Easy for You to Say: Q and As for Teens Living With Chronic Illness or Disability - Softcover

Kaufman BSN MD FRCPC, Miriam

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1770850996 ISBN 13: 9781770850996

Publisher: Firefly Books, 2012

Synopsis

Practical information for teens and their families.

Praise for the previous edition:
This very unusual book...is loaded with the kind of information disabled teens often need but may be too embarrassed to ask for.
--Booklist

The teen years are some of the most demanding. Even the most well-adjusted youth struggles with the intense daily challenges of friends, family, school and wider society. But these problems pale in comparison to those faced by teenagers with a handicap or chronic illness such as spina bifida or cystic fibrosis. "Get over it" or "it's just a phase" is idle advice and little more than offensive. "Easy for you to say," is the teenager's often-heard -- and reasonable -- response.

Easy for You to Say profiles the lives of uniquely challenged teens as they work hard to make sense of the world and their places in it. The questions they pose are frank and courageous, many include street language that teens can identify with and readily understand. The issues front and center in their lives are addressed, such as family, doctors and medical issues, friends and dating, school and work, alcohol and street drugs, medications and sexuality. Useful charts give reliable information on medication interactions and side effects.

Kaufman is straightforward and honest, and provides solid information.

Easy for You to Say to Say addresses issues that often are not easy or pretty. It offers solid practical advice, straight talk and honest answers to questions that many would be too embarrassed to ask.

About this title

About the Author

Miriam Kaufman BSN, MD, FRCPC, is the head of the Division of Adolescent Medicine at The Hospital for Sick Children and Professor, Department of Paediatrics, at the University of Toronto. She is the founder of the Good 2 Go Transition Program at SickKids. Miriam has been interviewed for numerous newspaper and magazine articles and has appeared on many television programs, including Oprah. She has been working with teens with chronic illness or disability for more than 20 years.

From School Library Journal

Gr 8 Up-Written in a frank style, this volume continues to address teen concerns in a question/comment-and-answer format. As in the 2005 edition, the material is organized into eight topical chapters, including family relationships; doctors and medical issues; friends and dating; school and work; alcohol, drugs, and medications; sexuality; recreation; and transitions. The chapter on sexuality remains the longest; in it, the author responds to concerns about heterosexual relationships, homosexuality, pregnancy, and sexually transmitted diseases. The questions/comments come from teens Kaufman met while researching the book, from her patients, and from colleagues. Many of questions/comments are carried over from the earlier edition, with new ones added. Some of the answers from the second edition have been condensed here. Kaufman approaches the material positively and sensitively. While she refers to Canadian practices, the book still applies to U.S. teens. The appendix contains extensive charts on medications and their side effects, and drug interactions. A new chart covers medications and skin sensitivity to the sun. This updated edition will be a helpful resource for teens who may at first be reticent to take these types of questions/comments to adults. The work also provides professionals in the field of medicine valuable insights into the concerns of disabled and ill teenagers.-Lynn Vanca, Freelance Librarian, Akron, OHα(c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Edition details

• Publisher: Firefly Books
• Publication date: 2012
• ISBN 10: 1770850996
• ISBN 13: 9781770850996
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Edition number: 3
• Number of pages: 320