Handbook of Children with Special Health Care Needs

Handbook of Children with Special Health Care Needs

David Hollar, editor

Children with chronic conditions, developmental disorders, and birth defects

represent a sizeable minority of American children—as many as one in five.

Often their families have financial or other issues limiting their access to

appropriate care, thus limiting their adult prospects as well. Compounding the

problem, many valuable resources concerning this population are difficult to

access although they may be critical to the practitioners

who work to deliver quality care and services. In response, the

Handbook of Children with Special Health Care Needs assembles research,

applied, and policy perspectives reflecting the range of children’s problems

requiring special services. Widely studied conditions (e.g., communication

disorders, substance abuse) and those receiving lesser attention (e.g.,

tuberculosis) are covered, as are emerging ideas such as the “medical home”

concept of continuity of care. Contributors offer screening and evaluation

methods, research guidelines, and diagnostic and treatment interventions to

inform the greatest spectrum of readers, including: Quality oflife in children

diagnosed with ADHD or specific learning disabilities Evaluating school-aged

children with visual impairments Deaf culture advocates on deaf learners’

education Oral health access issues in children requiring special services

Diagnostic and treatment issues in fetal alcohol spectrum disorders Addressing

and preventing bullying of children with special health care needs Its

interdisciplinary outlook makes the Handbook of Children with Special Health

Care Needs a vital, forward-looking text for pediatricians, early childhood and special education professionals, disability advocates, social workers, and providers for children with special health care needs.