Leslie Holzhauser-Peters - Making Sense of Childrens Thinking and Behavior: A Step-by-Step Tool for Understanding Children with NLD, Aspergers, HFA, PDD-NOS, and other Neurological Differences

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Making Sense of Childrens Thinking and Behavior

A Step-by-Step Tool for Understanding Children with NLD, Aspergers, HFA, PDD-NOS, and other Neurological Disorders

Leslie Holzhauser-Peters and Leslie True

Jessica Kingsley Publishers
London and Philadelphia

First published in 2008
by Jessica Kingsley Publishers
73 Collier Street,
London N1 9BE, UK
and
400 Market Street, Suite 400
Philadelphia, PA 19106, USA

www.jkp.com

Copyright Leslie Holzhauser-Peters and Leslie True 2008

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any material form (including photocopying or storing it in any medium by electronic means and whether or not transiently or incidentally to some other use of this publication) without the written permission of the copyright owner except in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 or under the terms of a licence issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency Ltd, Saffron House, 610 Kirby Street, London EC1N 8TS UK. Applications for the copyright owners written permission to reproduce any part of this publication should be addressed to the publisher.

Warning: The doing of an unauthorised act in relation to a copyright work may result in both a civil claim for damages and criminal prosecution.

Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Holzhauser-Peters, Leslie.

Making sense of children's thinking and behavior : a step-by-step tool for understanding children with NLD, Asperger's, HFA, PDD-NOS, and other neurological differences / Leslie Holzhauser-Peters and Leslie True.

p. cm.

Includes index.

ISBN 978-1-84310-888-7 (pb : alk. paper) 1. Cognition disorders in children. 2. Cognition in children--Testing. 3. Children with mental disabilities--Psychology. I. True, Leslie. II. Title.

RJ506.C63H65 2008
618.92'8--dc22

2008002665

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

ISBN 978 1 84310 888 7
eISBN 978 1 84642 816 6

This book is dedicated to Joshua.

Thank you for teaching and helping us to understand how the world looks through your eyes. Thank you for allowing us to share your life with others in the hope of making life better for those that come after you. You give new meaning to the word courage as you face the world each day.

We love you.

About the Authors

Leslie True holds a Bachelors degree in Business Administration from Bowling Green State University. She is the mother of three sonsJoshua, Danny, and Michael. Her oldest son, Joshua, has been diagnosed with a nonverbal learning disability (NLD). For the past year Leslie has worked as an instructional aide for a child diagnosed with a nonverbal learning disability. As a parent, she has done extensive studying and reading in the field of NLD. Her greatest qualification here is that she is an informed, intelligent, caring mother of a child diagnosed with NLD.

Leslie Holzhauser-Peters holds a Bachelors degree from the University of Cincinnati and a Masters degree from Miami University. She has thirty years of experience working in the public school setting in the special education and general education fields. She has worked as a speechlanguage pathologist, supervisor, and curriculum consultant. Her areas of expertise are language, literacy, and intervention. She has provided service to children diagnosed with NLD and has done extensive study in the areas of NLD and Aspergers. In addition she has presented throughout the United States and has authored several publications. Over the past several years she has acted both as an advocate and speechlanguage pathologist to her co-authors son, Joshua.

How the authors met

All it takes is one person to believe. Dianne Clemens was that special person for Joshua. She listened and always helped to figure out ways to make his life better. When everyone continued to insist Joshua was fine, she never dismissed the concerns that were ever present. Aside from being an outstanding speechlanguage pathologist, Dianne is a wonderful, caring person with a big heart and a never-ending willingness to help. Dianne worked with Joshua professionally early on and continues to this day to be a significant source of support and guidance.

The authors met because Dianne introduced them to one another in the hope that Leslie Holzhauser-Peters could provide speechlanguage pathology and advocacy services to Joshua, prior to his diagnosis. Dianne and Leslie H-P had previously worked together as speechlanguage pathologists, and became friends as they worked tirelessly to help children over the years. Knowing Diannes love for children and having great respect for her work, Leslie H-P agreed to Diannes appeal to consult on Joshuas case.

Leslie H-P did provide speechlanguage services in Joshuas home, and she and Leslie True became great friends over the course of the many discussions that arose surrounding Joshuas communication and related issues. The two of them have endured many hardships together, as there were great difficulties in getting Joshua diagnosed and on an IEP (Individual Education Plan) at school. He looked too good, and no one would believe the concerns the two Leslies expressed. Needless to say, the struggles have been many and intense, but they have been bearable because the two Leslies had each other. These two women feel blessed that out of such pain they both found a lifelong friend.

Authors notes on the stories in this book

The stories in this book describe real situations that are encountered by children diagnosed with neurological impairments, and are intended to illustrate to parents and professionals the kind of situations they might encounter, in the hope that they will then better understand the thinking of these children. The thinking tool provided can be used with children with nonverbal learning disability (NLD), Aspergers, high-functioning autism, pervasive developmental disorder-not otherwise specified (PDD-NOS), and other neurological disorders. Many of the stories are told from the first-person perspective, as they are about Leslie Trues son Joshua. He is currently twelve years old and in the seventh gradehowever, the stories are taken from different points in his life. Others are a synthesis of stories based on a variety of children with neurological disorders that we have worked with and discussed. In order to distinguish between the two and make those stories more reader-friendly, we have chosen to use the name Grace when referring to these children throughout the book.