Book Description
Finally a social skills program that covers all the bases!
Whether it's learning how long one can look at somebody without being accused of staring; how to shift topics, despite one's desire to stick with that all-consuming special interest; how to say no to peer pressure; or dealing with a sensitive topic - it's all here...and more. In this comprehensive and user-friendly book, the author translates years of experience working with students with Asperger Syndrome and social-communication difficulties. After brief introductory chapters on skills to target, instructional strategies, behavior management, promoting generalization, etc., as well as a special chapter by Brenda Smith Myles on relevant characteristics of autism spectrum disorders, the reader is presented with the essence of this must-have resource: 70 of the skills that most commonly cause difficulty for individuals with autism spectrum disorders and social-communication problems. The presentation of each skill consists of a reproducible skill handout, as well as activity sheets listing ways teachers and parents can demonstrate, practice, and reinforce the skill in the classroom and at home. A concluding chapter on promoting peer acceptance offers sensitivity training programs for both students of various age groups and school staff, making this a complete social skills training package for students of all ages.
Customer Reviews:
Great book!.......2007-09-03
This book has step by step instructions on social skills and I love the easy to read and teach format. I don't know if my son has Asperger's, but he really struggles with social skills and this has been a great help to us.
very practical workbook.......2007-08-06
I found this book very useful. It lists skills a child should have, which are so inherent to those who don't have this probelm, they are actually hard to think of on your own. For each skill it gives examples and ways to encourage gaining the skill. Every parent whose child's social skills aren't up to par with their peers will benefit from this book.
Great for Social Skills Training.......2007-03-10
This book is an excellent resource for those who want to assist children and young adults with social skills training. There are clear cut lessons and activities that cover a variety of topics from how to greet others to asking someone on a date. Very valuable for those who need concrete examples of the correct way to approach many different social situations. Could be used for children on the autism spectrum, but also for any child who could benefit from practice in social interaction, even those who are shy. Anyone who lives and works with students who have social skills defecits would find this book useful.
Easy reading, understanding, and easy to use lessons.......2007-02-23
This book is not only good to help those in the autism spectrum with lacking social skills, but they can also be applied easily to teaching any children without autism. It is straightforward easy to use, to the point. Definitely worth the money, and was recommended to me by several mothers with more than 2 children with autism. Thanks!
A must for all kids with social skill issues.......2007-01-09
Jed Baker has done it again. This is a nice follow-up to his social picture book. This is done nicely because you can pick and choose which areas you need to work on. Most children could use help with social skills to reduce anxiety, regardless of whether they have issues. My son does not have aspergers and his social skills issues are minimum but with practice the skills he has have been greatly refined.The program can be used in parts at home by parents with minimal training or in a school environment with speech therapists etc.
Book Description
In 2001, Dr. Baker wrote The Social Skills Picture Book, designed for young children with social communication challenges. Now, in response to the deluge of requests from parents with children in their teens, here is Dr. Baker's long-awaited book, specifically geared toward older students. The Social Skills Picture Book for High School and Beyond offers a visual learning format. Photos of actual students engaging in a wide variety of social situations show, rather than tell, the right (and wrong) ways to interact in different circumstances. They visually illustrate the positive and negative consequences of both ways of interacting. The book also offers instructions for students & families to create their own social skills booklets. The social skills address real-life situations that are important to teens, such as: making new friends, asking someone out on a date, doing difficult schoolwork, interviewing for a job, and much, much more!
Customer Reviews:
Important ideas for students and parents affected by Asperger's.......2007-09-23
While I think some of the students who could benefit from this book might find it a bit patronizing and beneath their level of maturity and intelligence (since it depends on pictures so much), there are some really valuable insights to be found for just about everyone with any degree of Asperger's Syndrome. The only improvement I would suggest is that more details on body language reading and face reading be included. For example, when Dr. Baker says to check first whether a potential friend looks receptive, exactly what should one look for in the facial expression and body posture? Dr. Baker gives some details on these things, but I think some Asperger's students might need more specific pointers.
Social Skills picture book..........2007-06-08
The book is in excellent condition, was packaged properly and shipped promptly.
Some of the pictures don't accurately show the body language like I would expect them too. Also, pictures are duplicated in the book for various body languages. Would be nice to have different pictures so as not to confuse the student. But I do think it will be helpful for my daughter to use along with her counselor.
Very Helpful!.......2007-05-25
Although I haven't purchased this book, I have read a copy that I have borrowed from a library, and I think that it is very helpful.
As someone with Asperger's Syndrome myself, I know that if there had been books like this 30 years ago, I would have learned much earlier in life what things are appropriate to do and say in what situation. It's too bad that there were no books like this until very recent years!
Wonderful Resource........2007-05-07
This book is a wonderful resource for parents and support staff working with individuals with autism spectrum disorders. Despite its title, it is also excellent for use with middle school students. As a clinical psychologist working with children and adolescents on the autism spectrum, I am recommending this book to all of the teams, along with the original Social Skills Picture Book for the younger children.
Another took in my Social Skills toolbox.......2007-01-30
The Social Skills Picture Book for High School and Beyond by Jed Baker is an excellent tool for adolescents who are on the autistic spectrum. The photographs coupled with the dialogue present in a multisensory manner strategies that can be learned and practiced for everyday situations in school and at work. This is a good supplement for direct teaching and modeling offered in the school setting.
Book Description
A comprehensive resource for students on the autism spectrum preparing for life after high school, best-selling author/counselor Dr. Jed Baker offers "life skills training" on subjects such as non-verbal cues, body language, dealing with anger, frustration and anxiety, as well as building and maintaining friendships, roommates, and intimate relationships. He focuses on conversational and employment skills, ways to balance work/school with family demands, and problematic areas such as finances, emergencies and transportation matters. The assessment tools he provides for parents and the analysis of the laws that provide accommodations to adults with disabilities are critical for success in life after high school.
Customer Reviews:
A necessary tool for social skills groups........2007-01-10
I use Dr. Bakers manuals and pictures books in my group practice, and find them to be an invaluable tool for social skills training. They are easy to use and address the areas of difficulty that many of my clients struggle with. I also share the skills sheets with my clients' teachers and other caregivers to promote genrealization of the skills.
The gains my clients have made by learning and using the skills are measueable. Dr. Baker's books are a necessary tool for any social skills trainging program.
Excellent!!!.......2007-01-08
Another practical, informative and totally user-friendly book from Dr. Baker. Every professional working with adolescents and young adults will benefit from having this in their collection.
Knowledge delivered effectively is empowering!.......2007-01-05
In this indispensable guide, Dr. Baker gives parents and educators solid tools and strategies to embrace what's unique about our students in a way the adds ease and empowerment to the process.
Brilliant Navigator.......2006-12-11
This book is truly a Godsend. It is ideal for people on the autism/Asperger's spectrum who are approaching adulthood. Dr. Baker is plainly a gifted man and this book is proof positive of his logical vision. He is also a brilliant navigator who leads expeditions for people on the a/A spectrum into understanding the neurotypical world and issues in it.
I like the way he organizes assets and challenges by putting them into categories, e.g. work, social, etc. Dr. Baker includes some good practical techniques for handling difficult emotions. His advice on dating and employment issues is something no adult on the spectrum should go without reading. If you are an adult on the spectrum, please make this book your best friend.
Great Life Skills Training.......2006-07-11
This is a great motivational book for someone on the verge of entering into adulthood. Dr. Baker pinpoints specific skills needed for a variety of "life situations" by catagorizing them and dealing with them individually. It starts out with mapping out assets and challenges. There are activity pages to use when anger is an issue and suggestions on calming ones self. The book includes a 16 page section on dating. It offers great advice for job seekers, from writing resumes to handling rejection. These are only a few of the sections found in this book. It truly is indispensable for anyone with Autism or Asperger's Syndrome. I definitely recommend this one.
Book Description
Babbin details how the United Nations actively pursues anti-American policies and appeases America's enemies, while being largely funded by $3 billion worth of annual American dues. After revealing the depth of rampant corruption in the UN, Babbin concludes that it is time to recognize the changes in Old Europe and redesign America's alliances that line up with America's national interests.
Customer Reviews:
Babbin ain't liken.......2007-03-25
Although I basically liked this book.It definitely has a right leaning attitude.
Inside the Asylum.......2007-03-12
I enjoyed reading this eye-opening book from start to finish. The exposure of the UN's corruption and anti-American bias was disturbing but is also something all Americans should understand, especially when our misguided politicians insist we need UN approval to defend ourselves. Mr. Babbin also provided an in-depth review of the duplicity in those European countries who 'pretend' to be our friends and allies but who are anything but, especially France and Jacques Chirac.
I strongly recommend this book. It is an easy-to-read and understand book which is both educational and enjoyable reading, written by someone who has been close to the action and knows from whereupon he speaks.
Don McGowan
Inside the Asylum: Why the UN and Old Europe are Worse Than You Think.......2007-01-09
Corruptness, mismanagement, self-intrest and anti-Americanism are what we get for our billions of dollars spent for this bad endeavor. We all know it is bad, but should read this book to get the whole story that the media won't tell us.
An asylum run by the inmates........2006-12-14
If you ever wonder if the U.S. should leave the UN, read this book and you will have the answer.
In case you do not know enough about the UN to make form an opinion, read this book.
It should be required reading for Congress and the Executive Branch.
Time to get out.......2006-10-14
Like many ideas, the desire to set up a structure such as the UN was probably well-motivated and a legitimate concept at the time. But a strong argument can be made that the UN no longer serves its original purpose, and may in fact be acting against its founding ideals.
That is certainly the case being made by Jed Babbin, a leading American national security analyst. He argues that the UN has become a moribund, corrupt, biased and bloated bureaucracy which does little to promote the good of the world, but much to support tyrants, dictators and leftwing causes, as well as its own longevity.
When the UN was formed in 1945, it had some laudable aims. But also built into the original UN charter were some glaring defects, argues Babbin. The first error was to apply the doctrine of the equality of all men to nations. But not all nations are equal. Dictatorships, terrorist states, and Communist states are simply not on a par with free, democratic states.
Another problem is that "any nation, pseudo-nation, or thugocracy such as Iran under the mullahs" can be a member of the UN. This makes the whole exercise of peacekeeping and the promotion of human rights become counterproductive.
And the lack of accountability and a system of checks and balances makes the UN answerable to no one. Thus the opportunities for mismanagement and corruption are many.
Indeed, the Oil-for-Food scandal is a classic case in point. This debacle has yet to fully see the light of day, but we do know that the UN was implicitly involved in this. Indeed, UN officials provided Saddam Hussein with the means to "bribe politicians, to deprive his people of needed food and medicine, and to literally steal billions of dollars".
Not only was this the biggest financial scandal of the UN, much of the money siphoned off ended up lining the pockets of UN bureaucrats, along with various politicians.
The UN has been especially impotent to deal with terrorism. But worse than that, it has tended to side with the terrorists and tyrants over-against he US and much of the West. The democratic members of the UN seek to abide by its resolutions, but rogue states regularly flaunt them. By routinely cooperating with terrorists, the UN is not making the world a safer and more peaceful place, says Babbin.
He argues that reform of the UN is probably impossible, and the wisest course for the US may be to simply pull out altogether. Indeed, given that is directly and indirectly pumps around $7 billion a year into the UN (being its largest benefactor), and gets nothing but grief and hostility in return, that may not be a bad option.
Babbin says a coalition of like minded states could seek to do what the UN was meant to do, but has been unable or unwilling to do. Such a proposal may or may not be workable. But to stay in a system that has proven to be a failure is certainly not the way to proceed.
Other books have been recently written making a similar case to Babbin's. But if just one volume is to be consulted, this would be a good starting place indeed.
Book Description
Hurricane Katrina shredded one of the great cities of the South, and as levees failed and the federal relief effort proved lethally incompetent, a natural disaster became a man-made catastrophe. As an editor of New Orleans’ daily newspaper, the Pulitzer Prize—winning Times-Picayune, Jed Horne has had a front-row seat to the unfolding drama of the city’s collapse into chaos and its continuing struggle to survive.
As the Big One bore down, New Orleanians rich and poor, black and white, lurched from giddy revelry to mandatory evacuation. The thousands who couldn’t or wouldn’t leave initially congratulated themselves on once again riding out the storm. But then the unimaginable happened: Within a day 80 percent of the city was under water. The rising tides chased horrified men and women into snake-filled attics and onto the roofs of their houses. Heroes in swamp boats and helicopters braved wind and storm surge to bring survivors to dry ground. Mansions and shacks alike were swept away, and then a tidal wave of lawlessness inundated the Big Easy. Screams and gunshots echoed through the blacked-out Superdome. Police threw away their badges and joined in the looting. Corpses drifted in the streets for days, and buildings marinated for weeks in a witches’ brew of toxic chemicals that, when the floodwaters finally were pumped out, had turned vast reaches of the city into a ghost town.
Horne takes readers into the private worlds and inner thoughts of storm victims from all walks of life to weave a tapestry as intricate and vivid as the city itself. Politicians, thieves, nurses, urban visionaries, grieving mothers, entrepreneurs with an eye for quick profit at public expense–all of these lives collide in a chronicle that is harrowing, angry, and often slyly ironic.
Even before stranded survivors had been plucked from their roofs, government officials embarked on a vicious blame game that further snarled the relief operation and bedeviled scientists striving to understand the massive levee failures and build New Orleans a foolproof flood defense. As Horne makes clear, this shameless politicization set the tone for the ongoing reconstruction effort, which has been haunted by racial and class tensions from the start.
Katrina was a catastrophe deeply rooted in the politics and culture of the city that care forgot and of a nation that forgot to care. In Breach of Faith, Jed Horne has created a spellbinding epic of one of the worst disasters of our time.
Customer Reviews:
book- never received.......2007-10-01
I have still yet to receive the book I ordered. The shipper e-mailed me he had the wrong address??? How is that possible? Now he has correct address and claims he shipped it. I still do not have it. I will not be purchasing from Amazon again.
Clearer Perspective on a True Life Experience.......2007-09-24
This is an excellent account of the author's take on this nation's worst catastrophe which my state continues to try and rebuild from to date. Thank you for writing such a wonderful book...your perspective is right on the mark and the lives you detail are remarkable to say the least.
As someone who lost their home during Katrina here in Baton Rouge, but not her two children, two dogs, mother, or her own life, we give thanks daily to God first, and then our many family members, friends, and the generosity of complete strangers for their love, assistance, and kindness in our time of greatest sorrow. We have garnered the strength to go forward even stronger and more blessed than before, and we pray for all the thousands still struggling to rebuild their lives.
Thank you for insight that will bring so much to others when they read your book.
Clarity at a Cost.......2007-09-12
As a displaced resident of lower Plaquemines Parish and a guardsman mobilized for aid, I have seen and heard a lot about Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath. This book was great to finally put to rest so many rumors (some of which I believed two years later) and bring light to facts that were buried under sensationalism. The only problem I had with this book is that it jumps around too much. However, with the wealth of information and the thousands of people involved the author did an outstanding job tying as much as he could together, but there were just some frayed ends.
Inside View.......2007-08-12
I can't add much to the editorial review that appears on the product page, except to say that in many ways I'm glad that Horne used the balance of head and gut that he did in recounting the damage and aftermath of Katrina. The stories of the survivors are so gripping--sewage, snakes, stinging mosquitos, searing heat while waiting to be rescued followed by squalid conditions at the various collection sites--the Superdome, the Convention Center and a variety of road overpasses--then the gruesome cleanup stories (the exploding hamburger story is guaranteed to make anyone's stomach flip). Had the accounts been any more personal, I couldn't have finished the book. But this is coming from someone who experienced the storm just 75 miles up the road in Baton Rouge, where the story was already personal enough. Our suffering was very limited--some hours without electricity; days without cable TV; working around and with the thousands of evacuees, but we know how profoundly the storm and flood have affected Louisiana in general and the New Orleans metro area in particular.
I salute the doughty Picayune for publishing throughout and Horne for publishing such a thorough account just a year after the disaster. I also thank Horne for presenting a more comprehensive picture of Louisiana Governor Blanco's actions during and after the storm. The reputation of this dedicated and experienced public servant took a heavy hit from the storm, enough so to discourage her from running for a second term. Horne reveals that in the context of the event and the politics surrounding Washington's response, Blanco probably did about as well as anyone could, and better than many other political figures managing the response to the storm.
Horne also adds some structure to the story of the chaotic "planning process" (or lack thereof) that's taken place in New Orleans since the storm. This process goes on to this day as people and businesses make decisions about whether or not to return.
As fellow Louisianans, we do our best to support the recovery of New Orleans from Hurricane Katrina and the resultant flooding. Horne has helped us in that effort with his thorough and thoughtful account of the tragic events.
Quality journalistic effort.......2007-06-17
This book is a very good read. It tells the story of Katrina from many different perspectives and the author seems to present each view fairly. I live in Baton Rouge, and I have friends who lived in New Orleans and have left the city since. I feel the book is an accurate portryal of Katrina and how it affected the great city of New Orleans.
Amazon.com
It has been said that a mystery novel is "about something" and a literary tale is not. The Interpretation of Murder has legitimate claims to both genres. It is most definitely about something, and also replete with allusions to and explications of Shakespeare, to the very beginnings of psychology, to the infighting between psychoanalytic giants--all written in a style that an author with literary aspirations might well envy.
In 1909, Drs. Freud and Jung visit Manhattan. They no sooner arrive when a young socialite is murdered, followed by another attempted murder, bearing the same characteristics. In the second case, the victim lives. She has lost her voice and cannot remember anything. The young doctor, Stratham Younger, who has invited Freud to speak at his University, soon involves Dr. Freud in the case. Freud, saying that Nora's case will require a time committment that he does not have, turns her over to Younger. The rudiments of Nora's case are based on Freud's famous Dora, complete with sexual perversions, convoluted twists and turns and downright lies.
That is just one of the myriad plot lines in the novel, all of which are intricate, interesting and plausible. All it takes for all of the incidents to be true is a great deal of bad will--and it is abundant here! There are politicians who are less than statesmen, city employees at work for themselves and not the city, doctors who will do anything to undermine Freud's theories, thereby saving the neurotics for themselves, and opportunists at every level of society, seeking psychological or material advantage. Carl Jung is portrayed by turns as secretive, mysterious, odd, and just plain nuts, while Freud remains a gentleman whose worst problem is his bladder.
Not the least interesting aspect of the book is all the turn-of-the-century New York lore: bridge building, great mansions, the Astor versus Vanderbilt dustup, immigrant involvement, fabulous entertaining, auto versus carriage. Despite the tangle of tales, debut author Jed Rubenfeld finishes it with writerly dexterity--and the reader is sorry to see it all end. --Valerie Ryan
Book Description
In 1909, Sigmund Freud, accompanied by his then-disciple Carl Jung, made his one and only visit to the United States. Freud always spoke, in later years, as if some trauma had befallen him. He called Americans savages. This is the story of what happened in 1909. The Interpretation of Murder is an intricate tale of murder and the minds most dangerous mysteries. It unfurls on a sweltering August evening as Freud disembarks from the steamship George Washington. Across town, in an opulent apartment high above the city, a woman is found dangling from a chandelier. The next day, a second woman, Nora Acton, barely escapes the killer. Suffering from hysteria, only Freuds psychoanalytical methods can help her recall the identity of her assailant. In a historically accurate portrait of early 20th century New York City, The Interpretation of Murder will take you deep into the subterfuges of the criminal mind.
Customer Reviews:
Exciting Book.......2007-09-17
I lost more sleep over this book than any I have read in the past few years. I would think that I would stop at the end of a section and go to bed but it would hook me and I would have to keep reading. Several times I was literally on the edge of my seat as I was reading.
Terrible character development, stupid plotting.......2007-08-26
Ugh. I've gotten to the final 30 pages and cannot believe where this is going. What a terribly plotted book. And characters are just bare sketches on the page. Connections to 'Hamlet' go nowhere. It seems as if the author is simply showing off a certain amount of knowledge (oh, I see, he drops his Julliard School credit into his frontpiece bio -- so, what does that mean, he audited a Shakespeare class??). Two stars because he is able to string sentences together. Cheesy.
Insight into US Psychotherapy..........2007-08-23
The start is slow, but the action breathless by the end. The foundational prejudice of US psychiatry towards the medical model, followed by that of US psychotherapy towards a cognitive model, are given an intriguing explanation.
A smart write, a good read.......2007-08-14
I read this book about a month ago while on holiday. I thought I would wait a little before reviewing it in order to see how it would play in my own play-back memory machine. And the answer is that it has played back well. A good plot with some smart twists, a cast of generally realistic and 'sympathetic' characters, well-researched places and times, and a very nicely interwoven piece of fiction with what was an important event in the history of psychoanalysis and its embracement in the US.
So why so many negative reviews? One reason is that the book does require considerable attention; it keeps the reader on his/her toes as every page seems to contain potential clues that may be vital for the plot. Secondly, the author follows the currently fashionable cinematic style of constant scene changes and breathless editing, in which several different subplots move at the same time and the reader has to disentangle them. This proves tiresome at times, as if the author cannot just settle down and tell a story - he has to tell several stories at once. This brings us to the third criticism - the book does move at times from being clever to being clever clever. I found the final denouement very entertaining and satisfying, though the reasons that bring it about seem to fall into the clever clever category. Finally - the hype. Of course, this raises people's expectations; it may have been good for the book sales, though may have undermined its lasting effect.
What then are the book's virtues? As someone familiar with the way psychoanalysis works and with the different existing accounts of its founder, Sigmund Freud, I found the descriptions of Freud's visit to America, accompanied by Jung and Ferenzci and met but Brill and Jones, all historical personages, well researched and very convincing. The portrait that the author paints of Freud is very compelling and several of his interchanges with other characters are very realistic and have an authentic feel. Far from being an irrelevance to the plot, the author uses the presence of the father of psychoanalysis as a vital machine that moves the story forward. How so? By using very skilfully the well-established technique of drawing side by side crime-solving with the solving of the mental enigma that is posed by people's actions, especially those that are violent, irrational and 'crazy'. Normal people are crazy, says psychoanalysis; and the detective can go a long way by understanding how a crazy person acts out his/her crazyness while maintaining a perfectly normal appearance.
I found that several Freudian 'interpretations' are very well described; they do make us see events and actions in a very different, very persuasive light; this is surely the sign of a good interpretation. Freud's exchanges with the different characters at a dinner party are highly effective in this regard. Jung's character, by contrast, is not as sympathetically portrayed and, I suspect, that some of the admirers of his theory of the collective unconscious and archetypes will view it as bordering the caricature. However, the rancour with which Jung came to regard psychoanalysis and its founder is borne out by his his writings and letters.
This book reads quickly, but does not read easily. It makes demands of its readers. But if the reader is willing to put the effort into reading it, the book repays this effort in trumps.
Lost in boredom.......2007-08-06
This book starts out with a lot of promise but by about 50% through dissolves into shear boredom. There a basically 3 story line - the Crime, The Solving of the Crime and the gathering of a group of disfunctional men of little interest.
The first two stories (the crime and the solution) hold together well and would make an interesting read - the third losses its relevance quite soon into the novel and brings the whole thing to a crashing halt.
I'm sure some academic somewhere will find it rivetting but, for me, I couldn't even be bothered finishing the book (got about 75% through) I gave up careing about the crime and its solution.
Book Description
A dynamic teaching tool for children with autism or Asperger's Syndrome, "The Social Skills Picture Book" offers pictures of the right and wrong ways to handle nearly 30 social skills, such as conversation, play, emotion, management, and empathy.
Customer Reviews:
The Social Skills Picture Book Teaching play, emotion and communication to children with autism.......2007-09-06
Fantastic book! Although geared to children with autism, the contents are applicable to teaching social skills to all children. The photos and scripts are clear and to the point, and cover a broad range of situations.
NOT ONLY FOR THE AUTISTIC CHILD BUT FOR ALL WHO ENTER INTO RELATIONSHIPS IN THE CLASSROOM AND OUR WORLD.......2007-06-19
This book is designed to discuss with the autistic student effective interpersonal relationships in the classroom environment, with peers, teachers, etc. Nevertheless, I find it works very well with all students, and anyone who must work with human beings on a regular basis in our increasingly alienating society. This work in fact can serve as a portal to ethical and moral theology!
Often in the classroom we encounter a majority of students whose only prior interpersonal relationship has been the electronic babysitters of television broadcasts and violent video games. The negative interpersonal effects of such modern technology has been adequately explored by a wide variety of writers from VP Al Gore's The Assault on Reason to Sister Mary Timothy Prokes's At The Interface: Theology And Virtual Reality. Therefore these student's prior knowledge of effective strategies for interpersonal and human relationships may be more limited than in a pre-cathode ray tube generations.
The amount of violent death, for instance, which our students experience vicariously through their personal technology far out measures what an average child of fifty years ago might have witnessed, while at the same time a modern child has far less opportunity to interact freely with peers and establish positive, fulfilling and rewarding bonds of friendship than in the past. We have raised a generation within individual technological boxes more chilling than anything BF Skinner could have devised, and then we send them forth into the classroom and into the world, and hope they lead happy and successful lives. Let us then give them the tools, through this book, by which they may make positive choices in life.
Therefore, this book explicitly and cleverly leads us to discuss effective strategies for interpersonal relations, and why we should even bother. I now work with immigrant children who for socio-economic and cultural reasons might not have much prior experience of the standard classroom environment, and yet who seem to come with a greater aptitude for adjustment to this new environment than many of the children native to our nation. In any case, this book allows us all to discuss what works and what might not be as effective within our classroom. This book works not only for the autisitc child.
Jed Baker has devised a situational scope and sequence which motivates and involves every child. The photo sequences are very good. My gripes are that they are too small for display to a large group, and they are already labelled correct and incorrect rather than allowing the group to come through discussion and that logical process which leads to learning with retention the correct or more effective strategy.
I would love to see this excellent and useful tool republished in the form of large display cards with the photos and prompts alone, in order to guide a group discussion with a large group of smaller cooperative units. This I would find most useful in the classroom. I understand this book was written and designed for essentially one-on-one work with the autistic student, and that I am unfairly asking a very good and versatile Swiss knife to do the work of a screwdriver and hammer, but that is only because I have managed to use it effectively and could expand on this so easily in the proper format. Then we can all learn how and why to just get along, and work together for the joy and benefit of all in a cooperative and effective society which leads to peace with justice. Am I asking too much here?
Book is Useful for my Autistic Son.......2007-05-28
I spent just a few minutes going over with my son (age 8) the first series of cartoons, titled, "Don't be a Space Invader". Whenever he got too close to me, I said this phrase and he immediatly understood what I meant. My son and I spent quite a bit of time together with the book. The book held his interest as he looked at the children and he was quite pleased with pointing out "the wrong way" in the various situations.
My younger Autistic son (age 5) did not seem to readily understand the sequences in the book. Even so, he did find the book fun to look at. I believe that when he gets older, he will come to understand the book.
This book contains useful, everyday situations that tend to pose a problem for those with Austism. I highly recommend this book.
Great resource for older/higher-functioning kiddos on the spectrum.......2007-05-26
The pictures and captions throughout this book are a very helpful visual aid to teach social skills and positive interaction. I'm the mom of a 7-year-old daughter with high-functioning autism, and this book has been quite helpful in helping my daughter understand concepts that can be difficult to teach. I don't recommend this book for younger kiddos, however. Even a year or so ago, our daughter would not have been ready for this. One other thing to consider, which the author does point out, is that for some children with autism, it can be counter-productive to point out how *not* to do something because it can unintentionally call attention to/reinforce behaviors that you *don't* want your child to emulate. Our daughter doesn't have a problem with this currently, but if your child does, then I would recommend that you review the book first, get some blank paper and tape over all of the "don't do this" examples, and then just share the positive examples with your child.
Social Skills for the Visual Learner.......2007-05-01
My five-year-old son loves this book. He is a very visual learner; the combination of photographs and dialogue bubbles is very appealing. Showing both the "right way" and the "wrong way" helps my son focus on what the page is highlighting. He especially likes the "HINT" at the bottom of some pages. I have put up some posters around the house, inspired by these "hints". He even reads this book on car trips!
Book Description
Jed Johnson: Opulent Restraint is the first book to chronicle the fascinating career, work and times of an interior design superstar whose life was cut short in 1996 by the disastrous explosion of TWA Flight 800. From humble beginnings in Minnesota, Johnson rose to prominence in nineteen-seventies New York, via the Warhol Factory, to the highest echelons of the rarified world of design and decoration. His impressive celebrity client list included Pierre Bergé, Mick Jagger and Jerry Hall, Richard Gere, and Barbara Streisand. Yet, with success and acclaim, he never lost his shy humility, generous spirit and quiet grace. Through a series of essays, project photographs and personal pictures we trace the influences on his nascent career, his special relationship with Andy Warhol and his magical affect on others. Many never-before-seen photographs are included by important photographers, among them: Cecil Beaton, Francesco Scavullo, Billy Name, Jack Mitchell, John Hall, Elizabeth Heyert and Warhol himself. Opulent Restraint is a must have book for every interior design office and for those interested in the fascinating Warhol years in New York. Interior Design magazine called Johnson “a great talent” whose “spirit lives on in a stunning legacy of interior design.”
Customer Reviews:
A Glorious Piece of Work.......2006-05-17
Having recently read The Warhol Diaries and seeing pictures of the brothers Johnson in Scavullo's retrospective, I went in search of more information about them and found this title. First of all, the quality of the book is amazing, between the text, the photography, and the projects. Secondly, how incredible that Jed Johnson was self-taught. He clearly had a wonderful eye and an amazing talent to have created these dazzling spaces that function as homes while never seeming untouchable or cold. Opulent restraint, indeed. I never knew the man and yet, feel his loss keenly.
An indispensable guide.......2006-02-21
One of the best books in interiors design I've ever read. Beautifull photos that almost need no explanation and the feeling of not having enough of turning pages, waiting breathless to see what's next. Congratulations to his brother and to all who participated in this homage.
The best gift ever.......2005-12-14
"Opulent Restraint" is THE book that you want to buy for all your friends or for anyone who truly loves and appreciates interior design. Arthur Dunnan is a true master! Additional information on Jed's/Arthur's unique style may be seen in "Designers on Designers."
Book Description
A complete set of tools for applying entrepreneurial strategies and techniques to your nonprofit
As a follow-up to their book Enterprising Nonprofits, the authors of Strategic Tools for Social Entrepreneurs provide a full set of practical tools for putting the lessons of business entrepreneurship to work in your nonprofit. The book offers hands-on guidance that helps social sector leaders hone their entrepreneurial skills and carry out their social missions more effectively than ever before. This practical and easy-to-use book is filled with examples, exercises, checklists, and action steps that bring the concepts, frameworks, and tools to life. Detailed explanations of all the tools and techniques will help you personalize and apply them to your nonprofit organization-making it stronger, healthier, and better able to serve the needs of our communities.
Praise for Strategic Tools for Social Entrepreneurs
"I search constantly for resources that can help provide insight and guidance to take Teach For America to a higher level; Strategic Tools for Social Entrepreneurs does this and more. The book takes the best practices of for-profits and social enterprises and adapts them to the needs of entrepreneurial, mission-driven nonprofits. Strategic Tools for Social Entrepreneurs is a tremendous contribution to social entrepreneurs and to the nonprofit sector-many thanks to the authors for identifying this need and filling it!"
-Wendy Kopp
Founder and President, Teach For America
All of the royalties from this book will be used by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation to support continuing work on social entrepreneurship.
Download Description
Turning nonprofit idealism into a reality
Strategic Tools for Social Entrepreneurs is a toolkit for nonprofit organizations on developing real-world strategies for value creation, income generation, and growth. Chapters contain "Action Steps" that put concepts to work immediately; icons identifying key concepts, buzzwords, and pearls of wisdom; and end-of-chapter concept checks. With contributions from some of today's best and brightest social entrepreneurs-including James L. Heskett, Jerry Kitzi, Shirley Brice Heath, Fay Twersky, Melissa Taylor, Kay Sprinkel Grace, and Steve Roling-and profiles of successful enterprising nonprofits, the book is easily the most comprehensive work of its kind.
Customer Reviews:
Social Entrepreneur.......2002-03-04
Very helpful, Offers valuable tools for thinking strategically about value creation, income generation and growth. This book is a must have to keep up with the new changes and challenges arising in the non-profit sector.
Book Description
In this landmark work, Jed Perl captures the excitement of a generation of legendary artists–Jackson Pollack, Joseph Cornell, Robert Rauschenberg, and Ellsworth Kelly among them–who came to New York, mingled in its lofts and bars, and revolutionized American art. In a continuously arresting narrative, Perl also portrays such less well known figures as the galvanic teacher Hans Hofmann, the lyric expressionist Joan Mitchell, and the adventuresome realist Fairfield Porter, as well the writers, critics, and patrons who rounded out the artists’world.
Brilliantly describing the intellectual crosscurrents of the time as well as the genius of dozens of artists, New Art City is indispensable for lovers of modern art and culture.
Customer Reviews:
Excellent overview of the `origins' of modern art.......2007-04-21
Jed Perl's *New Art City* is a dense, fact-filled, often opinionated volume detailing the gradual shift of the art-world's creative center from Paris to New York City throughout the 20th century. This is not a text for the casual browser: with the exception of a few biographical sketches of the artists discussed, Perl is not always a lively writer and the majority of *New Art City* is comprised of critical and philosophical reflections--his own and others'--on the art and art movements he discusses. That's all for the better if you're a serious student of art history, or an artist: you'll welcome Perls' serious and nuanced approach, even if some of his concerns go straight over your head.
Perls' focus is on the artists of what has come to be known as The New York School--deKooning, Pollock, Newman, Kline, etc--and their nominal mentor, Hans Hoffman, but he also covers the legacy these artists left on American art all the way through the Pop 60s and on into the mid-70s/80s. His discussion of the passionate and multitudinous responses and reactions to Abstract Expressionism leading to the "end of painting" and how artists sought a solution to the `crisis' between abstraction and representation--a crisis that continues to this day--is rich and thought-provoking. Perl deals mainly with the painters of this period, but also takes into consideration sculptors, critics, gallery owners, and museum directors whose activities helped change--literally--the face of modern art. Some figures, like deKooning and Pollock, will probably be familiar enough to readers but others like Fairfield Porter, Leland Bell, and Nell Blaine will more likely come as something of a revelation. The best thing Perl does in this critical history is to clearly fit this large cast of characters into the grand narrative of 20th century American art and the driving point of this text is that American art during this time became *the* vanguard of art in the world.
As noted, this is a dense and sometimes abstruse text, and I found the opening pages almost forbiddingly overwritten and overwrought with exclamatory adjectives, but Perl eventually settles down to a prose style that is, if not exactly user-friendly, is at least relatively free of unnecessary jargon and obfuscation. Another downside to the book is that the reproductions are in black-and-white, which I realize nowadays is a necessity to keep the book from costing five hundred bucks, but the result is that Perl seems to find it necessary to describe the paintings. Others may dissent, but I didn't find it particularly helpful to "read" about the electric greens, the volcanic reds, the aniline yellows, etc etc. Reading such tedious descriptions one can't help but be reminded of the old adage "a picture is worth a thousand words." And, indeed, a few thousand such words could have been removed from *New Art City* without sacrificing much.
In the end, though, this is a challenging and worthwhile read, a good companion, probably, for the deKooning biography that was released at roughly the same time, that goes a long way to explaining modern art and where in the big picture we stand in the world of art today.
Books:
- Stalemate (Eve Duncan Forensics Thrillers)
- Sunrise (Sunrise Series #1)
- Surrender My Love
- Talent Is Never Enough: Discover the Choices That Will Take You Beyond Your Talent
- Taming the Scotsman (The MacAllisters)
- The Beast Within (Gabriel Knight supernatural mystery series book 2)
- The Case for Christ: A Journalist's Personal Investigation of the Evidence for Jesus
- The Charm School
- The Complete Anne of Green Gables Boxed Set (Anne of Green Gables, Anne of Avonlea, Anne of the Island, Anne of Windy Poplars, Anne's House of Dreams, ... Rainbow Valley, Rilla of Ingleside)
- The Courage to Heal Workbook: A Guide for Women and Men Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- Microstation V8 for Autocad Users
- Exiles Vol. 3: Out of Time
- The Campus Guide: Yale University
- Transamerican Literary Relations and the Nineteenth-Century Public Sphere
- 3D Game-Based Filmmaking: The Art of Machinima
- Dare to Repair: A Do-it-Herself Guide to Fixing
- Brain Is Born: Exploring the Birth and Development of the Central Nervous System
- Visionaire No. 47: Taste
- The New Complete Guide to Wildlife Photography: How to Get Close and Capture Animals on Film
- What the Hell, We Won the War Anyway, Didn't We: A Forty-Two Month Autobiography
General | Education | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
The Social Skills Picture Book Teaching play, emotion, and communication to children with autism
Power Cards: Using Special Interests to Motivate Children and Youth with Asperger Syndrome and Autism
Incredible 5-Point Scale ¿ Assisting Students with Autism Spectrum Disorders in Understanding Social Interactions and Controlling Their Emotional Responses
Navigating the Social World: A Curriculum for Individuals with Asperger's Syndrome, High Functioning Autism and Related Disorders
The Hidden Curriculum: Practical Solutions for Understanding Unstated Rules in Social Situations
