This story was inspired by the author’s three daughters, particularly one who has Wolf-Hirschhorn syndrome. The story is based on Rosana’s childhood – her life growing up in a small Malaysian village, or kampung, and the loneliness she felt when her mother became ill and could no longer play with her. Designed for K-8 students, the guide provides parents, caregivers, camp counselors, and others with strategies and activities to build student confidence and encourage belonging during the summer months.
She blogs about issues that concern parents of children with special needs and also writes reviews for their Special Needs Book Review site. She is a wife, mom of three, and grandmother of five granddaughters. The story is about a little girl who forms a close bond with a girl who has cerebral palsy. The little girl finds that through her art, she can reach her special friend Suhana. My Friend Suhana is targeted for children ages 6-8 years.
However, once the novel was finished and printed, I realised that what I really wanted to change was me. I wanted to be able to write about something I had yet to see in fiction, but I also wanted to show other authors that they could have higher expectations of characters with Down syndrome. In fact, in seeking to become a dynamic force in social change, the Down Syndrome Novel often traps its hero beneath an avalanche of narrative expectation. Often the only way to remove this expectation is for the character to become incidental to the plot. Just a character in a story, not necessarily about Down syndrome, disability or social stigma and inclusion. This picture book follows Elsie, a light-skinned girl with WHS who uses a Pragmatic Organization Dynamic Display book to communicate, a gastronomy tube to eat, and a wheelchair to supplement her orthotics.
Take actresses Lauren Potter and Jamie Brewer, for example. While they’re appearing on major network television shows, where are their picture book biographies? Last year Shane Burcaw, who was born with spinal muscular atrophy , came out with this killer children’s book Not So Different. Why can’t we have a book like that for Lauren or Jamie or someone else? Babble, for the record, made a list of 21 Children’s Books to Celebrate World Down Syndrome Day. Nice, but how many can you say are in your local library?
Eva, a girl who has Cerebral Palsy, dreams of dancing. She gets the chance at an inclusive dance studio and it’s a joyful, amazing experience culminating in a special performance! Based on The Young Dance Company in Minneapolis. Let’s read stories that help us become empathetic to other people’s experiences as well as our own; stories that show not just our differences but more importantly, our similarities. This is a great book list for classrooms that include a child with Down syndrome for pre-school and elementary school aged children in helping them understand feelings, thoughts and ideas surrounding Down Syndrome. This is a great book for kindergarten to 3rd graders that talks about a young girl who finds out her baby brother has Down Syndrome.
I wish there had been at least one book about food allergies! It’s probably one of the most common disabilities children face today. As parents, we often aren’t quite sure how to talk to our kids about sensory challenges. Children’s books on Sensory Processing Disorder are a terrific way to educate and get the conversation started. Children’s books that focus on characters with special needs.
This is a moving story of a friendship between a large boy with learning disabilities and a very small boy with physical disabilities. It’s a sad but powerful story of friendship and resilience. Based on Jessica’s real-life situation when she was an adult, read how after her leg was amputated, she connected to a service dog named Rescue.
