Recommendations from an Author and Therapist
Stories can be a beautiful and effective way for children to identify themselves in the experience of others. Where some children may have difficulty expressing their feelings, understanding their behaviors or empathizing with others, they may readily connect to the same if a character in a story feels familiar. Adults—teachers, parents and librarians, can foster a dialogue that promotes understanding of others, self-awareness and connection to feeling by asking open-ended questions about the story after reading it together.
Adults—teachers, parents and librarians, can foster a dialogue that promotes understanding of others, self-awareness and connection to feeling by asking open-ended questions about the story after reading it together.
Children with ADHD often feel isolated and ashamed.
They frequently lack a mindfulness regarding their behaviors, except for an after-the-fact sense that they have disappointed someone. The following books can be used for children with ADHD to promote a feeling that they are not alone, to discuss the impact of behaviors, and to collaboratively create alternatives:
MY WHIRLING, TWIRLING MOTOR by Merriam Sarcia Saunders CORY’S STORY by Jeanne Kraus BAXTER TURNS DOWN HIS BUZZ by James M. Foley MY MOUTH IS A VOLCANO by Julia Cook WHAT WERE YOU THINKING? By Bryan Smith ALL DOGS HAVE ADHD by Kathy Hoopman SPARKY’S EXCELLENT MISADVENTURES by Phyllis Carpenter
Questions you can ask after reading:
Did that character do something that you sometimes do? What should he have done differently.? Do you think the others over-reacted? What should they have said/done? How do you feel when xyz that happened to the character happens to you? Can we practice or do what the character did to solve his problem? Or do you have a better idea?
Merriam Sarcia Saunders is a writer and Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist with a passion for helping people with ADHD, Learning Differences and Autism. She is the author of companion picture books My Whirling, Twirling Motor and the forthcoming My Wandering, Dreaming Mind.