Diagnosis of Behavioural and Emotional Disorders have a huge impact on families.
Especially the young people who are diagnosed, their siblings or peers.
Parents of newly diagnosed children are sometimes at a loss on how to explain
to their other children, family members and friends about what the disorder is,
and the different ways it may affect their child. Teachers may have similar problems
when a child with a diagnosis joins their class. These books aim to not only teach
children about different Behavioural and Emotional Disorders but engage their emotions, nurture their social skills and promote empathy for diversity by allowing them to illustrate the story as they read along - creating a deeper connection to each message. The book can be used as a bonding tool between parent and child, in class group discussions or as a classroom book. The possibilities are endless.
My name is Cassandra, the author of the book and I am a mother of two middle school children living in Melbourne, Australia. I have been working with children for the past 8 years and working with children with disabilities for the last 3. Since my children started school, they were exposed to a more diverse setting and kept coming home with questions about their fellow classmates. During this time, our long-time family friend’s child was also diagnosed with autism. As they all grew up together, they became fluent in the ways of Autism, ADHD and other childhood disorders. What I remember most is the way they spoke to each other, the questions they had and the way that they worked their heads around why their friend did what they did or said what they said. It was then that the idea to put together a story that not only used language that they understood but made them think about what might be going
through the other child’s head.
I hope that this book gives your child a better understanding of childhood disorders and joy from being creative and illustrating their own book.