Raising Capable Kids

Lots of great ideas. Loved the chapters that were given and the advice. This is a great discussion book. Discussion will enhance the content.

A great book for parents of special needs kids! I do not have a neurodivergent or high medical need kiddo, but I do have friends that I will definitely be pass this book along to. It gives great action steps throughout the book and at the end with a great appendix. It also doesn't shame or make a parent wonder if they're doing enough, rather reframing how to deal with the here and now and celebrate the small wins over a long, hard road ahead.

This book has so much valuable information for a parent with any child who has a disability or neurodivergence. I loved the clear structure of the chapters, including the science about why each habit was important. The reflections and questions at the end of each chapter are fantastic (and brilliant to have them all together at the end as worksheets). I felt like all the reflection questions would be better than months and years of therapy. I’m a child welfare lawyer, and would love it if all parents going through the IEP/504 process with schools read this book so they could get clear on the expectations for their child, service providers, and of course it always starts with the parents own views and mindset.

I received this book for free. This does not impact my review in any shape or form.

Raising Capable Kids: The 12 Habits Every Parent Needs Regardless of their Child’s Label of Challenge, by Deborah Winking, is a self-help parenting book for caregivers learning how to support kids with special needs. The book is separated into different habits that each caregiver can follow and provides steps that they can take to build those habits. At the end of each habit lies reflections and exercises that caregivers can practice to build healthy coping skills for themselves and their children. Winking offers realistic solutions to caregivers who struggle with understanding their child and provides a comforting ear to combat burnout.

I appreciate how Winking incorporates person-centered approaches and emphasizes the need to build a working relationship with the child (keyword being working). It’s not a secret that, whether you’re a therapist, a teacher, a caregiver, or someone who enjoys helping kids with different perspectives in life, to get someone to learn, you have to have some rapport with them. This book wholeheartedly rejects the “do what I say, not as I do” attitude and instead tries to get caregivers to comprehend their child's perspectives of the world. I enjoyed the vignettes throughout the book; the book becomes more digestible and encourages the reader to learn more about how they were able to be successful. Profesionally-wise, I would use this book as a supplement to other parenting curricula, such as Nurturing Parenting.

I can also see this book being put to use for adult children struggling with severe mental illness and who are living with their parents. Is the situation ideal? No, especially when one year, your adult child was living independently and doing well for themselves, and then the next, they’re suddenly struggling with activities of daily living. It’s not uncommon to see some regression for those with mental illness, especially those diagnosed with a form of schizophrenia or PTSD. Sometimes, it can feel like you really are teaching a child all over again. Despite that, I can pinpoint certain situations in my practice where I felt a habit listed in the book would help a parent understand more of what their children are going through.

A side note: the book reminded me of when I was younger and struggled with reading. We’re not just born knowing how. We need to be able to sound out words, understand those words, understand the words that make up different phrases, and understand how to properly string them together into a coherent paragraph. But though I hated reading, the tone Winking uses reminded me of all those patient, patient teachers who willingly worked with me. It’s a nostalgic memory that adds to the book’s value.

This is a valuable read and I enjoyed the tone and information in it. I will be recommending this to other parents I know.

4/5 Stars! Thank you, NetGalley and Jessica Kingsley Publishers for this eARC of Raising Capable Kids by Deborah Winking.

This was very helpful for a parent of special needs kids. It has a lot of valuable information that I would definitely recommend to another parent/caregiver. This book actually helped gain additional confidence when I had to attend one of my child's recent IEP. I don't think I would be able to give this book to a new parent being introduced to the special needs/disability world yet, because it does take the parent to come to that realization, but I would list this book as a resource once the parents are ready. I do like that this book doesn't guilt or shame the parents to feel like they're not doing enough and celebrating the small victories are still awesome victories. I'm not trying to show off but I am really proud of us (the hubby and myself) for teaching our oldest nonverbal son how to finally communicate with us by using his AAC device(s).

Definitely appreciated this book! It was an easy read, but still informative. Will recommend to all of my mom friends. I liked especially how there were a lot of break points.. so as a mom, it was easy to close the book and come back to it while you’re busy watching the little ones!