Books for Young Children

A number of years ago, we looked at a program called, A Book on Every Bed, which was designed to encourage families celebrating Christmas to leave a book on every child's bed, so that he or she would wake up Christmas morning with the special gift of a book.

Even though Christmas has come and gone this year, we were reminded of this initiative just yesterday, when your blogger "played hooky" and took a one-day trip from New York to Washington D.C. to spend time with her new grandson.

This baby is surrounded by books. They are part of his life long before he can even speak, let alone read. His parents have been the beneficiaries of numerous gifts of books - classics they recall from their own childhoods and new books that are destined to be classics in years to come. They have started reading to him even though he is only a few weeks old.

But too many children aren't as fortunate. We know that reading to and with children builds crucial skills that stay with children as they grow and develop. That's why we have been big fans of the national nonprofit organization, Reach Out and Read (ROAR), which we have written about before. Building on the fact that over 90 percent of young children are seen in a pediatric practice at least once a year, ROAR provides training to doctors, nurses, and nurse practitioners in how to talk to parents about the importance of reading to their children; how to demonstrate to parents how to interact with their children while reading - including cuddling and setting reading routines; and then gives a new book to each child to take home and keep.

If your child lives a life rich in books and reading, you may want to learn more about  Reach Out and Read, and express your gratitude by helping a less fortunate child to know the same joy of books and the benefits that reading brings.

Photo by Picsea on Unsplash

The NVLD Project

We recently learned of the NVLD Project, founded in 2013 by Dr. Laura Lemle, whose daughter was diagnosed with a non-verbal learning disability (NVLD) when she was five years old. Dr. Lemle, now in the real estate business, has a PhD in clinical psychology.

This nonprofit organization offers informational workshops, supports research, and has a blog where an array of writers share their knowledge and experiences with NVLD.  Long term, the NVLD Project seeks to have NVLD included as a specific disorder in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), the "bible" of medical diagnostics developed by the American Psychiatric Association. The NVLD Project notes that such recognition "will allow people who have NVLD to be covered for clinical care and it will foster more rigorous empirical research on the causes of and best treatments for NVLD."

So what, exactly, is a non-verbal learning disability? First, it involves a significant discrepancy between verbal and perceptual reasoning abilities, where the individual has strong abilities in such verbal realms as reading, vocabulary, and memory, but struggles with spatial, mathematical, and certain "big picture" tasks. In addition, organization, executive functions, and social skills can be areas of difficulty. An extensive discussion of the components of a non-verbal learning disability is set forth on the Project NVLD website.

The difficulties that characterize NVLD can be present in other learning and social disabilities, and distinguishing among the various labels for disorders may be less important than understanding the strengths and difficulties faced by each individual and developing specific strategies and supports to build on his or her strengths and to bypass or improve challenges. Still, understanding NVLD and researching why and how NVLD arises is an important first step to remediating this constellation of difficulties. Likewise, supports for individuals and families dealing with NVLD can be extremely helpful.

News You Can Use

Our electronic mailbox is full of useful information on a wide array of topics, ranging from an analysis of upcoming changes to the SAT exam to worthwhile charities that are helping students who learn differently. Here are our top picks:

• Inspirica, which provides one-on-one tutoring and test preparation in New York, Boston, and Philadelphia, has created a presentation entitled A Glimpse into Upcoming Changes and Recent Update: SAT-ACT, which explores the reasons behind the newly announced changes to the high stakes exams taken by essentially every college bound student. 

• Prompted by the interest of her own daughter, who has an autism spectrum disorder and a fascination with American Girl® dolls, a Westchester, New York mom has created a re-sale shop for these historical dolls and their extensive books and accessories, with the nonprofit mission of developing job skills and employment opportunities for young women with autism spectrum disorders. They welcome donations of gently used American Girl®merchandise. Call Marjorie Madfis at 914-428-1258 for more information.

• Resources for Children with Special Needs, a New York nonprofit, now has a You-Tube channel with presentations on topics including how to choose a summer camp, how to prepare for a successful IEP meeting, and how to organize your documents to better advocate for your child. Some of the selections are available in Spanish.

• Active Minds, a national nonprofit dedicated to utilizing the student voice to raise mental health awareness among college students, is one of the sponsors of Stress Less Week, April 20-26 - when college students are coming to the end of their year and can face particular stress and anxiety. The purpose of this event is to spread awareness about stress and anxiety disorders and create a supportive environment, where students can speak up about their difficulties and receive support from the campus community.

If your school, nonprofit, or organization has a new program, publication, or upcoming event that would be of interest to our readers, please let us know, so we can include it in a future listing.

Photo: Michael Coghlan/Flickr