Abstract

Understanding Your Young Child with Special Needs explores the developmental impact of disability on normal stages of child development, and examines the complex nature of the emotional bonds between parents and their children with special needs.

Placing the child and his or her personality, family life, feelings and behaviours in the foreground, Bartram addresses all the 'ordinary' challenges and tasks of parenting, such as sibling relationships, nursery and school, toilet training, and healthy aggression, as well as those that are of particular relevance to the parents of young children with special needs.

This accessible book will provide a wealth of information to help parents of a child with special needs understand his or her development and their own relationship with the child, and will also be of interest to professionals working with babies and pre-school children with special needs.

This book is written sensitively and with a positive tone, tempered with an appreciation of what may be realistic. The chapters are succinct and there is a useful appendix with references, a suggested booklist and list of helpful organizations. It is a short readable, informative text.
Sen The Journal for Special Needs

Review for all of the series

'They are a rich resource of balanced, sensitive and non-judgemental advice to help parents and professionals looking after children…The central subject is the mental and emotional development of children and their parents. And the style is intelligent and friendly… The books form a cohesive and continuous guide to almost everything I have ever wondered about bringing up my children.'

0-19 Magazine
An accessible book which covers the developmental impacts of disability and will be helpful to parents and of interest to professionals.
CAS (Current Awareness Service)
Pamela Bartram is a child psychotherapist and her book is one of a series on understanding children published in association with the Tavistock Clinic. It thus has an emphasis on understanding the child's inner world and developing personality. This perspective is combined with sound practical advice based on the author's extensive experience of the view's and needs of parents.
Community Living
Pamela Bartram trained as a child psychotherapist at the Tavistock Clinic, after beginning her clinical work as a music therapist.
Intended first and foremost for parents of young children with special needs, this book will prove beneficial to anyone caring for babies and children with complex needs... There is a real sense of parental awareness in the book and I can see many parents saying "that's just like me" or "that's exactly how I feel" and this in itself is a powerful awareness tool, which says it's OK to feel like this.
The Encephalitis Society
This book is aimed at parents or carers although it would be a useful tool for anyone working with babies or young children with special needs. This is well written, factual and gives a good base level insight to anyone who cares for a child with special needs. Affordable and unlike the usual heavy text books this is a great source of knowledge in a handy size book.
National Childminding Association