One of my favorite special needs bloggers is Ellen Seidman at Love That Max. Her posts about life with Max, her son who lives with cerebral palsy, are funny, honest, and transparent. She also runs some really good give way contests now and then, so if you haven’t visited her site before, give it a try. You might win something!
Joy Cowley and Dr. Seuss
In her February 23 post (Yes, this follow up is dreadfully behind the times), Seidman talks about a challenge common to parents of kids with communication delays: finding books that aren’t too babyish or too wordy, books for kids with special needs they will actually enjoy. To overcome this difficulty, she and Max have been reading Thomas the Tank books, because he’s into Thomas, and Dr. Seuss, because Max is into rhymes. When Max brought home a Sunshine book by Joy Cowley (who started writing them the 1960s when one of her son’s had trouble learning to read), Seidman hit pay dirt. Cowley has written over 600 titles with big type, repetitive rhymes, and short sentences. Perfect for Max and other kids with special needs.
Special Needs Coloring Pages
Here’s another resource in a vein similar to books for kids with special needs can be found at found at www.coloring.wa. They have about 30 coloring pictures (Coloring may not stimulate your child’s creativity, but filling in spaces with waxy color can be very calming to kids…and give you a few minutes to breathe) featuring kids with special needs. Go to this link to access and print them. It seems to me that since about 17% of kids in schools have identified special needs, 1 in every 5 coloring pages should include them, too. Maybe these 30 pictures will start a new trend.
What Resources Have You Found?
Have you found books that meet your child’s special needs challenges? What are they? What other kinds of resources have your searches revealed? Please share them in the comment box so more families can benefit from them. And if you still haven’t visited Love That Max, take a look at Ellen’s post about reading with Max. His personality is contagious and will make you smile.
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