Children’s books: death

lovenlearning Books for Children

I have recently read two children’s books about death and grief that were quite good.

Rabbityness, by Jo Empson: Describes a rabbit, his likes and how he influenced his peers – then one day he disappeared. “All that Rabbit had left was a hole… a DEEP dark hole.” But down in the DEEP dark hole, Rabbit had left some of his favourite things, which made them think of Rabbit, which made them happy.

Beginnings and Endings with Lifetimes in between, by Bryan Mellonie: This book has plenty of repetition and reassurance, looking at the lifetimes of various living things, and that no matter how long or short, lifetimes are really all the same – they have beginnings, and endings, and there is living in between.

Concerns about child’s development

lovenlearning Autism - Newly diagnosed, Autism - Resources (Misc)

So… you have ongoing concerns about your child’s development. Now what?, by Kristen Callow (The Online Water Cooler blog). Such a thorough, encouraging, resource-full article! Kristen examines the many obstacles that parents face when trying to address their concerns about their child’s development, including family and friends considering you dramatic, a dismissive GP, a reluctant partner, cost, the implications of a label, feeling overwhelmed- and every obstacle listed has some suggestions for how to address it!

Embrace the label

lovenlearning Articles from Autistic Adults

Embrace the label, by Leia Prime (Respectfully Connected blog).  Initially concerned about labelling her son, she sought the advice of Autistic adults.  They overwhelmingly responded that they were pleased they had been given the word autism as children, or they wished they had.  They also said that the label may mean that teachers and friends are more aware of any bullying (which occurs due to differences, not diagnosis) and might take action sooner; and the label would help the child gain self-understanding.

Crafting a new narrative

lovenlearning Autism - Parental Mental Health, Autism and disability articles

Crafting a new narrative, by AutismBlues. We can get so used to not socialising, not interacting with people outside our autism world, and talking too much about our kids’ challenges- that it seems like we inhabit a different world.

“The thing is, even though I fear the worst, it’s not a foregone conclusion that something bad will happen. In each of those situations, I’m accepting a negative narrative for our life, and I’m letting that narrative drive my decision. We’ve got some history to draw from, but past performance is not necessarily an indication of future results. And the worst thing I can do is expect bad results. The problem is, I’ve been painting that gray area black recently, with the result that our kids aren’t getting the opportunities to develop their social skills and coping mechanisms—not to mention the fun they could be missing out on.”

Flat Affect

lovenlearning Articles from Autistic Adults

“You scare me“, by Cynthia Kim (Musings of an Aspie blog). Describes “flat affect”/blank facial expressions, and shares some photos to illustrate it. “From my reading about Asperger’s I was aware of the difficulty aspies have in reading facial expressions, but it hadn’t occurred to me that I don’t project appropriate facial expressions–or sometimes any expression at all. The technical term for this is flat affect, which means that a person displays reduced emotional expressiveness.”

Eye Contact

lovenlearning Articles from Autistic Adults

“Eye contact: the conversation within the conversation“, by Cynthia Kim (Musings of an Aspie blog). She obtains more information from a person’s mouth and voice than she does from their eyes; discusses the discomfort that some/most Aspies feel when making eye contact; and talks about the uneven balance of social power (the other person is gathering data about the Aspie, while the Aspie is unable to do likewise). Another insightful post!

What’s up with Nick?

lovenlearning Autism - Clips and Movies, Autism/Disability Acceptance and Discrimination

“What’s up with Nick?” by Organization for Autism Research. A nice little clip explaining autism, suitable for primary school aged children. Covers some behaviours, sensory issues, accommodations (like having a teacher aide in the classroom), accommodations the children can/do make (eg keeping voices down)- best thing you can do is get to know that person and include them in activities.