A must read for prospective adoptive and foster parents as well as those already in the trenches of caring for a child affected by Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and substance abuse, early childhood trauma, abandonment, and attachment issues. This book is an eyes-wide-open look into one family's adoption journey. Kristin Berry tells her family's adoption story honestly, and does not shy away from the challenges she and her family has faced, including isolation and depression. Written with her son's blessings, in the hopes that others will learn about and understand what it is like to live with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) and Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders FASD.

Over her decades as a clinical psychologist, Dr. Mona Delahooke has counseled parents who struggle to manage their children’s challenging, sometimes oppositional behaviors. Behavior, no matter how challenging, is not the problem but a symptom; a clue about what is happening in a child’s unique physiologic makeup. In Brain-Body Parenting, Dr. Delahooke offers a new approach to parenting based on her clinical experience as well as the most recent research in neuroscience and child psychology. Instead of a “top-down” approach to behavior that focuses on the thinking brain, she calls for a “bottom-up” approach that considers the role of the nervous system, which produces children’s feelings and behaviors.

When Keri & her husband adopt Devon, he has concerning behaviors, but she’s confident all he needs is a “forever family.” Devon's hidden history of early childhood trauma quickly takes center stage when Devon throws screaming fits, yanks his bedroom door off its hinges, chases his classmates with a knife, and pushes his younger brother down the stairs and more. Devon is admitted to a psychiatric residential treatment facility at age 10 and is diagnosed with Reactive Attachment Disorder (RAD). Keri is faced with an impossible choice—Devon is too dangerous to live at home, but he’s not getting better in treatment. Keri must race against time to find help for Devon and keep her other children safe, as he grows bigger, stronger, and more violent.

Parenting and neuroscience expert Robyn Gobbel decodes the latest brain science into easy-to-understand principles and metaphors to help you become an expert in your child's behavior. She reveals simple ways to help you regulate and connect with your child, with brain-, body- and sensory-based strategies to overcome day-to-day challenges. She also provides you with the knowledge to understand and regulate your own brain so that you don't flip your lid when your child flips theirs. Let this be your lifeline for parenting or caring for any child with baffling behaviors and hidden challenges, including kids who have experienced adversity, or with additional needs.

In this wise, warm, practical guide, Jolene Philo and Dr. Gary Chapman show you how the 5 love languages can help strengthen your marriage and family life - whatever your needs. Sharing dozens of stores from parents of special needs children, they teach you how to: 1) protect your marriage amidst the stress, 2) discover and speak the love language of your child - even if they're nonverbal, 3) accommodate the love languages for children with special needs and disabilities, and 4) show love to every member of your family when you have limited time, money, and energy.

Trauma is a fact of life. Dr. Bessel van der Kolk, one of the world’s foremost experts on trauma, has spent over three decades working with survivors. In The Body Keeps the Score, he uses recent scientific advances to show how trauma literally reshapes both body and brain, compromising sufferers’ capacities for pleasure, engagement, self-control, and trust. He explores innovative treatments—from neurofeedback and meditation to sports, drama, and yoga—that offer new paths to recovery by activating the brain’s natural neuroplasticity. Based on Dr. van der Kolk’s own research and that of other leading specialists, The Body Keeps the Score exposes the tremendous power of our relationships both to hurt and to heal—and offers new hope for reclaiming lives.

Drugs, Alcohol, Pregnancy, and the Vulnerable Child. The ill effects of a baby’s exposure to drugs and alcohol while in the womb are demonstrated in this essential reference with cutting-edge information from the fields of medicine, neuroscience, and child psychology. These findings posit that many of the learning and behavior problems seen in children—from poor school performance to patterns of impulsivity often diagnosed as ADHD—are both treatable and preventable. 

Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD). This book provides a readable, narrative discussion of the neurobehavioral approach for working effectively with children, adolescents and adults with FASD. After a brief review of the diagnosis, the focus is on understanding behaviors differently. One section explores the most common behavioral symptoms by providing case examples, interventions, and improved outcomes. The neurobehavioral approach in Trying Differently Rather Than Harder is illustrated by stories of how alternative interventions lead to less frustration.

Wait No More tells Kelly and John Rosati’s story of experiencing God more fully through the great blessings and challenges encountered during their journey to adopt four children from the U.S. foster care system. It is a story of God’s faithfulness to grow a beautiful family, through adoption, from the ashes of child abuse, neglect, and abandonment. The Rosatis strongly believe that God’s solution for orphaned children in the foster care system involves ordinary Christians desiring to live out an authentic pro-life commitment requiring action, not just words. Their story reveals how their beliefs challenged, enriched, and completely changed their family’s life.