The Elephant in the Playroom

by Denise Brodey

Candid, passionate, personal, and heartbreakingly funny, a view from within the whirlwind of parenting a child with special needs Three years ago, magazine editor Denise Brodey's precocious four-year-old son, Toby, was diagnosed with a combination of sensory integration dysfunction and childhood depression. As she struggled to make sense of her new, often chaotic, often lonely world, what she found comforted her most was talking with other harried, hopeful, and insightful parents of kids with special needs, learning how they coped with the feelings they encountered throughout the day. In The Elephant in the Playroom, moms and dads from across the country write intimately and honestly about the joyful highs and disordered lows of raising children who are not quite normal. Laying bare the emotional, medical, and social challenges they face, their stories address issues ranging from if and when to medicate a child, to how to get a child who is overly sensitive to the texture of food to eat lunch. Eloquent and honest, the voices in this collection will provide solace and support for the millions of parents whose kids struggle with ADD, ADHD, sensory disorders, childhood depression, Asperger's syndrome, and autism?as well as the many kids who fall between diagnoses. Offering readers comfort, community, and much-needed perspective, The Elephant in the Playroom is sure to become essential reading for parents of special needs kids.

256 pages, ebook

Published February 26, 2008

About the author

Brodey is a former national magazine editor-in-chief who worked at USA TODAY and GLAMOUR before pivoting to become an advocate for neurodivergent employees and adults and a senior contributor to Forbes.

In 2007, her book, The Elephant in the Playroom (Penguin) won a Library Journal Best Book List upon publication It contains the experiences of 41 parents nationwide raising children with learning differences, autism or a chronic illness. Brodey wrote the book before learning she was diagnosed with multiple learning differences and ADHD.

To learn more about her current advocacy work, read her blog and discover the Fortune 500 companies she helps to understand neurodivergence, visit Rebel Talent (elephants-everywhere.com).