Rachel Robertson

'Deeply touching but never sentimental, this remarkable book is more than a story of one boy and his mother. It's a thoughtful meditation on the intricate workings of the human mind and heart.' TONI JORDAN 'He'll grow out of it,' my friends told me. 'He's so intelligent,' my family said. 'Your parents are mathematicians,' people reminded me. 'What did you expect?' What did I expect? We expect many things of our children. Most of the time we are only aware of these expectations when something happens to make it impossible for them to be fulfilled. When Ben is a baby, Rachel puts his quirks down to eccentricity. He likes to count letterboxes; he hates to get his hands dirty; loud noises make him anxious. But as Ben grows and his behaviour becomes more pronounced, it becomes clear there is something else going on. When he is diagnosed with autism, Rachel must reconsider everything she thought she knew about parenting, about Ben, and about how best to mother him. Reaching One Thousand charts her quest to understand autism and to build a new kind of relationship with her son. Along the way she explores her own childhood, discovering unexpected links between Ben's experiences and her own. Before she can presume to tell Ben's story, she realises, she must face difficult questions - questions about intimacy, trust, and what it means for a mother to write about her child. Exquisitely written, this is a thought-provoking reflection on family and understanding and a tender love letter from a mother to her son.

A Story of Love, Motherhood and Autism

Reaching One Thousand

Clare Louden

Maxinne Sclanders

This handbook has been written for all staff working in registered training organisations (including TAFEWA colleges) in Western Australia. It provides information and resources to assist staff to be more comfortable in their role interacting with the range of learners they may encounter.

Handbook

Staying the Course

Facilitator's Kit

Liz Byrski

Fifteen Australian women writers were asked to respond to the colour purple. In their hands, purple takes on many meanings. There are stories about Tyrian purple, a snippet of King George's coronation gown, pigeon fanciers, the Dockers' Purple Haze ­ and their layers are explored through themes of feminism, multiculturalism, artists and aging, mothers and daughters and aunts. This is a book for women readers everywhere.

Purple Prose

Katie Ellis

Mike Kent

Rosemarie Garland-Thomson

How can a deep engagement with disability studies change our understanding of sociology, literary studies, gender studies, aesthetics, bioethics, social work, law, education, or history? Interdisciplinary Approaches to Disability (the companion volume to Manifestos for the Future of Critical Disability Studies) identifies both the practical and theoretical implications of such an interdisciplinary dialogue and challenges people in disability studies as well as other disciplinary fields to critically reflect on their professional praxis in terms of theory, practice, and methods. Topics covered include interdisciplinary outlooks ranging from media studies, games studies, education, performance, history and curation through to theology and immunology. Perspectives are drawn from different regions from the European Union to the Global South with chapters that draw on a range of different national backgrounds. Our contributors who write as either disabled people or allies do not proceed from a singular approach to disability, often reflecting different or even opposing positions. The collection features contributions from both established and new voices in international disability studies outlining their own visions for the future of the field. Interdisciplinary Approaches to Disability will be of interest to all scholars and students working within the fields of disability studies, cultural studies, sociology, law history and education. The concerns raised here are further in Manifestos for the Future of Critical Disability Studies.

Looking Towards the Future:

Interdisciplinary Approaches to Disability

This collection identifies the key tensions and conflicts being debated within the field of critical disability studies and provides both an outline of the field in its current form and offers manifestos for its future direction. Traversing a number of disciplines from science and technology studies to maternal studies, the collection offers a transdisciplinary vision for the future of critical disability studies. Some common thematic concerns emerge across the book such as digital futures, the usefulness of anger, creativity, family as disability allies, intersectionality, ethics, eugenics, accessibility and interdisciplinarity. However, the contributors who write as either disabled people or allies do not proceed from a singular approach to disability, often reflecting different or even opposing positions on these issues. Containing contributions from established and new voices in disability studies outlining their own manifesto for the future of the field, this book will be of interest to all scholars and students working within the fields of disability studies, cultural studies, sociology, law, history and education. The concerns introduced here are further explored in its sister volume Interdisciplinary approaches to disability: looking towards the future.

Rachel Robertson

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