Recommended Reading

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Recommended Reading

Recommended Reading

A curated collection of resources that shaped our practice and informed the work at CAP. Drawing on our combined experience in assessment, leadership, and systems change, we recommend books that challenge conventional thinking, deepen expertise, and guide better decisions for students and families.

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For Diagnosticians & Evaluators

Professional Reading

Culturally Responsive Teaching and The Brain

Zaretta Hammond (2014)

Essential for bilingual and cross-cultural assessment. Hammond bridges neuroscience and equity in a way every diagnostician needs to understand.

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Overcoming Dyslexia (Revised Edition)

Sally Shaywitz, M.D. (2020)

The gold-standard clinical reference on dyslexia. Covers neuroscience, identification, and intervention. Every diagnostician's desk reference.

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The Dyslexic Advantage (Revised & Updated)

Brock L. Eide & Fernette F. Eide

Reframes dyslexia as a different kind of mind rather than a deficit. Directly aligned with a strengths-based approach to evaluation.

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For Families & Advocates

Books to Share with the Families You Serve

The Deepest Well: Healing the Long-Term Effects of Childhood Adversity

Dr. Nadine Burke Harris (2018)

The definitive book on ACEs and toxic stress. Essential for families trying to understand why a child is struggling beyond just academics.

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The Body Keeps the Score

Bessel van der Kolk, M.D. (2014)

The clinical deep-dive on how trauma lives in the body. The companion to Burke Harris for evaluators and families navigating trauma histories.

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Scattered Minds: The Origins and Healing of Attention Deficit Disorder

Gabor Maté (2019)

ADHD through a trauma-informed lens. Reframes the disorder as a response to environment. Deeply humanizing for families who feel blamed.

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Lost at School

Ross W. Greene, Ph.D.

Collaborative Problem Solving for kids with behavioral challenges. Reframes "won't" as "can't". A shift that resonates with SpEd families who feel the school is blaming their child.

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Wrightslaw: From Emotions to Advocacy

Pam Wright & Pete Wright (2006)

The most practical guide for parents learning to advocate for their child in the special education system. Every advocacy family needs this.

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The Whole-Brain Child

Daniel J. Siegel & Tina Payne Bryson (2011)

Translates brain development research into strategies parents can actually use. Pairs beautifully with the ACEs framework from Burke Harris.

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The Anxious Generation

Jonathan Haidt (2024)

The book families are already reading. Haidt explains how smartphones have rewired childhood. Essential context for the referral families you see every week.

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The Importance of Being Little: What Preschoolers Really Need from Grownups

Erika Christakis (2016)

A research-grounded case for child-led, relationship-centered early learning. Helps families understand what healthy early development actually looks like.

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Uniquely Human: Updated and Expanded. A Different Way of Seeing Autism

Barry M. Prizant, Ph.D. & Tom Fields-Meyer

Reframes autism as a different way of being human. Essential for any family receiving an autism diagnosis and for evaluators who want to communicate findings with compassion.

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Understanding Literacy & Technology

Reader, Come Home: The Reading Brain in a Digital World

Maryanne Wolf (2018)

One of the world's leading reading neuroscientists on what screens are doing to children's literacy and attention. Directly relevant to the profiles diagnosticians evaluate.

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Co-Intelligence: Living and Working with AI

Ethan Mollick (2024)

The clearest, most honest guide to how AI actually works, and how professionals can use it without losing their clinical judgment.

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