The Joseph Robert Shaw Foundation

Helping Children Recover from Brain Injury

Helping Kids Identify Their Feelings With Books About Waiting

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As we get further and further into this period of self-quarantining, we are all becoming more and more restless. When will we go back to normal? When will we be able to see our friends and family in person again?

The answer of “I don’t know” just doesn’t really cut it, and yet, it is all we have. Sure, there are tiered systems of responses and levels of when we’ll be able to start implementing them, but in truth, we just don’t know.

Waiting is hard.

 It’s hard for kids on the best day, and right now – everything feels so much harder.

[Read more…]

Another Great Book for Supporting AAC! – Ball, by

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One of the more powerful ways I’ve found to encourage Joey’s communication on the eye gaze device is to read wordless picture books that still have a substantial storyline- or at least books with limited words on each page. These books are great for all kindergarteners because they allow a child to enjoy a full, exciting story, while also using their pre-reading skills to read the book independently.

Mary Sullivan’s book, Ball! is our current favorite almost-wordless book. Its central character is a dog who has one thought – ball. The dog may be dreaming of a ball, chasing a ball, asking for the ball to be thrown, or looking for a lost ball, but he continues to only use the word ball to communicate his wants and needs. [Read more…]

The Pigeon (and Joey) Go To School!

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     The stars managed to align perfectly, and just when Joey is getting ready to go to kindergarten… Mo Willem’s pigeon is also being sent off to school too. And he’s not happy about it.

About a month ago, I mentioned kindergarten to Joey and he started crying. It was hard to tell if he was crying from the topic, an uncomfortable chair positioning, or something else, but the type of cry and its relation to the sudden topic change made me wonder how Joey is feeling about his upcoming new routine. Going to kindergarten is a big deal, and Joey isn’t able to ask us questions, tell us his feelings, or even hide under his bed and tell us he isn’t coming out and is going to be home-schooled. (This may or may not be what my own five year old has said).  [Read more…]

Using Good Dog, Carl to Support Language Development

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I’m pausing in our neuroplasticity series to share the new book that Joey and I are enjoying together.

As a child, I loved the picture book, Good Dog, Carl by Alexandra Day. The wordless book depicts a mother leaving the house alone with Carl, the rottweiler dog, as the baby sitter. Once the mother leaves the house, the baby climbs out of the crib onto Carl’s back. Carl carries the baby throughout the house – to jump on the parents’ bed, play dress up with the mom’s jewelry, check out the fish tank, dance in the living room, eat a snack and even takes a bath to hide the evidence of the messy snack. Before the mother returns home, Carl puts the baby back into the crib as though nothing has happened. [Read more…]

Another Fun Book – I Need a Hug

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Recently, Joey and I have been reading the picture book, I Need a Hug by Aarron Blaby. In this silly story, a porcupine is looking for a hug, and the other animals he runs into – a rabbit, a mouse, and a bear, all run from him screaming. After all, he is a porcupine. Who wants to hug him?

At the end of the story, the porcupine finds the animals running back to him and gets his hopes up, only to find that the animals are being chased by a snake that wants a kiss. Luckily, the porcupine and the snake unite in a friendly cuddle.

This book has been perfect to read with Joey right now because while it is silly and simple, it also lets us work on some of the developmental and academic skills we are focusing on. [Read more…]

Saturday Serenade

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