The following books offer information and support to kids who struggle with ADHD, learning differences and sensory issues. These are great gift options for those special children who need to know they’re not alone in their struggles.
When My Worries Get Too Big! A Relaxation Book for Children Who Live With Anxiety
by Kari Dunn Buron
The thought of losing control can cause major problems for children who live with anxiety. Now there’s a helpful tool that gives young children an opportunity to explore their own feelings as they react to events in their daily lives. Engaging and easy to read, this illustrated children’s book is filled with opportunities for children to develop their own self-calming strategies.
Ellie Bean the Drama Queen
by Jennie Harding, Dave Padgett (Illustrator)
Ellie Bean the Drama Queen is an insightful picture book that helps children with sensory issues, and the adults around them, understand what they are going through. Sometimes Ellie Bean seems like she is being difficult, when she really has a sensory issue!
Sensitive Sam
by Marla Roth-Fisch
Appropriate for children, families, and professionals, this wonderful book brings to life the story of Sam, whose over-sensitivity creates chaos and frustration in his life. Sam’s various sensory sensitivities adversely affect Sam’s experiences, both at home and in the classroom. He walks readers through his typical day of sensory blunders.
Squirmy Wormy: How I Learned to Help Myself
by Lynda Farrington Wilson
Voted 2012 Book of the Year by Creative Child Magazine, Squirmy Wormy is a wonderful little children’s book about a boy named Tyler, who has autism and SPD. Together with Tyler, the reader learns about SPD, and what everyday therapies he can do by himself feel better. Endorsed by Dr. Temple Grandin, this book is sure to help many children.
How I Learn: : A Kid’s Guide to Learning Disability
by Brenda S. Miles, Colleen Patterson, Jane Heinrichs (Illustrator)
How I Learn provides a simple explanation of why some children struggle. It introduces learning disability in concrete terms for younger students, emphasizing that they are capable of learning, but they do so in a different way.
It’s Called Dyslexia (Live and Learn Series)
by Jennifer Moore-Mallinos, Nuria Roca (Illustrator)
The child in this story knows the alphabet, but she sometimes has trouble putting all the letters together to read words. No matter how hard she tries, she often mixes up the letters or writes them backwards. She’s unhappy until her teacher explains that she has dyslexia, and that she can be helped to read and write correctly.
My Name Is Brain – Brian
by Jeanne Betancourt (Author)
This “outstanding” (School Library Journal) book for children is the sensitive portrayal of a boy who struggles to hide his dyslexia from his friends. Based on the author’s personal experience as a dyslexic, this novel is “drawn from real insight.”
Terrific Teddy’s Excessive Energy (Understanding Learning Differences) (Volume 2)
by Jim Forgan Ph.D., Rob Barge (Illustrator)
Terrific Teddy’s Excessive Energy is a book about how to explain ADD/ADHD to children, and for the adults who love them. Together, you’ll meet Teddy – a great kid who has trouble paying attention, remembering the rules, and controlling all his energy. When his parents discover he has ADHD, they’re able to get Teddy the help he needs to make positive changes.
Mrs. Gorski, I Think I Have the Wiggle Fidgets
by Barbara Esham, Mike Gordon (Illustrator), Carl Gordon (Illustrator)
David doesn’t know how he ends up in such situations. At the time, it just seems like a great idea. His teacher, Mrs. Gorski, has had about enough; he can tell by the way her voice changes when she speaks to him. This time, he believes that he has come up with the best idea yet. The perfect plan to make everything better.
Hank Zipzer series
by Henry Winkler and Lin Oliver
Inspired by the true life experiences of Henry Winkler, whose undiagnosed dyslexia made him a classic childhood underachiever, the Hank Zipzer series is about the high-spirited and funny adventures of a boy with learning differences.