Shut Up About Your Perfect Kid: A Survival Guide for Ordinary Parents of Special Children »

GINA GALLAGHER is a highly imperfect mother and an award-winning copywriter. She lives in Marlborough, Massachusetts, with her husband, two daughters, and countless carpenter ants.
 
PATRICIA KONJOIAN is a freelance videographer who lives in Andover, Massachusetts, with her husband and three children. She has been on a diet since 1978.

AUTHORS’ DISCLAIMER:
We are not in any way experts on parenting children with disabilities. Our goal is simply to share strategies that have worked for each of us in the event it may help those in a similar situation. If you’re different from us (i.e., you are bright or of the perfect persuasion), we advise you not to try the following at home.
 
On a “perfection-preoccupied planet,” sisters Gina and Patty dare to speak up about the frustrations, sadness, and stigmas they face as parents of children with disabilities (one with Asperger’s syndrome, the other with bipolar disorder).
 
This refreshingly frank book, which will alternately make you want to tear your hair out and laugh your head off, should be required reading for parents of disabled children. Shut Up About Your Perfect Kid provides wise and funny advice about how to:

   • Find a support group—either online or in your community
   • Ensure that your child gets the right in-school support
   • Deal with people—be they friends, family members, or strangers—who say or do insensitive things to you or your child
   • Find fun, safe, and inclusive extracurricular activities for your child
   • Battle your own grief and seek professional help if you need it
   • Keep the rest of the family intact in moments of crisis