13 Children’s Books About Disabilities

by Sara | Jun 18, 2017 | Autism, Special Needs

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13 Children's Books About Disabilities

Are you looking for children's books that provide insight and understanding about various disabilities? I feel that the best way to help our children learn compassion and understanding is by talking to them about various disabilities and sharing stories to help them understand.

We have compiled a round up of various books that we have come across that share insight about children with various disabilities. We have not personally read them all, but they were all highly recommended.

My Brother Sammy is Special by by Becky Edwards

In this book Sammy has autism and his brother gets frustrated that he can't always play with him because he doesn't like the same things he does and wants a brother more like him. But by the end of the book the older brother realizes that he should not demand everything on his own terms and that Sammy’s way of doing things may not be so bad after all. Grades K–3.

Just Because by Rebecca Elliott

This is a heartwarming picture book about being perfectly loved, no matter what. The younger brother goes on to describe all of the fun he has with his big sister who he loves so much and delights in telling us all about the fun things they do together. As the books goes on he realizes his sister has special needs and he accepts this as he does, all the wonderful things about her. Ages 4-8.

My Brother Charlie by Holly Robinson Peete

In this book,Charlie has autism and it goes on to talk about how his brain works in a special way and it's harder for him to make friends. His big sister tells us, for everything that Charlie can't do well, there are plenty more things that he's good at. She goes on to tell us everything he is good at and shows a wonderful relationship between siblings. Grades K–3.

Molly the Pony: A True Story by Pam Kaster

This book is about Molly the pony and shares the experiences she went through when she was rescued after Hurrican Katrina and her new ling on a farm with new animal friends. A dog at the farm attacks her and her front leg is injured badly and she undergoes amputation of her front leg which is a rare surgery for horses. She then relearns how to walk and embarks on this new mission in life. Grades K-3.

Knockin’ on Wood: Starring Peg Leg Bates by Lynne Barasch

This is an inspirational biography of Clayton -Peg Leg- Bates (1907-1998), an African American man who over came the hardship of losing a leg at age 12 and went on to become a world-renowned tap dancer. Grades K-3.

Rainbow Joe and Me by Maria Diaz Strom

This book talks about how Eloise learns a new way to see the world through her friend Rainbow Joe who is blind. He teaches her how he imagines and mixes colors. Eloise learns a whole new way to see the world. Grades K-3.

Different, Not Less: A Children's Book About Autism by Dan Gibbons

This is a fantastic book talking about how children with autism can do amazing, incredible things! This book can be used to teach your child about Autism Spectrum Disorder. The poem in the book was written by a father of a son with ASD. This book will give you an opportunity to explain the diagnosis to your child when you believe they are able to understand. Each page also has a hidden word. Red letters mixed in with the black letters spell uplifting words for those diagnosed with autism. Can your child find them? Grades K-3.

Silent Star: the Story of Deaf Major Leaguer William Hoy by Bill Wise

This book shares the story of William Hoy and how he loved baseball. Growing up in the 1860s and '70s, he dreamed of one day playing in the major leagues. A far-off fantasy for many boys, fulfilling this dream was even more of a long shot for William, who was deaf. Age Range: 6 – 11 years.

The Pirate of Kindergarten by George Ella Lyon

This book shares the experiences of a child in kindergarten who has double vision and the strugggles she goes through with double vision. She then starts to wear a patch to help her with her vision and she becomes the pirate of kindergarten. With the help of her patch she is now able to read and cut! Age Range: 4-8 years.

Thank You, Mr. Falker by Patricia Polacco

This book does a wonderful job of explaining and showing how a teacher can help a child overcome dyslexia and helps her learn to read. This can be a great book for a child that has difficulty reading or for a teacher who has made a difference in a child's life. Age Range: 5-8 years.

I Can Understand by Aviva M. Cantor

This book was inspired by the relationship of the authors older brother who had disabilities. Whenever children would see her brother they would ask why he looked different and her mother would respond, “He can't talk, but he can understand.” This inspired her to write a book to help children have a better understanding of people with special needs. Through this book Joey is the narrator and gets the opportunity to speak for himself and the reader gets to learn his perspective. This book lets others benefit from all that the author's brother has taught her about acceptance, humanity, and unconditional love. Grades K-3.

Mrs. Gorski, I Think I Have The Wiggle Fidgets by Barbara Esham

This book describes what it is like for kids in class who need to wiggle and move and how they can feel embarrassed by these behaviors. It provides some great techniques to help with these behaviors in the classroom and is very highly recommended. Age Range: 6 and up.

Dana Also Deserves a Playground by Yael Manor

This story aims to shed light, on the discrimination against disabled children in the playgrounds. It provides some of the struggles these children face on the play ground and how we can create a more inclusive play ground. Grades K-3.

We hope this list can provide you with a variety of stores to share with your children to help us provide a world with acceptance and understanding. Do you have a favorite book about disabilities that you would like us to add to this list? Please let us know what stories you like!

Has your child been recently diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder and you are feeling overwhelmed? This blog post is part of our FREE Autism & Special Needs Resource PDF where we provide you with a wealth of resources from sites, blogs, podcasts, books, and even transition to adulthood resources. Please enter your name and email below to download our FREE resource.

How to Advocate for Children of All Abilities with Author of The Lucky Few!

by Sara | Apr 22, 2017 | Special Needs, Support

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How to Advocate for Children with All Abilities with an Interview from Heather Avis

Life is such a precious gift and every day I like to be reminded of the positives that we can experience every day. We just need to take the time to reflect and seek out positives in each situation. These past weeks I was so thankful that I came across a book that I feel I was meant to read. I actually listen to my books through my Audible app and I love it! When listening to the book The Lucky Few: Finding God's Best in the Most Unlikely Places, I was moved by Heather's experiences and loved how open she was with sharing her life with all of us. She writes with such honesty and talks about how God influenced her journey. She talks about how she felt that she had the plan of becoming a mom with biological children, but how we can never know what the future with hold for us, but we can learn from these experiences and learn to love the process and end result. I love how Heather has been such a huge advocate for children of special needs.

Heather is an amazing advocator for children of all abilities. I love how she talks how every child has unique abilities and we need to cherish every child's unique and amazing abilities and personalties. Every child is a gift from God. Heather has an amazing website and you can follow her HERE.

After finishing Heather's book I decided I needed to reach out to her and let her know how much positive influence she had on me while listening to her story. I wanted to share this amazing story with others as well. I wanted to understand her perspective on the questions below to help our family, but our followers as well. Below are the questions I asked Heather and her direct response back to me.

4 Questions with an Exclusive Interview with Heather Avis

1. Why did you decide to share your personal story with the world through this book?

The honest answer, become someone asked if I'd like to! Beyond that I recognize I could have said no, but I knew there was a time in my life I needed to hear a story like the one God was playing out in my life and so it has been an honor to get to share my story with the world.

2. What advice would you give to families with children with special needs?

Every family's situation is so different and there are so many details with each family it is difficult to give “blanket” advice. Because I am raising children with Down syndrome, I have a better understanding about Down syndrome than I do other different abilities. When I talk with families who have a child with Down syndrome my biggest piece of advice is to find the fine and blurry line between allowing your child with Down syndrome to be exactly who God created him/her to be, and pushing your child to be their best (via OT, PT, Oral Motor Therapy, ST, etc.). So often I meet families who are feeling immense amounts of pressure to make their baby/child more like typical babies/children. I believe that should never be the goal. Our kids with Down syndrome have so much to offer the world just as they are. So as we pursue all the therapy and tutoring etc, we need to make sure we are doing it so our child can be the best version of themselves, not “less Down syndrome.”

3. What are some of your favorite activities to do as a family?

This past year we've had annual passes to Disneyland and we LOVE to go to Disneyland. We go at least a couple times a month, it's a blast. We also love to go to the beach or the park. Our weekly family movie nights are a favorite with the kids. We order take out food and get to eat dinner while watching a movie. None of us are homebodies so we love a good adventure.

4. What are some ways that we can be better advocators for our children (or if we don't have children with special needs how can we advocate for this population)?

We need to insist that the people around us see our kids as “perfect” just as they are. We need to be insisting that our schools and churches and communities etc. create the spaces our kids need to be the best versions of themselves. This can be hard work depending on what part of the country you live in. For us, we work closely with our IEP team helping them see the worth of our kids. I make sure to develop good relationships with the other kids and parents at the schools, setting up playdates, etc. We put our kids in local dance classes and gymnastics classes. We go into every situation assuming our child is competent and expect those around them to assume the same. If you do not have a loved one with different abilities I think it's important to be intentional in developing relationships with the people in your community who are different than you. If your child does not have anyone in their classroom who is differently abled go to your district and administration and let them know this is unacceptable. Recognize how much we have to learn from people with different abilities and how our world is better off is we are doing life side by side.

Heather, thank you so much for opening up and sharing your story of your life experiences! You are such an inspiration and I hope to have the ability to touch others lives in a way that you are able to reach out to others in your book. I would highly recommend this book if you are a family that is going through some struggles or some hard decisions, especially if you are dealing with infertility or thinking about adoption in your family. Heather is a wonderful person to look up to and I cannot say enough great things about her book and the person that she is!

Here is the link to purchase the book: The Lucky Few: Finding God's Best in the Most Unlikely Places

Please let me know if you have read this book or if you are going to read it in the comments below!

Are you someone needing to find support and encouragement with other special needs families? Read about the 24 Amazing Online Support Groups and Blogs for Special Needs Families where you can get FREE access to these groups and blogs!