Step outside your home and look around.
Do you see a library?
No?
Are you sure?
Walk a few blocks and you
just might find a neighborhood
library close by.
Little Free Libraries have been
popping up for awhile, and I've
admired them from afar and online.
But until my neighbors built one,
I had no idea what a great resource
they could be.
It seems to yield endless knock knock
joke books - and if you've read this
blog often, you know how great that is for my son
with autism. Not to mention all the choices
for my younger son and myself.
Currently there are two picture books -
Mind Your Manners B. B. Wolf and
Cockatoo, Too of which the first
seems educative and the second, fun,
with both being exceptionally suitable
for readers who might need a little
extra help with cultural norms or might
have a special appreciation for word play.
A free little library offers a great chance for a reader
to make a choice among a limited selection of books.
And if you're into projects, you can make
your own. For more info, check here:
https://littlefreelibrary.org/
How does your free little library grow?
Contrary to my profile, my son with autism is
now sixteen. He still struggles with
comprehension. And I struggle with my
computer and blogger. Hence, no posts
in forever. Now and then I add to the
Facebook Page, mainly local events.
Reading Comprehension is a many-
faceted beast. Most of us don't realize
that. I sure didn't. For someone with
autism, there can be many stumbling
blocks.
An early goal (age six maybe?) was
helping him differentiate between fact
and opinion. In reading, this is similar
to dividing texts into non-fiction and
fiction. This, of course, is the barest
beginning.
In an old post, I talked about having him
act out texts. At this point, this is more
distracting than helpful. He is fascinated
by the envelope of meaning. If spoken, by
rhythm, rhyme, and tone. If written, by
syllable count, chapter and page number,
and word play (including rhymes, puns,
assonance, alliteration, etcetera).
Meaning does not interest him.
His current tutor hopes to give him the
authorial perspective - what does the author
want to do?
Since I find this somewhat dense going
myself (is this passage meant to inform?
explain? entertain? why can't it be all
three?) I am unsure of my ability to
assist in this enterprise. But by all means,
if he will go there, let's go!
What about you? Are you a reader with
autism, or do you have a reader with autism
in your life? Do you have questions?
Answers?
And if you're into projects, you can make