Reviews

People Can’t Drive You Crazy If You Don’t Give Them the Keys {A Book Review}

May 13, 2013 · 0 comments

So my last review was almost 5 months ago. I can hardly believe it has been so long, yet here we are already halfway through May and with only 5 weeks to go in the school year.

Speaking of school, this book has been especially timely for me as my son’s classroom teacher is one of the most crazy-making people I have ever met. Although I haven’t been totally successful in implementing the advice from this book, I will say that it has helped me get a better handle on myself as I navigated through the situation.

People Can’t Drive You Crazy If You Don’t Give Them the Keys by Mike Bechtle is a Revell title, published in October 2012. If the title alone doesn’t draw you in, here’s another gem I have shared with several people since reading this book:

Someone said that if you took all the crazy people in your life and laid them end to end . . . it would be best to just leave them there.

Bechtle’s approach to dealing with crazy-making people boils down to a few simple steps. First, try to influence change in the situation; next, focus on how you can adjust your own attitude by accepting the reality of the situation; and finally, decide if the situation is so unhealthy that you need to walk away from it. The book has 23 chapters, broken down into 5 parts:

Stuck in a Crazy World
Changing Someone Else
Changing Yourself
Changing Your Environment
Putting It into Practice

Of course, all of these things are easier said than done, which is why this is a book worth reading all the way through. With a blend of humor and truth, Bechtle helps us look at people more realistically and compassionately, as well as challenging us to look at our own part in each relationship. He also discusses what makes a healthy relationship and how to evaluate them.

Ultimately, People Can’t Drive You Crazy is a book about how to experience freedom in your life, even when you have to interact with and relate to other human beings who are just as flawed as you are. Ironically, freedom comes not from trying to control everyone around us, but from realizing that we actually can’t control them and that we must instead focus on how we respond to them. I think he sets up the dilemma best in this section from chapter 4:

If we’re going to avoid becoming victim of other people’s craziness, it’s critical to operate from a dual perspective: hope and realism. Without hope, maintaining the relationship seems futile. Without realism, we set ourselves up for the probability of disappointment. Without balancing the two views, we lose our ability to make choices that are healthy.

Now I just need a book about what to do when I am the person making other people crazy!

Thank you to Revell for providing a review copy of this book. No other consideration was provided for this review, and all opinions are my own.

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The Reunion {A Book Review}

January 20, 2013 · 0 comments

in Books, Reviews

So, I haven’t really been blogging much lately, for a variety of reasons. I had taken a break from reviewing at 5 Minutes for Books over the holidays and found that, even once the new year started, I didn’t feel free to continue with that endeavor. But I do have a few books that had been sent to me from one publisher or another, and I would like to share my thoughts on them as I have the time.

One of these titles was The Reunion. Written by Dan Walsh and published by Revell, it is the story of Aaron Miller, a Vietnam vet living in obscurity as a trailer park handyman in Florida. Aaron has long been estranged from his family, having fallen victim to addiction and homelessness after his return from the war. God got a hold of his life, however, so all is not lost. He spends his time ministering to those God puts in his path and living out the gentle faith that has grown out of his pain and suffering.

Aaron’s biggest regret is losing touch with his two children, Steve and Karen. All he has left is an old picture of them, but he’s sure that, even if he knew where they were, they wouldn’t want to hear from him again. Of course, we know that God always desires reconciliation and forgiveness, and this book gives us a beautiful picture of how that can happen. I don’t want to give away any spoilers, so I won’t go further with my description of the story. But I will say that we do get to meet Steve and Karen, along with a number of other fascinating characters, in the course of the book.

Beyond the story itself, The Reunion is a well-crafted book with a satisfying mix of emotional depth, mild adventure, a touch of mystery and even a bit of romance! The author’s ability to switch between the various characters’ voices is superb; I had no trouble keeping track of who was the focus and feeling immersed in their lives.

Reading, as I do, so many novels written by women, I am appreciative of the men who are able to bring their perspectives to the world of fiction in a way that resonates with me. Although Walsh definitely has his own voice, his writing put me somewhat in mind of Robert Whitlow and Ray Blackston. I whole-heartedly recommend this book and am myself looking forward to reading some of his previous novels as well.

Thank you to Revell for providing a review copy of this book. No other consideration was provided for this review, and all opinions are my own.

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A Quest for Social Skills

November 26, 2012 · 0 comments

in Autism, Books, Resources, Reviews, Therapies

A Quest for Social Skills for Students with Autism or Asperger’s: Ready-to-use lessons with games, role-play activities, and more!
by JoEllen Cumpata and Susan Fell
Future Horizons, 2010

About the Book

Why start a social skills program?
The question is not why, but why not?

With inclusive education becoming the norm in schools nationwide, teachers often struggle to address students’ non-academic needs—but teachers need ready-to-use lessons that won’t interfere with their curriculum.

QUEST (Questioning, Understanding, and Exploring Social Skills and Pragmatic Language Together) is a social skills program created to help middle school students with ASD who struggle with pragmatic language and social skills.

Developed by a school social worker and speech language pathologist, the program uses an intensive, proactive approach to teaching social skills, combining written instruction with games, activities, and student interaction.

Six helpful units—School Survival Basics, Understanding and Managing Emotion, Communication Skills, Making Friends and Interacting with Peers, Personal Safety, Vocational Readiness—can be implemented either chronologically or on their own. Evidence-based research supports the methods used and students have a great time learning-by-doing, through role-play and real-world experience. Parents are kept in the loop with email updates and evaluations. Everyone wins with this program!

Best of all, the book includes a CD of printable worksheets, letters, forms, and more!

QUEST covers: Greetings, Paying Attention, Daily Hygiene, Asking for Help, Understanding Feelings, Getting Angry/Calming Down, Managing Stress, Starting a Conversation, Making and Keeping Friends, Gossip, Bullying, and Teasing, Resisting Peer Pressure, Dating, Internet and E-mail Safety, and many more!

My Thoughts:
I am extremely impressed with this book. The lessons seem perfectly suited to the upper elementary and older students, which is where my son is now. With his moving into fourth grade this year and to a school with a more established social skills program, he has actually begun receiving group instruction on a regular basis, through a combination of push-ins during group work in science and social studies to lunch bunches and other small group activities. I can see the lessons in this book tying in very easily with what the SLP is doing, as well as being age-appropriate for the kids.

The manual is divided into several topical sections:

The school survival section has many of the things we are trying to instill in my son right now, from paying attention and asking for help to organizing his workspace and using an assignment book. Plus there’s even a lesson on daily hygiene, which is quickly becoming more important at our house!
The sections on understanding emotions, communication skills, and making friends are all topics that he has been working on for years, but these lessons seem to provide a fresh approach to use within a structured classroom setting that also emphasized practical application of the skills.
The personal safety and vocational readiness skills seem most appropriate for middle school and high school, students, although some of the information is more and more needed by younger students as kids may still encounter bullying and gossip, as well as be socializing online at an earlier age than the previous generation.

The book also includes a CD with PDF files of all the necessary printables for the lessons, making it as easy as possible to prepare and implement the program. I am excited about being to share this with my son’s SLP and hope that she will find it to be as useful as I think it will be!

Discount Opportunity: If you order A QUEST for Social Skills directly from Future Horizons, you can use the code INTERRUPTED to receive 15% off and free shipping in the continental US.

Note: I received a review copy for free, but all opinions are my own. I am an affiliate of Future Horizons and receive a small amount of compensation for any sales made using the promotional code provided. You can use the code INTERRUPTED when ordering books or other materials – or even conference registrations – to receive 15% off plus free shipping in the continental US.

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What the Zhang Boys by Clifford Garstang

October 30, 2012 · 0 comments

in Books, Reviews, Tours

What the Zhang Boys Know by Clifford Garstang is a book of interconnected short stories that give us a glimpse into the lives of several neighbors in a Washington DC condominium building.

Read my full review and enter to win a copy for yourself at 5 Minutes for Books.

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This Is Gabriel Making Sense of School

October 29, 2012 · 0 comments

in Autism, Awareness, Books, Resources, Reviews

This Is Gabriel Making Sense of School: A Book About Sensory Processing Disorder
written by Hartley Steiner
illustrated by Brandon Fall
Sensory World, 2012

About the Book:
This is Gabriel Making Sense of School provides a look into the challenges children with Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD) face in the classroom. This easy to read and beautifully illustrated picture book gives teachers, parents and students a better understanding of all seven senses, how they are each affected at school and what kinds of accommodations are necessary to help children with SPD become learning sensations!

My Thoughts:
This is a perfect book for elementary students to share with their classmates to help them understand about the ways their senses may work differently and why they might need different objects or strategies to cope with being in school every day. Each of the eight senses is briefly explained in kid-friendly language, followed by examples of why this could be a problem for a child with sensory processing disorder and what types of things could help make it better.

The book is short enough to be read aloud to a class in one sitting and easy enough to read for most second or third graders. I would highly recommend it to elementary school teachers and therapists, or even as a great book for a parent to come in and read to a class.

Discount Opportunity: If you order This Is Gabriel Making Sense of School directly from Future Horizons, you can use the code INTERRUPTED to receive 15% off and free shipping in the continental US.

Note: I received a review copy of this book for free, but all opinions are my own. I am an affiliate of Future Horizons and receive a small amount of compensation for any sales made using the promotional code provided. You can use the code INTERRUPTED when ordering books or other materials – or even conference registrations – to receive 15% off plus free shipping in the continental US.

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