This book is a huge dose of affirmation and encouragement for parents of special needs children. It won't tell you HOW to home school a special needs child, but is will tell you WHY it is probably best for your child. The authors are parents of a son with Prader-Willi syndrome, a genetic disorder involving an abnormality of chromosome 15 that includes short stature, learning disabilities, behavior problems, low muscle tone and an involuntary urge to overeat. They tell their story as well as the stories of 30 other parents who are currently raising and educating children with special needs.

The most informative parts of this book, to me, were the parts dealing with how a parent is to discern a learning disability from a character deficit, as how much we should push our special needs children. The tendency is to give them lots of slack and not expect much of them. The authors advise us to look carefully at behavior and seeming inability to perform tasks. Is it a matter of "can not, or will not?"

They next tackle a discussion of teaching special needs children, including helping the parent to realize that they can indeed tackle the job. They remind us that these children may often have special abilities and that we hold the key to unlocking and capitalizing on their strengths.

Other topics include spiritual training, socialization, recognizing the needs of your "normal" children, meeting the needs of husband and wife and looking to the future provision for your child.

My spirit was lifted, and I was encouraged by this book. I was reminded of how important it is to seek diligently for God's purpose for our children because He will use them for His kingdom work in their lives. Our task is to prepare them to be a witness for Him.



-- Product Review by: Christine Field, Senior Correspondent, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine