Five Books Featuring Children Who Use AAC
Anyone else thinking of a little summer reading? We were looking for books featuring children who use AAC the other day and thought others might also be interested in this topic.
- The Boy Who Saw Too Much (Part of the Romeo Riley Private Detective Series) by April Whitt
- How Katie Got a Voice (And A Cool New Nickname) by Pat Mervine
- On Being Sarah by Elizabeth Helfman
- Sara’s Surprise by Nan Holcomb
- YOURS! Make your own story with digital storytelling apps like My Story – Book Maker
What are your favorite books that show children using AAC?
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: Books, literacy, reading
This post was written by Carole Zangari
13 Comments
Out of My Mind by Sharon M. Draper
Susan and Alice, thanks for those suggestions. I was not aware of either one! Bob, thanks for mentioning that one. I have a copy and have shared it with two young ladies that I know. We are big fans!! Jeanne, thanks for the tipe; it sounds terrific! I’m off to check it out!!
“Out of My Mind” by Sharon M. Draper is one of my favorites. It was like a reading a story about my own daughter (except for the photographic memory part), who has CP and is non-ambulatory and non-verbal. My daughter also loves this book, and wants me to give a copy to every one who works with her.
I also like Rules by Cynthia Lord
Here is another one, Dancing Daisies, written by Sara Pyszka, who is an AAC user herself.
Say What You Will by Cammie McGovern is another book to add to the list – it just came out yesterday! It is a wonderful YA novel featuring a young woman who has CP and uses an AAC device. It is about friendship, love and acceptance and how we all want to love and be loved. I got to read an advanced reader copy and loved it!
http://www.amazon.com/Say-What-Will-Cammie-McGovern/dp/0062271105
I don’t like How Katie Got A Voice. Her nickname, CommuniKate, refers solely to her using a communication device, and she gets basically no characterization beyond her disability. And then the author tells people to see the person, not the disability, when she can’t even do that herself!
Wow, everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but I think you missed the point of the story. As revealed when she has access to assistive technology, Katie has the same interests and enjoys the same activities as her peers. But without a way to communicate, her peers were not able to see this. Once she could communicate, she was able to share her hobbies and join in activities with her new classmates. The book shows the power that assistive technology provides.
Here are some others that I found when searching high and low.
Fun YouTube for Kate’s Voice (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0fs9650Vz8)
Fur Cubs (https://www.amazon.com/Fur-Cubs-Present-First-School/dp/0982399626) not so very polished, but a good attempt at sharing through the medium of a children’s book
My Eyes Can Talk (https://books.google.com/books/about/My_Eyes_Can_Talk.html?id=nRw0jgEACAAJ)
Curious George Gets A Talker (http://niederfamily.blogspot.com/2016/08/curious-george-gets-talker.html) not published, nor can it be, but a wonderful read with children
Out of mind is awesome.
For younger kids. The Cinnamon Freckles books are fantastic
I know this is an older post but I just came across it and the book My Brother Otto – An Autism Awareness Book by Meg Raby. It’s only on one page but Otto uses his AAC app on a table to order dinner. I thought it was going to be just a basic “my sibling has autism” book but it’s very sweet and teared up a little when I turned the page and saw him using a talker.
My Brother Otto – An Autism Awareness Book by Meg Raby (https://youtu.be/OzIy1uJioMA)
Fawn, thanks so much for taking the time to comment and share this link. It’s such a great book! I’m glad to know there is a read-aloud for it.
Hello.
We publish adapted books with aac. They are available on Amazon. There are 3 books published: Maria throws a tantrum, At David’s birthday party and How many Birds fit on the Sausage dog?
https://www.amazon.es/dp/B09Y2T5V6T?binding=paperback&ref=dbs_dp_rwt_sb_pc_tukn