Changed by a Child: Companion Notes for Parents of a Child with a Disability [Paperback]

Raising a child with a disability can often be more isolating and frustrating than any parent ever imagines. Finally, here is a book that honestly describes the inner needs and range of issues parents with disabled children face.Changed by a Childinvites parents to take a moment for themselves. Each of the brief readings offers comfort and hope as they capture the unique challenges and joys of raising a disabled child."I wish my mother had this book when I was a child. If she had read this book she would have realized that she was not alone." --Temple Grandin, author ofThinking in Pictures

"Changed by a Childis a book for all parents, not just parents of children with disabilities. It is comprehensive, literate, inspiring, and deeply healing." --Annabel Stehli, author ofThe Sound of a Miracle

"An outstanding achievement. Profound, absorbing, and a great joy to read. I recommend it enthusiastically." --Dr. Bernard Rimland, founder of the Autism Society of AmericaBarbara Gillis an attorney and disability consultant. The mother of two sons, one of who has Down syndrome, she has served on many disabilities related boards and committees, including four years as a board member of her local Arc. A former Special Assistant Attorney General for Minnesota, she began her career working in the fields of mental health, welfare, and criminal law. She is a graduate of Minnesota Partners in Policymaking and the Montreal Institute for Integrated Education. She lives with her family in Minneapolis.I lay looking out the window from my bed in the maternity ward of a Minneapolis hospital on a Monday morning in the last week in March.  The sky was leaden and the ground was covered with dirty snow.  The dead, gray scene reflected my deep despair.  Just the day before I had been told that my new-born son, Amar, my first child, most likely had Down syndrome.  On Sunday I halS.