A Special Friend
Opening up conversations about kids with special needs Complete with parent and teacher discussion guides
Written by Laura Matuszewski
Illustrated by Mikayla, a child with Autism Spectrum Disorder
I dedicate this book to my wonderful third grade class: Adan, Amanda, Mikayla, and Parker. You were the inspiration behind the words. I’m proud to be your teacher! Special thanks to K&M Printing; Billy Spicer, my tech guy; Danette Hughes, my editor; my family and friends for their love and support; Laurie Bauman and Anne Ackley, for assisting in gathering and selecting the illustrations; the amazing students, parents, and staff of District 95; and last but not least, Mikayla, for her inspiring art work.
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PUBL I
42 Squire Road LM Publishing Hawthorn Woods, ILInc. 60047
[email protected] (847) 312-0884
© Copyright 2012
I was born a little different than you. 1
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To make you understand would be a dream come true.
I wrote this book hoping to give you a closer look 3
into the things we share… 4
and the differences that are hard to bear. 5
I have a family who loves me, just like you. 6
I have friends and neighbors too.
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I like to run and jump and play. 8
I enjoy all the things you do everyday, 9
but learning is hard for me. 10
It takes me longer, 11
don’t you see? 12
I want to learn at your same pace. 13
But learning my friend, is not a race! 14
I’m polite, I share, I have all these teachers who really care.
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They’re teaching me to do my best 16
and that I’m more important than any test. 17
I have friends like me, 18
but friends like you might be my key. 19
Your friendship might help me unlock 20
the things in me that no one else can see. 21
So, won’t you be my friend? 22
We’re not all that different in the end. 23
Discussion Guide for Parents
1. Does your child know somebody in your family, neighborhood, or his or her class with special needs? 2. Explain that some children are born with special challenges or that some children develop them as time goes on. 3. Explain that some children have challenges with learning because they have special needs. 4. Discuss the fact that some people’s needs cause them to look or act differently than others. 5. Talk about acts of kindness your child might show someone such as being a special helper or defending a student if someone is being unkind. 6. Have a conversation with your child by asking how he or she would feel if his/her sibling or cousin had special needs and someone was being unkind. Ask your child to remember that this is someone’s child, grandchild, cousin, neighbor, or sibling. 7. Talk about the pillars in character education and how they relate to the treatment of someone with special needs. The six pillars in character education are respect, responsibility, citizenship, caring, trustworthiness, and fairness. Discuss how every pillar has something to do with treating others the way we like to be treated.
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Discussion Guide for Teachers 1. Do you or your friends see a reading teacher, speech teacher, or a resource teacher? How would you feel if someone made fun of you or your friend for needing extra help with something? 2. Do you know somebody in your family or neighborhood who has special needs? 3. How do you think people with special needs feel when they come into a classroom and don’t know many of the other students? 4. What could you do to make special needs students feel more comfortable within your class? 5. What if an assignment was difficult for a special needs student and the teacher was too busy with other students to realize that the student was struggling? What could you do? 6. What could you do or say at recess that would show what a good friend you are? 7. Is there something that you’re really good at? Would you be able to help others become better at it? 8. There are six pillars in the character education program. The pillars are respect, responsibility, citizenship, caring, trustworthiness, and fairness. Which pillar would you use in the following situations? You are playing a game at recess. Some of the students you are playing with have special needs. What would you do if one of these students missed a turn or didn’t understand the rules? You are at recess and discover that one of the students with special needs is crying inside the tunnel of the slide. A flier comes home asking for student volunteers to help out at a fundraiser to help support Special Olympics. Would you be willing to give up one of your Saturday afternoons to help? You notice that there is a group of students from your grade level making fun of a female student with special needs because her shirt is on inside out. You hear your teacher ask a friend if she will help a student with special needs during library time. When you get to the library, you notice the child is searching for a book and her helper is on the other side of the library.
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“ Children with special needs have the most beautiful hearts. Open yourself up to them. They will allow you to discover an inner beauty you could never have found without their help.” – Laura Matuszewski
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About the author Laura has taught children with special needs in Lake Zurich, District 95, for the last four years. She is currently co-teaching a regular education science class that enables her students to participate in more frequent inclusion. Her responsibilities also include planning weekly activities for a reading buddy program that her class participates in with third and fifth grade general education students. Before having her own special education classroom, Laura was a Reading Specialist Aide. She helped struggling readers become more fluent readers, thereby achieving higher standardized test scores. During her time in that role she was honored with a District 95 Distinguished Service Award.
About the illustrator Mikayla is eight years old and has Autism Spectrum Disorder. She has been in the author’s classroom for the last 2 ½ years. She wants to be an artist when she grows up. Thank you for purchasing the book and making her dream come true!
“I was most impressed with this book by Laura. A Special Friend is a great resource for parents and educators to use when talking to children about those with special needs. It not only includes discussion guides for parents and teachers, but this delightful book was actually illustrated by a child with autism. I love it.”
– Dr. Cindy Golden, Editor, Special Needs Resource Magazine
“Raising the bar in the areas of compassion and understanding among young minds is tremendously important, which is why this book should be on the reading lists of primary grade schoolers everywhere. The beautiful illustrations make it a treat for the eyes, as well!”
“The discussion questions provided for parents and teachers are particularly helpful to begin a discussion and support our children to make a difference in the lives of others. I highly recommend this book for parents and teachers to use with their children.”
– Liz Klug, Executive Director, Autism Speaks Chicagoland Chapter
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– Michael Frey, Ph.D., Licensed Child and Adolescent Psychologist
