who am I? resources

Books we love reading together that encourage a positive sense of identity and self-esteem…

You are Very Special (Paperback),by Illustrated by Susie Poole By (author) Su Box 

I Am Utterly Unique: Celebrating the Strengths of Children with Asperger Syndrome andHigh-Functioning Autism. By Elaine Marie Larson and Vivian Strand

Giraffes Can’t Dance. By Giles Andreae and Guy Parker-Rees

Only One You. By Linda Kranz   

No Matter What, by Debi Gliori

interesting & useful pages online I have come across:

• http://www.amaze.org.au/uploads/2014/10/Louise-Ford.pdf
• http://raisingchildren.net.au/articles/autism_spectrum_disorder_self_esteem_teenagers.html
• https://www.carautismroadmap.org/the-importance-of-self-esteem/
• http://www.caringforkids.cps.ca/handouts/foster_self_esteem

 

practical ideas we have used:

• we bought a book for our children of the Bible story with their name in (works for us as they are all Bible names!) – this has brought about lots of conversations about positive character traits, the transforming love God has for people – and it comes out of a story they feel they own and is especially for them.
• cut & stick collages from magazines in their letter shapes – could look for images of things they like, enjoy or are good at. As they get older could look for positive words they would use about themselves – no negatives allowed… sit & do one for yourself too!
• memories & achievements box or scrap books for them. We made scrapbooks with our kids when they reached the age to leave primary (the two that have!), about the positives, good friendships and things they had learnt about themselves.

• finding ‘projects’ to work on with each of them – like painting a dolls house, or building a lego creation, making something together, designing a bit of the garden together & working on it, growing things, collecting things.
• to celebrate tests and exams we have taken to celebrating on completing the test rather than when the results are back… we are proud of the way they study or the effort and concentration of sitting the exam, or the overcoming of fear to go ahead & do it… that praise then has a chance to be heard and felt separate from the results. (obviously there’s also another chance to praise when the results do come back, but the big praise for us often comes before.)
• outings aren’t always altogether, sometimes its just lovely to have one to one time – we just have to stay very conscious of making sure they each get turns!

 

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