Sitting Pretty: The View from My Ordinary Resilient Disabled Body by Rebekah Taussig (2021)

A memoir-in-essays from disability advocate and creator of the Instagram account @sitting_pretty Rebekah Taussig, processing a lifetime of memories to paint a beautiful, nuanced portrait of a body that looks and moves differently than most.

ISBN:  9780062936790
Publisher: HarperOne
Hardcover Edition

Hidden Brilliance: Unlocking the Intelligence of Autism (2023), by Lynn Kern Koegel and Claire LaZebnik

A groundbreaking exploration of the ways in which the intelligence and abilities of children and young adults with autism are often overlooked and misjudged, with tried-and-true interventions that can be used to help them reach their full potential.

Our limited and often biased view of what’s considered “normal” often prevents us from recognizing the gifts and brilliance of those who don’t fit a specific mold. Too often we don’t explore and take advantage of the far-reaching gifts and potential of those diagnosed as being on the autism spectrum or neurodiverse. Dr. Lynn Kern Koegel has had vast experience researching Autism Spectrum Disorders—ASD—and working with autistic people of all ages. She has repeatedly witnessed firsthand evidence of great intelligence that hasn’t yet been nurtured or realized.

In Hidden Brilliance, Dr. Koegel and writer Claire LaZebnik explore the ways in which the brilliance and talents of children and young adults diagnosed with ASD are commonly overlooked or misjudged, even by trained professionals. This book isn’t about changing people, but about bringing out their best, by focusing on and nurturing their strengths.

The authors examine the forces at play—including outdated attitudes, a lack of sufficient training, and an overreliance on standardized testing--that complicate and confuse the effort to see the remarkable capabilities of these kids. The authors argue that behaviors often described as disruptive or interfering are actually brilliant attempts at communication and point the reader toward interventions that can encourage people to effectively communicate their needs and thoughts. Hidden Brilliance helps us see how and why parents—who often feel alone in their ability to see past their children’s struggles to the incredible capabilities underneath —are often dismissed or ignored.

This long overdue book explains ways to identify your child’s strengths and abilities and then use them as a tool for social communication, improved learning, and overall growth. While no one can predict a child’s future, a positive and supportive attitude combined with the right goals and interventions that consider the child’s strengths can lead to extraordinary growth and connection. Warm and hopeful, Hidden Brilliance opens the door to a new way of looking at people diagnosed with ASD—those who deserve to have their brilliance shine brightly for all to see.

Hardcover: 288 pages
Publisher: Harper
ISBN: 978-0063225374

Last Pick (2018), by Jason Walz

In this first volume of Jason Walz's dystopian graphic novel trilogy, the kids last picked are humanity's last hope.

Three years ago, aliens invaded Earth and abducted everyone they deemed useful. The only ones spared were those too young, too old, or too “disabled” to be of value. Living on Earth under the aliens’ harsh authoritarian rule, humanity’s rejects do their best to survive. Their captors never considered them a threat―until now.

Twins Sam and Wyatt are ready to chuck their labels and start a revolution. It’s time for the kids last picked to step into the game.

A YALSA Recommended Reading Great Graphic Novel
A 2020 Texas Maverick Graphic Novel

Age Range: 12-18
Publisher: First Second
ISBN: 978-1626728912

Five Things About Ava Andrews (2022), by Margaret Dilloway

A heartfelt and funny story about a shy eleven-year-old who learns to manage her anxiety through improv classes—and discovers her activist voice. From Margaret Dilloway, author of Summer of a Thousand Pies, and perfect for fans of Sharon Draper, Lynda Mullaly Hunt, and Holly Goldberg Sloan.

Eleven-year-old Ava Andrews has a Technicolor interior with a gray shell. On the inside, she bubbles with ideas and plans. On the outside, everyone except her best friend, Zelia, thinks she doesn’t talk or, worse, is stuck-up. What nobody knows is that Ava has invisible disabilities: anxiety and a heart condition.

Ava hopes middle school will be a fresh start, but when Zelia moves across the country and Ava’s Nana Linda pushes her to speak up about social issues, she withdraws further. So Ava is shocked when her writing abilities impress her classmates and they invite her to join their improv group, making up stories onstage. Determined to prove she can control her anxiety, she joins—and discovers a whole new side of herself, and what it means to be on a team.

But as Ava’s self-confidence blossoms, her relationship with Zelia strains, and she learns that it isn’t enough just to raise your voice—it’s how and why you use it that matters.

Age Range: 8-12 years
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
ISBN: 978-0062803504

An Outsider's Guide to Humans: What Science Taught Me About What We Do and Who We Are (2020), by Camilla Pang PhD

WINNER OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY SCIENCE BOOK PRIZE

An instruction manual for life, love, and relationships by a brilliant young scientist whose Asperger's syndrome allows her--and us--to see ourselves in a different way...and to be better at being human

Diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder at the age of eight, Camilla Pang struggled to understand the world around her. Desperate for a solution, she asked her mother if there was an instruction manual for humans that she could consult. With no blueprint to life, Pang began to create her own, using the language she understands best: science.

That lifelong project eventually resulted in An Outsider's Guide to Humans, an original and incisive exploration of human nature and the strangeness of social norms, written from the outside looking in--which is helpful to even the most neurotypical thinker. Camilla Pang uses a set of scientific principles to examine life's everyday interactions:

- How machine learning can help us sift through data and make more rational decisions
- How proteins form strong bonds, and what they teach us about embracing individual differences to form diverse groups
- Why understanding thermodynamics is the key to seeking balance over seeking perfection
- How prisms refracting light can keep us from getting overwhelmed by our fears and anxieties, breaking them into manageable and separate "wavelengths"

Pang's unique perspective of the world tells us so much about ourselves--who we are and why we do the things we do--and is a fascinating guide to living a happier and more connected life.

May Tomorrow Be Awake: On Poetry, Autism, and Our Neurodiverse Future (2022), by Chris Martin

An author and educator’s pioneering approach to helping autistic students find their voices through poetry—a powerful and uplifting story that shows us how to better communicate with people on the spectrum and explores how we use language to express our seemingly limitless interior lives.

Adults often find it difficult to communicate with autistic students and try to “fix” them. But what if we found a way to help these kids use their natural gifts to convey their thoughts and feelings? What if the traditional structure of language prevents them from communicating the full depth of their experiences? What if the most effective and most immediate way for people on the spectrum to express themselves is through verse, which mirrors their sensory-rich experiences and patterned thoughts?

May Tomorrow Be Awake explores these questions and opens our eyes to a world of possibility. It is the inspiring story of one educator’s journey to understand and communicate with his students—and the profound lessons he learned. Chris Martin, an award-winning poet and celebrated educator, works with non-verbal children and adults on the spectrum, teaching them to write poetry. The results have been nothing short of staggering for both these students and their teacher. Through his student’s breathtaking poems, Martin discovered what it means to be fully human.

Martin introduces the techniques he uses in the classroom and celebrates an inspiring group of young autistic thinkers—Mark, Christophe, Zach, and Wallace—and their electric verse, which is as artistically dazzling as it is stereotype-shattering. In telling each of their stories, Martin illuminates the diverse range of autism and illustrates how each so-called “deficit” can be transformed into an asset when writing poems. Meeting these remarkable students offers new insight into disability advocacy and reaffirms the depth of our shared humanity. 

Martin is a teacher and a lifelong learner, May Tomorrow Be Awake is written from a desire to teach and to learn—about the mind, about language, about human potential—and the lessons we have to share with one other. 

Hardcover: 336 pages
Publisher: HarperOne
ISBN: 978-0063020153

Let's Cook!: 55 Quick and Easy Recipes for People with Intellectual Disability (2021), by Anne Kissack and Elizabeth D. Riesz

In Let’s Cook! you’ll learn how to cook simple and nutritious meals―with recipes using all the MyPlate food groups. Gain confidence in the kitchen and build self-worth! Designed by and for adults with intellectual disability, Let’s Cook! promotes and reinforces life skills for independent living.

Let’s Cook! can help you:

• Create healthy meals.
• Control carbs, calories, and salt.
• Follow food and kitchen safety.
• Eat well, today and every day!

Inside Let’s Cook! you’ll find:

• More than 50 healthy “I can cook” recipes in large print are written at an early elementary reading level.
• An easy-to-follow recipe style sets forth What I Need, What I Use, What I Do.
• Color photos showcase each recipe.
• Step-by-step preparations take the guesswork out of cooking.
• Complete nutrient information is included for each recipe.

Color photographs throughout.

Spiralbound Paperback: 144 pages
Publisher: The Experiment
ISBN: 978-1615197668

Ten Steps to Nanette: A Memoir Situation (2023), by Hannah Gadsby

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Multi-award-winning Hannah Gadsby broke comedy with their show Nanette. Now they take us through the defining moments in their life and their powerful decision to tell the truth—no matter the cost.

Don’t miss Hannah Gadsby’s Something Special, now streaming on Netflix!

“Hannah is a Promethean force, a revolutionary talent. This hilarious, touching, and sometimes tragic book is all about where their fires were lit.”—Emma Thompson

ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: PopSugar, Vulture

“There is nothing stronger than a broken woman who has rebuilt herself,” Hannah Gadsby declared in their show Nanette, a scorching critique of the way society conducts public debates about marginalized communities. When it premiered on Netflix, it left audiences captivated by their blistering honesty and their singular ability to take viewers from rolling laughter to devastated silence. Ten Steps to Nanette continues Gadsby’s tradition of confounding expectations and norms, properly introducing us to one of the most explosive, formative voices of our time.

Gadsby grew up as the youngest of five children in an isolated town in Tasmania, where homosexuality was illegal until 1997. They perceived their childhood as safe and “normal,” but as they gained an awareness of their burgeoning queerness, the outside world began to undermine the “vulnerably thin veneer” of their existence. After moving to mainland Australia and receiving a degree in art history, Gadsby found themselves adrift, working itinerant jobs and enduring years of isolation punctuated by homophobic and sexual violence. At age twenty-seven, without a home or the ability to imagine their own future, they were urged by a friend to enter a stand-up competition. They won, and so began their career in comedy.

Gadsby became well known for their self-deprecating, autobiographical humor that made them the butt of their own jokes. But in 2015, as Australia debated the legality of same-sex marriage, Gadsby started to question this mode of storytelling, beginning work on a show that would become “the most-talked-about, written-about, shared-about comedy act in years” (The New York Times).

Harrowing and hilarious, Ten Steps to Nanette traces Gadsby’s growth as a queer person, to their ever-evolving relationship with comedy, and their struggle with late-in-life diagnoses of autism and ADHD, finally arriving at the backbone of Nanette: the renouncement of self-deprecation, the rejection of misogyny, and the moral significance of truth-telling.

Hardcover: 400 pages
Publisher: Ballantine Books
ISBN: 978-1984819789

The Parents Guide to Down Syndrome: Advice, Information, Inspiration, and Support for Raising Your Child from Diagnosis Through Adulthood by Jennifer Jacob and Mardra Sikora (2016)

Help your child succeed and thrive!

As a parent of a child diagnosed with Down Syndrome, you may be feeling unsure of what to do next or where your child's journey will take you. In this book, authors Jen Jacob and Mardra Sikora share their experiences and guide you through life with DS with expert advice from diagnosis to adulthood. Each page teaches you ways to support your child through major milestones; nurture their development; and ensure that they succeed behaviorally, socially, and cognitively. You'll also find valuable information on:

• Sharing the news with loved ones
• Transitioning into primary school
• Developing your child's social skills
• Discussing future opportunities, including employment and housing options

With The Parent's Guide to Down Syndrome, you will have the tools you need to raise a happy, healthy, and thriving child.

ISBN: 978-1440592904
Publisher: Adams Media

Raising Your Spirited Baby: A Breakthrough Guide to Thriving When Your Baby Is More . . . Alert and Intense and Struggles to Sleep by Mary Sheedy Kurcinka Ed.D. (2020)

Does your baby bursts into tears when another baby in the same situation sleeps soundly?
Do the strategies your friends swear by not work with your baby?
Do the upsets and shrieking come out of seemingly nowhere and take forever to subside?

Moms and dads who answer “yes,” are the parents of a spirited infant. Spirited infants are the outliers—the exceptions to the “rules.” They are genetically wired to be alert and intense. Raising them takes special skills and patient perseverance.

In this groundbreaking new book, beloved parenting expert Mary Sheedy Kurcinka, Ed.D., offers her findings in the fields of neuroscience, sleep, temperament, self-regulation, attachment, and parent-child interactions, and shares what she has learned from hands-on experiences with families to bring this much-needed perspective to the parenting of babies under eighteen months of age, including:

• A plan for success with the 5-step Spirited Baby™ Methodology
• How to master the “NUDGE” approach to help your baby thrive
• Parental Permissions – practical advice for parents to help them make sure their needs are met
• Resources to ensure the whole family unit finds balance and happiness

Raising Your Spirited Baby is a shame-free, guilt-free how-to handbook that will be embraced by parents—and everyone who supports them—as a simple, trusted companion.

ISBN: 9780062961525
Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks

Cowboy & Wills: A Remarkable Little Boy and the Puppy that Changed His Life by Monica Holloway (2010)

The day Monica Holloway learns that her lovable, brilliant three-year-old son has autism spectrum disorder, she takes him to buy an aquarium. But what Wills really wants is a puppy, and from the moment Cowboy Carol Lawrence, an overeager and affectionate golden retriever, joins the family, Monica watches as her cautious son steps a little farther into the world.

With his new "sister" Cowboy by his side, Wills finds the courage to invite kids over for playdates, conquer his debilitating fear of water, and finally sleep in his own bed with the puppy’s paws draped across his small chest. And when Cowboy turns out to need her new family as much as they need her, they discover just how much she has taught them about devotion, loyalty, and never giving up.

Sometimes it’s what you don’t know to hope for that saves you. For Monica and Wills, salvation came in the form of a puppy with pale blond fur, chocolate brown eyes, a fondness for chewing the crotch out of underpants, and a limitless capacity for love.

Publisher: Gallery Books
ISBN: 9781416595045