Books–the perfect gift for the SLP!

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I’m kind of a book junkie.

I know people that read more, but not many. And few of them have as many work and family commitments as I do. My goal each year is to read (or listen to) 50 books. Here is what I read in 2012, 2011, 2010.

Based on my readings from the last few years, here are some recommendations for gifts for the SLP in your life (please note, if you have read this already, I decided to break my lists up into different days for different lists):

Books for the SLP

All of these books are somehow related to speech, speech therapy, or disability. They are both fiction and non-fiction, adult and young adult in genre.

1. The Brain That Changes Itself: One of my favorite books ever. This non-fiction book talks about the ways that our brains change (for better and worse) and things that people can do to help the facilitate its transformation. The book is filled with stories and examples and is not a heavy read at all!

2. Schuyler’s Monster: A powerful non-fiction book written by a dad of a non-verbal child. This book talks about the trials that the family worked through in an effort to find a “voice” for their daughter.

3. Mokingbird: This is a sad but hopeful fictional story about a girl with Asperger’s who is learning to grieve through the loss of her brother.

4. Knowing Jesse: A tear-jerker memoir by a mother about her son with quadriplegia.

5. Room: A fictional story eerily similar to some real-life kidnappings. This book is not for the faint of heart, but it is extremely powerful! The child’s language is very odd, and that is why I added it to this list. There is much for the SLP to analyze when a child has barely been exposed to language.

6. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close: I loved this fictional story about 9-year old Oskar  (who has Autism-like characteristics). He is on a quest throughout New York City as he processes the death of his father in the September 11th attacks.

7. The Journal of Best Practices: The memoir of a man with Asperger’s who is trying to create a better marriage.

8. Wonder: One of my favorite books of the year! This young adult fictional story is about a middle school boy with severe craniofacial differences as he experiences school for the first time in his life.

9. Rules: This young adult fictional story is about a 12 year old girl who has a brother with Autism. She tries to navigate her own pre-teen social world and look out for her brother, so they develop a set of “Rules” to help.

10. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time: The fictional “mystery” story of a man with Asperger’s who is investigating the death of a neighborhood dog.