Gerald, whose communication is in the form of clangs, toots, and blasts, distresses his parents and the kids at school.

Born mute, speaking only in sign, Edgar Sawtelle leads an idyllic life with his parents on their farm in remote northern Wisconsin. For generations, the Sawtelles have raised and trained a fictional breed of dog whose thoughtful companionship is epitomized by Almondine, Edgar's lifelong friend and ally. But with the unexpected return of Claude, Edgar's paternal uncle, turmoil consumes the Sawtelles' once peaceful home. When Edgar's father dies suddenly,...

First Words: A Parent's Step-by-Step Guide to Helping a Child with Speech and Language Delays gives parents the information they need to allow them to stimulate their child's speech and language. Parents are given actual samples of how children with autism and other language delays respond differently to questions and how their responses can be redirected in order to start building connections. Offenbacher explains terms such as speech and language,...

Understanding the difficulties faced by adults with communication and language disorders is key to learning to "hear" what they are saying. The real stories collected here illustrate both the challenges and realities of living with a speech or language disorder but provide hope that understanding can be attained.

"The King's Speech" presents a sideways glance at a crucial period in 20th-century history--as the monumentally awkward Prince Albert, or Bertie, becomes King George VI unexpectedly in 1936 when his older brother Edward VIII abdicates to marry American divorcée Wallis Simpson. In imperial Britain between the wars, that was problem enough, but Bertie suffered from a chronic stammer that made his public appearances painful for everyone. In an age of...

"Ten-year old Kaylee Wren doesn't speak. Not since her drug-addled mother walked away, leaving her in a remote cabin nestled in the towering redwoods--in the care of a man who is as dangerous as he is evil. With silence her only refuge, Kaylee collects words she might never speak from the only memento her mother left behind: a dictionary. Sierra Dawn is thirty-four, an artist, and alone. She has allowed the shame of her past to silence her present...

It was difficult for Ginny at first, but her senior year is finally starting to feel kind of normal, until she sees him--the beautiful mystery boy in her English class.

Thirteen-year-old Jed spends Christmas break working on a school project filming a documentary about his East Village, New York City, neighborhood, where he is continually reminded of his older brother, Zeke, a promising poet who died the summer before.