especially for those with special needs. Librarian Donna Reagan
plans her first monthly Saturday story time for September, 2012.
Donna Reagan has an especial affinity with special needs
children because her son had autism and she volunteered in a
preschool classroom which included children with special needs.
This will give Nashville parents two Saturdays a month when
they can take advantage of a very special time.
If you do not live in an area which offers such a story time,
and you would like one, try asking a librarian.
That's how the Green Hills story time started.
It's been a great success.
The librarian there reports that in the year and a half she's
been offering it, she only remembers two occasions when
she needed to read louder because of a crying child. And
reading louder is no big deal. She's happy to do it.
She also appreciates the great role modeling of the parents
who come. Unlike some of the parents at a usual story time,
the parents model attentive behavior and sing along with the
songs.
She's foregone the usual cds to let the children pick the
verses to "Old McDonald" and to make sure the song
lasts as long as the children's attention does, no longer
and no shorter.
Many thanks to all of Nashville's wonderful librarians, and
a very special thanks to those librarians doing something
new and wonderful for our kids with special needs.
-Spectrum Mom
I have come across your blog a few times now since my daughter was diagnosed with highly functional autism as a 5 year old late last year. Today, I have decided to follow your blog as even though you are based in the US and I am in Australia, there is still much of interest here for me - just not the events held in the US of course ;). But I did want to tell you about a fab book I found today called "Do You Understand Me?" by Sofie Koborg Brosen, a Danish girl with ASD who wrote the book when she was 11 to help friends and peers understand her and ASD. I read it in the store and then had to buy it. I think my daughter is a little young yet to really understand it but it will be a great way to explain her ASD to her, and to help her understand herself, and have others understand her. I just thought I would tell you about the book in case you had not come across it before...if you have already blogged about it, please point me in the right direction as I would be interested to read a post about it.
ReplyDelete- Jutta from Melbourne, Australia
Thanks for the great suggestion. I haven't heard of that book, but I'll look for it. Especially since my boy is eleven and I still struggle when I'm talking to him about autism.
ReplyDelete