Abstract

Bringing up a special child can leave parents feeling deskilled, disarmed, and worn down. A resilient child has the ability to cope with challenging situations, and the capacity to bounce back from trauma and gain long-term strength from these life experiences.

Resilient Therapy ™ is an innovative way of strengthening children with complex needs. This is a tried-and-tested handbook for parents to read from cover to cover, or dip in and out of as needed.  Accessible and fun, Helping Children with Complex Needs Bounce Back includes exercises and worksheets, as well as breaking down the principles of the latest research, making them easy to apply to everyday situations.

This 'magic box' of ideas and remedies is perfect for parents and carers, friends and families of children with disabilities, special educational needs, and mental or physical health needs, as well as professionals working with these children.

Kim Aumann is Director of ART (Amaze Research and Training). Amaze is a parent-led voluntary organization offering support and advice to parents of children with special needs and disabilities. She has been a practitioner in this area for 15 years. Angie Hart is Professor of Child, Family and Community Health at the University of Brighton. She is also the mother of three adopted children, all with special needs, and is a child and family therapist.
This is a very down to earth book written by two people who clearly understand the highs and lows of parenting a child who has to overome more barriers than other children.
Adoption Today
The book achieves a kind and respectful tone. It uses this base to gently push people toward increased resilience through the use of many well thought out discovery exercises and action checklists that are all grounded in research and real world experience. The book elegantly achieves the aim of encouraging parents (& professionals) to build a coping scaffold. It respectfully invites people to reflect on the resources they already have and then use the 'straightforward, ordinary magic' of resilient therapy to begin a change in everyday life.
British Psychological Society
As a mother of four children, three of whom have a pick and mix of special needs including ADD, ADHD, Asperger's, high-functioning autism, anxiety and dyslexia, this book has been about building my own resilience as well as theirs. A boost in resilience is, I believe, what got my youngest through SATS, and building my resilience to deal with my ADHD son has improved our relationship enormously. The exercises were fun as well as informative. I think this book is really practical and positive.
Karin Anjos, Mother of four children with special needs
Caring for a disabled child with complex needs can be challenging for parents and for the professionals supporting them. We know that families value high quality emotional and practical support, but often lack the right advice that enables them to achieve 'ordinary' lives. The past decade has seen growing interest in the concept of developing resilience in both children and parents. This book offers a 'magic box' of ideas, and a menu of coping strategies for families and those who support them. The emphasis is on practical steps forward, positive and achievable outcomes, with the end result of families feeling confident and competent in helping their own child to make progress.
Dr Philippa Russell, Chair of Standing Commission on Carers
It provides a valuable insight into the challenges faced every day by the families we work with and makes us ask, "How well would I do faced with the same job 24 hours a day?" Easy to read and thought-provoking, Resilient Therapy is simple to apply and can provide a very positive outcome for the child. A recommended read guaranteed to give you that feel good factor.
Speech & Language Therapy in Practice
It is terrific to see a book for parents and professionals which shares knowledge and expertise on resilience - it is the key to parents and children getting through the tough times.
Mary MacLeod OBE, Chief Executive of the Family and Parenting Institute
If you've found a way to be happy, and raise happy kids, despite significant challenges, this book may feel like a confirmation of everything you've ever figured out, and that's got to feel good. You may even pick up a few more tips and ideas along the way. The book is probably more useful, though, for parents who know they have to pull themselves out of basic survival mode but don't know how to do it. The authors are cheerful and friendly, the text is easy to read and structured so that you can easily skip over parts that don't interest, and the advice is solid and helpful. There are exercises to help you think through how the suggestions will work in your family, and encouraging quotes from families who have put them into practice.
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