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Author: Pete Thomas
Illustrator: Lesley Harker
Publication Date: May 1, 2002
Genre: Non-fiction
Interest: Pre K-4
Text Level: K-4
Online Description: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/932980.Don_t_Call_Me_Special?ac=1&from_search=true

Teaser: We have all had different questions about disabilities, and children have the same questions and more. This book teaching that disabilities are not a bad thing, and they do not define a person.
Teaching Idea:
I would explain to my students that we are going to learn about disabilities. We would read this book and possibly an article as well to give my students some insight into what a disability is. We would then go over some qustions that they have and what difference they think there are between them and those with disabilities. Once we are done with those, then we will probably create a chart on what we should do to be friends to everyone. We would then try to implement those strategies in our lives.

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Poem
Title: (none) There are multiple poems on this page
Teaser: This website has many different poems about students with disabilities or children who are different. These poem take into account different people and how their differences should not define them.
Teaching Ideas:I would have my students pick a poem to read and analyze. I would then have them write down the similarities they have with the poem such as their difficulties or personal connections. This would then allow for them to see that no matter how different others may seem from us, we usually are similar in some ways.

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Also see the other files in the Baby and Children sections.

Nobody signs up to have a child with special needs. Then you realize that this is a gift, this child is the light. And if you can nourish that light and let it shine, you have an opportunity to get closer to God, and that's grace. (John C. McGinley)

Each Child is Different

A Butterfly in the Wind

A child is like a butterfly in the wind
Some can fly higher than others,
But each one flies the best it can.
Why compare one against the other?
Each one is different.
Each one is special.
Each one is beautiful.

Heaven's Very Special Child

(in Memory of Jeffrey Ratliff--a very special child)

What You Should Know About My Child

Think of Me First as a Person

(Rita Dranginis)

You look at me with pity,
concern or indifference,
for I am a retarded child.
But you only see the outside of me.
If I could express myself,
I would tell you what I am inside.

I am very much like you.
I feel pain and hunger.
I cannot ask politely
for a glass of water, but I know
the parched dry feeling of thirst,
I itch when mosquitoes bite me
and run when I see a bee.
I feel cozy drinking cocoa in the kitchen
when a snowstorm blusters outside.

I am a child--
in age now, and in ability always.
I find the touch of soft toys
and snuggly dogs comforting.
I love the toys of childhood--
a kite, a balloon, a wagon to pull.
I like to let go at the top of a slide
and after dizzy seconds find myself
at the bottom.
I like sleds on soft snow,
the wetness of rain on my forehead.

Think of me first as a person,
who hurts and loves and feels joy.
And know I am a child to
encourage and direct.
Smile, and say hello--
even that is enough.

If a man does not keep pace with his companions
perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer.
Let him step to the music which he hears--
however measured or far away.
(Thoreau)

A Mongoloid Child Handling Shells on the Beach

(Richard Snyder)

I am the Child

I am the child who cannot talk. You often pity me, I see it in your eyes. You wonder how much I am aware of. I see that as well. I am aware of much . . . whether you are happy or sad or fearful, patient or impatient, full of love or if you are just doing your duty by me. I marvel at your frustration, knowing mine to be far greater, for I cannot express myself or my needs as you do.

You cannot conceive my isolation, so complete it is at times. I do not gift you with clever conversation, cute remarks to be laughed over and repeated. I do not give you answers to your everyday questions, responses over my well being, sharing my needs, or comments about the world about me. I do not give you rewards as defined by the world's standards . . . great strides in development that you can credit yourself; I do not give you understanding as you know it.

What I give you is so much more valuable . . . I give you instead opportunities. Opportunities to discover the depth of your character, not mine; the depth of your love, your commitment, your patience, your abilities; the opportunity to explore your spirit more deeply than you imagined possible. I drive you further than you would ever go on your own, working harder, seeking answers to your many questions with no answers. I am the child who cannot talk.

I am the child who cannot walk. The world seems to pass me by. You see the longing in my eyes to get out of this chair, to run and play like other children. There is much you take for granted. I want the toys on the shelf, I need to go to the bathroom, oh I've dropped my fork again. I am dependant on you in these ways. My gift to you is to make you more aware of your great fortune, your healthy back and legs, your ability to do for yourself. Sometimes people appear not to notice me; I always notice them. I feel not so much envy as desire, desire to stand upright, to put one foot in front of the other, to be independent. I give you awareness. I am the child who cannot walk.

I am the child who is mentally impaired. I don't learn easily, if you judge me by the world's measuring stick, what I do know is infinite joy in simple things. I am not burdened as you are with the strifes and conflicts of a more complicated life. My gift to you is to grant you the freedom to enjoy things as a child, to teach you how much your arms around me mean, to give you love. I give you the gift of simplicity. I am the child who is mentally impaired.

I am the disabled child. I am your teacher. if you allow me, I will teach you what is really important in life. I will give you and teach you unconditional love. I gift you with my innocent trust, my dependency upon you. I teach you about how precious this life is and about not taking things for granted. I teach you about forgetting your own needs and desires and dreams. I teach you giving. Most of all I teach you hope and faith. I am the disabled child.

Special Angels

(Juanita Vaughan Hopkins)

The Blue Rose

(Gerda Klein)

Jenny is a little girl--a lovely little girl. She has brown eyes and dark brown hair. If her hair falls into her eyes she brushes it away. But her hand does not go straight to her forehead. Instead, it curves like a flower first opening its petals. Then she brushes her hair out of her eyes.
You see, Jenny is different. Different? Yes, different from most other little girls.
But surely all people don't have to be alike, think alike, act alike, or look alike.
To me Jenny is like a blue rose.
A blue rose?
Have you ever seen a blue rose? There are white roses and pink roses and yellow roses, and of course lots of red roses. But blue?
Every gardener would love to raise a blue rose. People would come from far away to see it. It would be rare and different and beautiful.
Jenny is different, too. And so, in a way, she is like a blue rose.
When Jenny first came home from the hospital--a pink baby, all cuddly and round--she cried very often. She cried more than most babies.
Why?
Well, perhaps she saw different shadows that frightened her. Perhaps she heard sounds that were strange to her. When she was older, Jenny always stayed close to her mother and held on to her tightly.
You know, when a kitten loses its tail it is said to gain sharper ears. It's true that a tail helps a kitten run faster. But a kitten without a tail hears better and can detect approaching footsteps long before other kittens do.
Some people don't know about such a kitten's fine ears; they only see the lack of a tail.
Some children are cruel and stare and taunt: "The kitten has no tail! The kitten has no tail!"
Sometimes, Jenny would run up to her mother and clutch her tightly, for no apparent reason at all. At least, for none that we could see.
And so we came to understand that Jenny's world was a little different, unknown to us in some ways. We began to think that she was in a world in which we might not feel completely at home. To go there might, in a way, be like going to another planet.
In a way, it's as if Jenny is standing behind a screen, a screen we cannot see. Maybe it has beautiful colors. Maybe the colors distract Jenny at times from paying attention when we talk to her. Or perhaps she listens to music we cannot hear.
It is said that dolphins have a language and a music of their own, carried by the waves. Music we cannot hear because our ears are not fine enough.
So Jenny might hear sounds we never hear. Maybe that is why she jumps up at times and goes into her awkward dance.
I sometimes think Jenny is like a bird, a bird with very short wings. For such a bird, flying is hard: it takes more strength, more effort, more time. A bird with normal wings takes flying for granted, but a bird with short wings has to work much harder at learning. In a way, it has to be smarter.
And so, therefore, we have to understand how much Jenny has accomplished when she does learn something.
But there is another Jenny. A Jenny who, on a stormy winter afternoon, sits in her rocking chair alone and rocks, holding her doll in her arms. She is very troubled and puzzled, and she says, slowly, "Mommy, Sally says I'm retarded. What does that mean, Mommy? Retarded? The children say 'retarded', and laugh."
"Why do they laugh, Mommy?"
There are many things Jenny does not understand.
And there are many things other people don't understand about Jenny:
that Jenny is like a kitten without a tail;
that Jenny hears a different music;
that Jenny is like a bird with shorter wings, and has to be protected.
Jenny is like a blue rose, delicate and lovely.
And because there are so few blue roses, we don't know much about them.
We only know that they have to be tended more carefully.
And loved more.

My Special Little Boy

(For my beautiful son Jack, by his proud mum Nicki Zieth)

Ode to Special Moms

(by Erma Bombeck)

Most women become mothers by accident, some by choice, a few by social pressures and a couple by habit. This year, nearly 100,000 women will become mothers of handicapped children. Did you ever wonder how mothers of handicapped children are chosen?

The angel is curious. "Why this one, God? She's so happy."

"Exactly," says God. "Could I give a handicapped child to a mother who does not know laughter? That would be cruel."

"But has she patience?" asks the angel.

"I don't want her to have too much patience or she will drown in a sea of self-pity and despair. Once the shock and resentment wear off, she'll handle it.
I watched her today. She has that feeling of self and independence that is so rare and so necessary in a mother. You see, the child I'm going to give her has his own world. She has to make it live in her world, and that's not going to be easy."

"But, Lord, I don't think she even believes in you."

God smiles. "No matter. I can fix that. This one is perfect. She has just enough selfishness."

The angel gasps, "Selfishness? Is that a virtue?"

God nods. "If she can't separate herself from the child occasionally, she'll never survive. Yes, here is a woman whom I will bless with a child less than perfect. She doesn't realize it yet, but she is to be envied. She will never take for granted a 'spoken word.' She will never consider a 'step' ordinary. When her child says 'Momma' for the first time, she will be present at a miracle and know it! When she describes a tree or a sunset to her blind child, she will see it as few people ever see my creations.
I will permit her to see clearly the things I see . . . ignorance, cruelty, prejudice . . . and allow her to rise above them. She will never be alone. I will be at her side every minute of every day of her life, because she is doing my work as surely as she is here by my side."

"And what about her patron saint?" asks the angel, pen poised midair.

God smiles. "A mirror will suffice."

Going to Holland

(Emily Perl Kingsley)

I am often asked to describe the experience of raising a child with a disability--To try and help people who have not shared that unique experience to understand it, to imagine how it would feel. It is like this . . .

When you're going to have a baby, it's like planning a fabulous trip--to Italy. You buy a bunch of guidebooks and make your wonderful plans.The Coliseum, Michelangelo's David.The gondolas in Venice.You may learn some handy phrases in Italian.It's all very exciting.

After months of eager anticipation, the day finally arrives.You pack your bags, and off you go.Several hours later, the plane lands.The stewardess comes in and says, "Welcome to Holland!"

"Holland?!?" you say."What do you mean Holland?I signed up for Italy! I'm supposed to be in Italy.All my life I've dreamed of going to Italy." But there's been a change in the flight plan.They've landed in Holland and there you must stay.

The important thing is that they haven't sent you to a horrible, disgusting, filthy place, full of pestilence, famine, and disease.It's just a different place.So you must go out and buy new guide books.And you must learn a whole new language.And you will meet a whole new group of people you would never have met.

It's just a different place. It's slower paced than Italy, less flashy, than Italy.But after you've been there awhile you catch your breath, you look around . . . and you begin to notice that Holland has windmills . . . and Holland has tulips. Holland even has Rembrandts.But everyone you know is busy coming and going from Italy . . . and they're all bragging about what a wonderful time they had there.And for the rest of your life, you will say, "Yes, that's where I was suppose to go.That's what I had planned."

And the pain of that well never, ever, ever, go away . . . because the loss of that dream is a very Significant loss.

But if you spend the rest of your life mourning the fact that you didn't get to Italy, you may never be free to enjoy the very special, the very lovely things . . . about Holland.

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Also see the other files in the Baby and Children sections. Nobody signs up to have a child with special needs. Then you realize that this is a gift, this child is the light. And if you can nourish that light and let it shine, you have an opportunity to get closer to God, and that's grace.

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Poem
Title: Kids Who Are Different
Teaser: This poem touching on how kids are all different; however, these differences should not e seen as negatives.
Teaching Ideas: If I were teach this lesson, I would have my students read this. I would have them list their strengths and weaknesses. I would then explain that everyone has their own strengths and weaknesses, which makes us different. Even through we are all different, it makes us unique, and we should not judge others who are different than we are.

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Here's to kids who are different Kids who don't always get A s Kids who have ears Twice the size of their peers And noses that go on for days Here's to the kids who are different Kids they call crazy or dumb Kids who don't fit With the guts and the grit W

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Link: https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/jenny-sue-kostecki-shaw/my-travelin-eye/
Author: Jenny Sue Kostecki-Shaw
Illustrator: Jenny Sue Kostecki-Shaw
Publication Date: April 1, 2008
Jenny Sue Kostecki-Shaw   Non-Fiction
Interest Level: Preschool - 3
Text Level: Ages 4-7
Online Description: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2393187.My_Travelin_Eye
Teaser: This book is about a girl who has a lazy eye, but she does not see it that way. She calles it her travelin' eye. She feels differnt at first, but then she finally realizes what she has is not a negative thing.
Teaching Idea: In this book, the main character has an eye patch. I would love to have my students decorate them with whatever they want. I think by doing this, I could allow for my students to express themselves and see that things that make them different are not negative.

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Author: Robert Kraus

Illustration/Photos: Jose Aruego
Publication Date: January 1971
Genre: Fiction

Interest level: Young Elementary
Grade level: Preschool-2nd

Online Description:  http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/225542.Leo_the_Late_Bloomer

Teaser:
Leo has trouble with keeping up with his friends. His father is worried, but his mom knows that late bloomers do exist.

Teaching Idea: https://education.byu.edu/sites/default/files/SOCIALLEARNING/documents/leo-the-late-bloomer.pdf

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Author: Shirley Becker

Illustrated by: Todd Fargo
Publication Date: January 1991
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Interest: 1-4
Text Level: K-4
Online Description: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/609811.Buddy_s_Shadow

Teaser:  Buddy, a five-year-old with Down Syndrome, knew he wanted to have a friend of his own. He saves up his money to purchase his own little furry friend.

Teaching Idea: While reading this book, I could ask students questions and have them analyze this text. I would them have them make guesses on what would happen next. This would allow for them to create their own predictions.

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Author: Maria Shriver
Illustrator: Sandra Speidel
Publication Date: 2001
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Interest: 1-4
Text Level: K-4
Online Description: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1126014.Ian_s_Walk
Teaser:  I an wants to go to the park with his big sisters. Ian responds differently to sights and sounds because he has autism; however, one of his sister thinks that he acts and looks silly compared to other kids.
Teaching Idea: I will start by reading the note about autism in the front of the book. I will then read the book to my students. After reading, I will have make an anchor chart with my students for characters, settings, and events. I will then ask students to identify the characters and have them identify what column they belong in. I would then have the students choose one character, setting, and event from the chart and draw the event. Once they complete the drawing, I will have them write a few sentences about what they drew.

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Author: Laurie Lears
Illustrator: Karen Ritz
Publication Date: 1998
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Interest: 1-4
Text Level: K-4
Online Description: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1126014.Ian_s_Walk
Teaser:  I an wants to go to the park with his big sisters. Ian responds differently to sights and sounds because he has autism; however, one of his sister thinks that he acts and looks silly compared to other kids.
Teaching Idea: I will start by reading the note about autism in the front of the book. I will then read the book to my students. After reading, I will have make an anchor chart with my students for characters, settings, and events. I will then ask students to identify the characters and have them identify what column they belong in. I would then have the students choose one character, setting, and event from the chart and draw the event. Once they complete the drawing, I will have them write a few sentences about it.

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Author: Mary Thompson
Illustrator: Mary Thompson
Publication Date: 1996
Genre: Fiction
Interest Level:  1st-3rd grade
Text Level: Lower elementary
Online Description: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/273798.Andy_and_His_Yellow_Frisbee
Teaser:  Andy and his yellow Frisbee is about a boy named Andy who has autism, who spins his yellow Frisbee in a corner of the playground at school. He wanted to be in his own little world all the time. He has a sister named Rosie who plays soccer and keeps an open eye out on him.

Teaching Idea:  I would start talking about what an ability is with my students. I can then ask them some questions about what they are able to do. We could then read this book. We could then talk about how there are different things can affect a student's abilities. We could do various activities such as those where students would experience sensory overload or have to communicate without sounds or gestures. This way my students could understand how some people have to learn. We could then close with some questions regarding individuals' abilities and disabilities as well as what to do if you do not understand why someone is doing something.
Other Ideas:  https://www.tes.com/lessons/twWZqbmwE2DMwA/andy-and-his-yellow-frisbee

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Song
Title: Be Yourself - A Song about Disability
Teaser: This song was written by Sophie who just happens to have a disability. She not only wrote this song, but she also made the music and sound affects. The song is not only about her but all disabilities and how they do not define a person.
Teaching Idea: Quick Writes I would start by explaining to my students that everyone has their own background knowledge on a topic, and it can help readers and viewers understand meanings in a different way. I would then say that we are going to do a Quick Write about what their defintion of a disability is. They can write anything that they need to that would allow for them to create a definition and activate their background knowledge. They could then turn to their partner and share their definition and background knowledge. We would then share them as a class and make a definition on the board. We would then watch the video as a class. We can then see how their definition applied to the video and compare and contrast how the students in our class do not differ much from those with disabilities.

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Katy Perry Please Help Me Inspire Others

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Sophie's very own song. Sophie wrote the song, made the music added sound effects, made the video and typed the lyrics. A song all about disabilities! Hope you enjoy!! Don't forget to subscribe for more!!

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Poem
Title: Unknown
Author: Unknown
Teaser: A lot of times, students believe that their friends are exactly like they are; however, this poem has something else to say. No matter how similar we all are, we are all different, and that is okay!
Teaching Idea: I will start by asking my students if all of their friends are different than they are. I can then explain that everyone is different than ourselves, and that is what makes everyone special. We can then read this poem, which shows that everyone is different, and it does not matter who we are; this is because we are all important. I will then have the students say one thing that makes them different.

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Author: Clifford L. Corman and Esther Trevino
Illustrator: Richard A. DiMatteo
Publication Date: 2009
Genre: Fiction
Interest Level:  1st - 3rd grade
Text Level: Lower Elemenary
Online Description: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3230535-eukee-the-jumpy-jumpy-elephant?ac=1&from_search=true
Teaser: Eukee, a young and jumpy elephant sometimes has trouble with his family and friends. This is because of his hyperactivity and his troubles with self-control.
Teaching Idea:  We will be exploring critical issues with this lesson. We will use the chart to see what Eukee's goal, problem, support, and outcome is. We can then watch a video and compare the two together on the grid. We can then review the grids as a class, so we can evaluate if the student can complete the grid and analyze content in the correct way. The teachers can then provide supports if needed.

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Author: Virginia Fleming
Illustrator: Floyd Cooper
Publication Date: 1993
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Interest Level:  Pre K-2nd
Text Level: L
Online Description: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1241617.Be_Good_to_Eddie_Lee?from_search=true
Teaser: Christy thinks that Eddie Lee, a boy with down syndrome, is annoying. This is until one day when she includes him and sees what kind of person he is.
Teaching Idea:  I could have a discussion with my class about inclusion. We could discuss acceptable language to use to talk about individuals with disabilities,
teach about worries and misconceptions that students may have, bring awareness by reading children stories, and do literacy circles to brainstorm on things they find difficult doing and compare the difficulties of tasks that students have with a person with a disability. I could also ask students to think ways to be nice to others with various disabilities and then refer back to the story,identify some nice things Christy did for Eddie Lee in the story ,draw pictures, and write a mini book report to accompany their short story about an exceptionality of their choice and how the kids promote inclusivity.

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Author: Berniece Rabe
Photographer: Julie Downing
Publication Date: 1987
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Interest Level: 3-5 ( Upper Elementary)
Text Level: AR 4.6 (4-6 grade)
Online Description: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3763568-charlsie-s-chuckle?from_search=true
Teaser: Margaret has a very athletic brother who she wants to play sports with her brother again. She wants to get a sports-model wheelchair to keep up with him, so her summer consists of the different ways she will afford her wheelchair.
Teaching Idea:  If I were to teach this to fifth or sixth graders, I would ask them if they ever had anything that they wanted that they could not afford. I would then have them think of a plan on how they could earn money. They could then present the challenges they had, their success, and their plan.

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Author:  Joan Fassler
Illustrator: Joe Lasker
Publication Date:  1975
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Interest Level: 2-3
Text Level: Accelerated Reader LG BL 3.2
Online Description: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1283985.Howie_Helps_Himself?from_search=true
Teaser:  Howie, a boy with cerebral palsy, enjoys his life at home and school. However, he works really hard because he wants to move his wheelchair on his own.
Teaching Idea:
The teacher will have the students’ brainstorm a time when they have been injured or when someone they know who has been injured.  Have them write down their answers on a piece of paper. Some questions could include: How did you feel, did someone help you, were you unable to or needed help with some things you normally could do when you weren’t hurt, and do you have a family member who is in a wheelchair or has been injured badly?
Ask these questions and have them displayed on the board while the students are brainstorming. You can then have a discussion about their answers.
Other Ideas: http://teacher.scholastic.com/lessonrepro/lessonplans/theme/respk1.htm

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Becky the Brave - A Story about Epilepsy

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Becky the Brave - A Story about Epilepsy

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Author: Laurie Lears
Illustrator: Gail Piazza
Publication Date: 2002
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Interest: 1-4
Text Level: K-4
Online Description: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/438954.Becky_the_Brave
Teaser: Becky the Brave is a story about two sisters and the oldest has epilepsy. Becky wants to be like any normal kid who plays and has fun with her classmates; however, she does not want her classmates to know she has epilepsy. Becky then has a seizure at school, and she does not want to go back. Sarah then explains to Becky's class what happens when Becky has a seizure and how brave she is.
Teaching Idea: I could read this book to my class. We could think of times where we were brave or we had something that we did not want others to know because they would think that we were different. We could then think of ways that we could help others who may be different than us be more comfortable.