Disabilities

"Cory Stories: A Kid’s Book about Living with ADHD" by Jeanne Kraus and Whitney Martin discusses the struggle Cory faced before diagnosis such as struggle focusing, staying organized, writing, and making friends. Once Cory was diagnosed with ADHD he began taking medicine and learning strategies to help him focus, respect personal space, stay organized, build friendships, and to stay on task.

Read aloud:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e83HdCvZsV8

"Hi, It's Me! I Have ADHD" by Katelyn Mabry is about the authors own experience with ADHD. It mentions issues with regulating emotions, slowing down, focusing, and staying organized. Despite these struggles the book also discusses the positives of ADHD such as the creativity the author has.

Read aloud:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hbRgGxBGEwk

I Can't Sit Still!: Living with ADHD by Pam Pollack is about a boy with ADHD who is often seen as an unruly child who does not follow instructions. The boy gets help from his doctor, teacher, and parents to better help him focus and sit still.

Ian's Walk by Laurie Lears and Karen Ritz is about a two sister's who go on a walk with their autistic brother who is non-verbal. The sister's show frustration and embarrassment of Ian's action on the walk. However, once Ian wonders off, the sisters tune changes. They begin to try to better understand his actions and try to see the world through Ian's perspective.

Read aloud: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xdU5kntMu5c

My Brother Charlie by Holly Robinson Peete and Ryan Elizabeth Peete is about a set of twins, one is autistic. The sister shares about her brothers differences in a way that still expresses her love for her sibling. However, this book does not focus on the negatives, but it focuses on Charlie's unique abilities and how amazing her brother is.

Read aloud: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CxdxMw1OvTw

The Girl Who Thought in Pictures: The Story of Dr. Temple Grandin by Julia Finley Mosca is a rhyming book that shows Dr. Temple Grandin from a baby to adult. It showed as a young child her sensory issues and her being non-verbal and then learning to speak. It shows how her classmates were not accepting of her. But most important of all, the book shows her using her unique brain to succeed in life through the support of her teacher and mother.

Read aloud:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jcruLjS0PJY

Different Like Me: My Book of Autism Heroes by Jennifer Elder discusses what autism is and how recent the diagnosis of autism actually is. It also tells about different people from different field that were autistic and made a big impact in the world.

Keep Your Ear on the Ball by Genevieve Petrillo is about a new classmate Davey who happens to do blind. The whole class was very accepting of Davey and wanted to help Davey do task; however, Davey wanted to be independent and would politely decline assistance. When playing kickball, Davey struggled to keep track of the ball but still did not want help. To help Davey out a bit the students would tell Davey when the ball comes his way and the person on the base he was running to would say the number of base. Through these verbal cues Davey was able to play kickball and begin accepting some assistance from his friends.

Read aloud: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e869qDnOGlQ

Knots on a Counting Rope by Bill Martin Jr. is about a Navajo boy who is blind. During the story, the grandfather and grandson tell the boys life story beginning at birth. Part of the story covers the grandfather trying to explain the world around them, so the boy can see from his heart. The boy also participates in a horse race which he was able to finish despite being blind.

Read aloud: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-UzQE4cnV0

Yuko-Chan and the Daruma Doll: The Adventure of a Blind Japanese Girl Who Saves Her Village by Sunny Seki is a bilingual story that is written in both Japanese and English. It is about a blind orphan girl in Japan who found a way to help her village who was struggling after a volcanic eruption. Yuko-Chan becomes a hero of her community as her daruma dolls brought fortune to her community which allowed them to buy food and survive.

Read aloud:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WbsV5XSzFNY

Colors of the Wind: The Story of Blind Artist and Champion Runner George Mendoza by J.L. Powers is about George Mendoza who started to loose parts of his vision allowing him to see the world through swirls of colors and shapes. He was discouraged by becoming visually impaired, but he ended up becoming an artist and sharing his perception of the world with his audience.

My Deaf Friend Can Do Anything You Can by Tanesha Ausbey is about a pair of friends one of whom is deaf. The two girls communicate through sign language. When new neighbors move in, the new kids do not think they can play with the girl who is deaf because they cannot communicate with her and they think her disability will hold her back. The new kids come around and even begin to learn sign language.

Read aloud: (also signed)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=raDBY1KxAyA

There are so far two books in Maddie's World by Madison N. Davis. The first book Maddie's World: The First Day of School was written when Madison was five years old and discusses conductive hearing loss, hearing aides, and FM systems in the endnotes to better educate the audience.

The second book, Maddie's World: What Student's Need The Most! was written when Madison was six. It demonstrates inclusive learning for students who are hard of hearing.

And So, Ahmed Hears by Dawn Doig is about a boy name Ahmed who was nonverbal at the age of three and did not respond to his mother's verbal instructions. She eventually takes him in for an audiologist to find out that Ahmed suffered from hearing loss. Ahmed was fitted with a hearing aid and was then able to hear.

Audio book:

https://libraries.indiana.edu/hearing-impairment-contemporary-picture

Dad and Me in the Morning by Patricia Lakin is about a deaf boy who goes on a morning nature walk with his father. The book mentions the different ways the boy and his father communicate. It also is a great book to show how ordinary daily life truly is.

Read aloud: (Also signed)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I7MSw2wlSrE

The Alphabet War by Diane Burton Robb is about a boy with dyslexia. In kindergarten, Adam struggled with letter recognition. He would mix up "p" and "q" as well as "b" and "d." As school progressed, Adam fell behind his classmates in reading. It was not until third grade that he was tested for dyslexia. After the test, he got special assistance to become a more confident reader. He also got accommodations, such as his teacher reading test questions out loud. Adam was now able to show how smart he is.

Read aloud:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IAoDmTCxZ7M

Tom's Special Talent by Kate Gaynor is about a boy named Tom who has dyslexia. He struggles with reading and writing. To help him with reading and writing, his teacher spends special time with him.

Read aloud:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLdmsc-PKDU

Aaron Slater, Illustrator by Andrea Beaty is about a boy named Aaron who loved to draw, but he struggles to read. He knows he is not up to standards to reading, so he tries to blend in with his classmates. It was not until he had to write his own story and read it out loud that he was unable to blend in. Slater used his illustrations to tell the story. This book is written in the font dyslexie to help dyslexic children to be able to read the text more easily.

Read aloud:

https://sites.google.com/d/1TgW6_cdq-A3UBxLFj4iSfH6V_43q2M4H/p/1jSigUlJ_50AZIkPVwNUeSKfmLa9t1fOT/edit

Cassidy and the Mixed up Numbers by Dezi Shepperd is about a girl named Cassidy who has dyscalculia. Cassidy is attending a new school and she is worried about mixing up her numbers. When she messes up, her teacher encourages her to try again. When it is time for show and tell, Cassidy brings her color-coded balls that help her to count. She shares with her classmates that she has dyscalculia and the classmates seem to be proud of her counting to ten.

Read aloud:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z4W2gf3layY

Taking Seizure Disorders to School: A Story About Epilepsy by Kim Gosselin is part of a series that educates about different disabilities and conditions. This book presents epilepsy from the student's perspective. It informs children on the different types of epilepsy, struggles student's with epilepsy may experience, and how to help a friend who is having a seizure. The book also includes questions to check for comprehension with students, and tips for teachers on how to educate their students and bring awareness. For similar books for different conditions look at the Special Kids in School Series.

Free PDF: https://ca65098121b65c5397e3-90f71e043228b3a6bf0af83603aee50f.ssl.cf2.rackcdn.com/148/units/links_downloads/92fcf89dab4881e20ed42a0037b61ac6_TakingSeizurestoSchoolBookSPNOXT20150132.pdf

The Abilities in Me Epilepsy by Gemma Keir is about a boy who has epilepsy. During the story, the boy explains epilepsy and even talks about his EEG test.

This book is part of a series called The Abilities in Me. There are several other books covering different disabilities.

Read Aloud:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tNQowNvz638

Mommy I Feel Funny: A Child's First Experience with Epilepsy by Danielle M. Rocheford is about a child named Nel who has a seizure for the first time. After having the seizure Nel and Nel's family go through several emotions when coming to term with Nel's conditon.

Becky the Brave: A Story About Epilepsy written by Laurie Lears is about an older sister name Becky who has epilepsy. Becky has always been brave; however, having a seizure in her new class leaves Becky dreading going back to school. Sarah, Becky's younger sister, goes to Becky's class and talks to Becky's classmate about epilepsy.

Fauja Singh Keeps Going by Simran Jeet Singh is a true story. It is about Fauja Singh who could not walk until the age of five and had very weak leg muscles. Overtime, Fauja was abled to build up his leg muscles and began running for fun. In fact, he is is the oldest runner of a marathon. This book also discusses acts of racism that he experienced.

Read aloud: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QTXty6k2-jE

Emmanuel’s Dream: The True Story of Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah by Laurie Ann Thompson is true story about a man in Ghana who was born with one whole leg. Despite his disability, Emmanuel still hopped to school, played sports, rode a bike, and worked. He also did a 400 mile bike ride to get disabled people in the public eye, as disabled people in Ghana were often hidden away or treated as a curse.

Read aloud:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uBhTOSyXi2o

Rescue and Jessica: A Life-Changing Friendship by Jessica Kensky is about how Jessica lost her legs during the Boston Marathon Bombing. To adjust to life without legs, Jessica got a service dog names rescue who helps her with daily needs. The book also introduces prosthetic legs to children.

Read Aloud:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ThTLmcFmn0

Meeting Mimi: A Story About Different Abilities by Francie Dolan is about a new girl Mimi who has to use a walker to walk. When introducing herself, Mimi welcomes the class to ask her questions. Throughout the book, Mimi is answering questions. Some about her mobility and some silly questions too.

Read aloud:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ocZuk3ThQ_E