DOES YOUR CHILD HAVE A HIDDEN DISABILITY?

Jill Curtis

Hodder and Stoughton
ISBN 0-340-78679-5
UK 7.99 GBP

Jill Curtis is a psychoanalytic psychotherapist working in a private practice in London. Her book is an eminently readable volume aimed at parents who have a child who might well have a disability.

A large number of parents find themselves worrying whether there is something “not quite right” with their child and find it difficult to pinpoint just what is wrong and where to seek help. Although the nature of the problem may not be understood at first, the symptoms that are visible are most distressing to both parent and child.

‘Invisible’ disabilities range widely and overlapping symptoms can confuse even the experts. Focusing on the social and emotional impact of these disabilities on the whole family, this book guides parents through the maze of conflicting advice and offers support to those parents who may need help.

Some of the real-life stories outlined are worrying in the way some parents have been treated by the professionals in social services and health departments and the sometimes haphazard way that labels such as ADD or ADHD are hung on children. This book may prove invaluable in pointing parents in the right direction for help. It certainly offers down-to-earth, sensible advice by the bucketload.

WHBS