sterling (2018) 

If Your Adolescent Has Schizophrenia: An Essential Resource for Parents (Adolescent Mental Health Initiative) by Raquel E. Gur and Ann Braden Johnson (2006)

In a Different Key: The Story of Autism by John Donvan and Caren Zucker (2016)  

In A Split Second: Living in the World With Cerebral Palsy by Kyle N. Scott (2021) 

Inflammatory and Autoimmune Disorders of the Nervous System in Children (2010)

Just One of the Kids: Raising a Resilient Family When One of Your Children Has a Physical Disability (A Johns Hopkins Press Health Book) by Kay Harris Kriegsman and Sara Palmer (2013)

Living and Learning with Blind Children: A Guide for Parents and Teachers of Visually Impaired Children by Felicity Harrison and Mary Crow (1993)

My Child Has Autism: A Handbook for Parents and Professionals (second edition) by Dr. Adrienne Robek (2017)

Oppositional, Defiant & Disruptive Children and Adolescents: Non-Medication Approaches for the Most Challenging ODD Behaviors by Scott Walls (2016) 

Overcoming Autism: Finding the Answers, Strategies, and Hope That Can Transform a Child’s Life by Lynn Kern Koegel Ph.D. and Claire LaZebnik (2004)

Parenting a Child Who Has Intense Emotions: Dialectical Behavior Therapy Skills to Help Your Child Regulate Emotional Outbursts and Aggressive Behavior by Pat Harvey (2009)

Parenting Children With ADHD: 10 Lessons That Medicine Cannot Teach by Dr. Vincent J. Monastra Ph.D. (2005)

Parenting Children With Health Issues: Essential Tools, Tips, and Tactics for Raising Kids With Chronic Illness, Medical Conditions, and Special Healthcare Needs by Lisa C. Greene and Foster W. Cline (2007)

Parenting Your Child with Autism: Practical Solutions, Strategies, and Advice for Helping Your Family by Anjali Sastry and Blaise Aguirre (2012)

Parent’s Guide to Eating Disorders: Supporting Self-Esteem, Healthy Easting, and Positive Body Image at Home by Marcia Herrin Nancy Matsumoto (2007) 

Pediatric Psychogenic Non-Epileptic Seizures: A Treatment Guide by Sigita Plioplys, Julia Doss, Rochelle Caplan, Jana E. Jones (2017)

Psychogenic Non-Epileptic Seizures: A Guide by Lorna Meyers Ph.D. (2014) 

Psychogenic Nonepileptic Seizures: Toward the Integration of Care by Barbara A. Dworetzky (2017) 

Psychogenic Nonepileptic Seizures Recovery: Not All People Suffering From PNES Also Are Epileptic: Books On Psychogenic Nonepileptic Seizures by Nicola Howerton (2021) 

Praying for Your Special Needs Child by David Rizzo and Mercedes Rizzo (2018)

Raising Boys with ADHD: Secrets for Parenting Healthy, Happy Sons by Mary Anne Richey (2012) 

Raising the Perfectly Imperfect Child: Facing the Challenge by Boris Vujicic (2016) 

Reach Out and Teach: Helping Your Child Who Is Visually Impaired Learn and Grow by Kay Alicyn Ferrell (2011) 

Seizures and Epilepsy in Childhood: A Guide for Parents by Diana J. Pillas, Eileen P.G. Vining, and John M. Freeman (1990) 

Sharing Love Abundantly in Special Needs Families: The 5 Love Languages® for Parents Raising Children with Disabilities by Gary Chapman and Jolene Philo (2019)

Short-Term Memory Difficulties in Children: A Practical Resource by Joanne Rudland (2017) 

Special Children, Blessed Fathers: Encouragement for Fathers of Children with Special Needs by Randy Hain (2015) 

Spiritually Able: A Parent’s Guide to Teaching the Faith to Children with Special Needs by David Rizzo and Mercedes McBride Rizzo (2015)

Stop Walking on Eggshells: Taking Your Life Back When Someone You Care About Has Borderline Personality Disorder by Randi Kreger and Paul T. Mason (1998) 

Supporting the Highly Sensitive Child: Making Sense of Meltdowns (A Nutshell Guide) by James Willams and Lucy Skye

Surviving Schizophrenia, 7th Edition: A Family Manual by E. Fuller Torrey (2019) 

The Bipolar Child: The Definitive and Reassuring Guide to Childhood’s Most Misunderstood Disorder, Third Edition by Demitri Papolos (2007)

The Bipolar Disorder Survival Guide, Third Edition: What You and Your Family Need to Know by David J. Miklowitz (2012) 

The Bipolar Teen: What You Can Do to Help Your Child and Your Family by David J. Miklowitz and Elizabeth Levergood George (2007) 

The Cerebral Palsy Tool Kit: From Diagnosis to Understanding by Michele P. Shusterman (2015) 

The Challenges Of PNES: Stories Of How Psychogenic Non-Epileptic Seizures Change Your Life: Short Story On Mental Health by Dino Mainville 

The Highly Sensitive Child: Helping Our Children Thrive When the World Overwhelms Them by Elaine Aron (2002)

The Life We Never Expected: Hopeful Reflections on Challenges of Parenting Children with Special Needs by Andrew Wilson and Rachel Wilson (2016)

The Parent’s Guide to Speech and Language Problems by Debbie Feit (2007)

The Reason I Jump: The Inner Voice of a Thirteen-Year-Old Boy with Autism by Naoki Higashida (2007) 

The Spiritual Art of Raising Children with Disabilities by Kathleen Deyer Bolduc (2014)

The Type 1 Life: A Road Map for Parents of Children with Newly Diagnosed Type 1 Diabetes by Jessica Freeman (2018) 

The Uncontrollable Child: Understand and Manage Your Child’s Disruptive Moods with Dialectical Behavior Therapy Skills by Matis Miller LCSW (2021) 

101 Tips for Parents of Kids with Diabetes: Wisdom for Families With Type 1 by Jeff Hitchcock (2016)

Turn Autism Around: An Action Guide for Parents of Young Children with Early Signs of Autism by Mary Lynch Barbera Ph.D. (2021)

Unbroken Faith: Spiritual Recovery for the Special Needs Parent by Diane Dokko Kim (2018)

Understanding Bipolar Disorder: The Essential Family Guide by Diane Dokko Kim (2018) 

Understanding Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder: A Guide to FASD Parents, Carers, and Professionals by Maria Catterick (2014)

Understanding the Highly Sensitive Child: Seeing an Overwhelming World Through Their Eyes (A Nutshell Guide) by James Williams (2015)

Up, Not Down Syndrome: Uplifting Lessons Learned from Raising a Son with Trisomy 21 by Nancy M. Schwartz (2019)

View From The Floor: Psychogenic Non-Epileptic Seizures: A Patient’s Perspective by Kate Berger (2015)

Waiting for Eli: A Father’s Journey from Fear to Faith by Chad Judice (2010)

What God Had Emptied: How I Found Hope in my Children’s Diagnoses by Kathryn Anne Casey (2022)

What To Do About Your Brain Injured Child by Glenn Doman (2005)

What will happen to my Special Needs Child when I am gone: A Detailed Guide to Secure Your Child’s Emotional and Financial Future by Susan Jules (2020) 

What Your ADHD Child Wishes You Knew: Working Together to Empower Kids for Success in School and Life by Dr. Sharone Saline (2018) 

When Your Child Has a Chronic Medical Illness: A Guide for the Parenting Journey by Frank J. Sileo Ph.D. and Carol S. Potter MFT (2021)

When Your Child Has an Eating Disorder: A Step-by-Step Workbook for Parents and Other Caregivers by Abigail H. Natenshon (1999) 

When Your Child Has…Dyslexia: Get the Right Diagnosis, Understand Treatment Options, and Help Your Child Learn by Abigail Marshall and Vincent Iannelli (2019) 

When Your Child Has Lyme Disease: A Parent’s Survival Guide by Sandra K. Barenbaum and Dorothy Kupcha Leland (2015)

When Your Child Is Deaf: A Guide for Parents by Antonia Maxon and David Luterman (1991) 

When Your Daughter Has BPD: Essential Skills to Help Families Managed Borderline Personality Disorder by Daniel S. Lobel (2017) 

When Your Teen Has an Eating Disorder: Practical Strategies to Help Your Teen Recover from Anorexia, Bulimia, and Binge Eating by Lauren Muhlheim (2018) 

When Your Child Hurts: Effective Strategies to Increase Comfort, Reduce Stress, and Break the Cycle of Chronic Pain (Yale University Press Health & Wellness) by Rachael Coakley (2016)  

Your Child with Inflammatory Bowel Disease: A Family Guide for Caregiving by Hepatology and Nutrition North American Society for Pediatric Gastroenterology (2017)

Free Articles for Parents: 

A Prayer for Moms of Children with Special Needs by Rachel Wojo (Rooted Family.com, 2015)

How Our Daughter Has Affected Our Spirituality by David and Mercedes Rizzo (loyolapress.com)

How to Celebrate Mass with a Child with Special Needs by loyolapress.com 

Praying For Your Special Needs Child by Nicole Johnson (Catholic Mom, 2018)

The Struggles and Unexpected Blessings of Special-Needs Kids by Jim Graves (The Catholic World Report)

6 Tips for Mass with a Special-Needs Child by Ginny Kochis (Catholic Mom, 2017)

Tough love: The challenges of parenting special needs children by Kristin Peterson (U.S. Catholic, 2009)

Your Special Needs Child is No Angel by Kerri Lynn Bishop (Catholic Stand, 2017)

What Is Your Barrier by David and Mercedes Rizzo (loyolapress.com)

What Parents of a Child with Special Needs Would Tell a Parish Audience by David and Mercedes Rizzo (loyolapress.com)

What Parents Want Catechetical Leaders to Know by David and Mercedes Rizzo (loyolapress.com