Most Popular Books by Diane Fraser

Imagine there is no one in the world with whom you can communicate. All your attempts to reach out and make sense in the world are thwarted because there is no one who understands your language. This is a normal event in child development. Yet the child with disabilities has less adaptive skills than other children her age. Attempts are more frustrating. To make matters worse, the whole circle of communication between adult and child becomes thwarted as parents and therapists, instead of reading nonverbal cues accurately, misjudge them and send the whole communication circle spiraling downward. The character, the pacing, the whole theatre of our play and movement with young children is extremely important. As we believe children must learn to speak, we adults, parents and therapists, must learn to play. It’s not that adults are not well meaning. Very many are. It’s just that most adults have no idea "how to be" in the child’s preverbal world. It is to this preverbal task that ChildDance is addressed. It describes one therapist’s encounter with six different children with special needs, how child development theory and practice is woven together to form a fabric for preverbal communication.

In 1983, Diane Fraser is emerging from the trauma of a violent family home life when her niece Deihlia is born with problems so severe that her prognosis is death before week's end. Blessed with a powerful resilience and a pioneering female surgeon, Deihlia survives over 40 major surgeries, coming close to death many times. Through her humor, mischief, and appetite for life, Deihlia shows people how to live with gusto and maneuver around obstacles - self created or otherwise. Like the superhero characters she loves, Deihlia undergoes major physical transformations, brushes with the law, and experiences magic, danger, and changes of identity. Growing along with her, "Auntie" Diane helps Deihlia live an independent life, and comes to understand just how much her own will and attitude influence her reality. Growing Up Superheroes is the unforgettable true story of Deihlia Nye, the girl whose grasp of death pushed her to fly beyond her limits, taking others along with her who are brave enough to rise to the challenge.