Behavior/Emotion Difference and Learning Disability Resources

Here are the behavior difference and learning disability resources I recommend and use myself! All of the websites labeled “for kids” are also informational for adults but are appropriate for children as well. Because there are limited informational resources about learning disabilities that are specifically aimed at children, I recommend reading and watching them with your child. They’re great conversation starters!  

Please feel free to contact me for San Francisco Bay Area-specific resources or to see how many services can help you and your child.

All Other Resources

Dyslexia

Books

For Adults:

• Overcoming Dyslexia by Sally Shaywitz

• The Dyslexic Advantage by Brock and Fernette Eide

For Kids:

• Fish in a Tree by Lynda Mullaly Hunt

• If You’re So Smart, How Come You Can’t Spell Mississippi? by Barbara Esham

• Hank Zipzer (series) by Henry Winkler

Websites

For Adults:

• International Dyslexia Association

• Yale Center for Dyslexia & Creativity

• Parents’ Guide to Dyslexia (ChildMind)

For Kids: 

• Apps for Dyslexia (University of Michigan)

• Square Pegs - videos about dyslexia

Films

• The Big Picture: Rethinking Dyslexia 

• Dislecksia: The Movie

• Like Stars On Earth

ADHD

Books

For Adults:

• Driven to Distraction by Edward M. Hallowell and John J. Ratey

• Smart But Scattered (series) by Peg Dawson and Richard Guare

For Kids:

• Mrs. Gorski, I Think I Have The Wiggle Fidgets by Barbara Esham

• Free Association (Where My Mind Goes During Science Class) by Barbara Esham

• Marvin’s Monster Diary: ADHD Attacks (series) by Raun Melmed

Websites

For Adults:

• ADDitude

• Smart But Scattered Kids (connected to the books)

• CHADD.org (Children and Adults with ADHD)

For Kids:

• ADHD Quest - via the CDC

• What Is ADHD? 

Sensory Issues

Books

For Adults:

• The Out-of-Sync Child: Recognizing and Coping with Sensory Integration Dysfunction by Carol Stock Kranowitz

• Raising A Sensory Smart Child by Lindsey Biel and Nancy Peske

• When The Brain Can’t Hear: Unraveling the Mysteries of Auditory Processing Disorder by Teri James Bellis

For Kids:

• The Chair Kicked Me And I Kicked It Back by Nina Plonka

• I’m Not Weird, I Have SPD by Chynna T. Laird

Websites

For Adults:

• Sensory Smarts

• Sensory World & Sensory Focus Magazine

• STAR Institute 

For Kids: 

• A Day in the Life of a Child with Sensory Processing Disorder (video)

• What Is Sensory Processing Disorder? (video)

Non-Verbal Learning Disorders

Books

For Adults:

• Nonverbal Learning Disabilities At Home: A Parent’s Guide

• Raising NLD Superstars: What Families With Nonverbal Learning Disabilities Need to Know About Nurturing Confident, Competent Kids by Marcia Brown Rubinstien

Websites

For Adults:

• The NVLD Project

• Understanding Nonverbal Learning Disabilities

• Strategies for Parenting A Child with NVLD 

For Kids: 

• Count Me In (video)

• Thriving With NVLD (video)

Dysgraphia & Dyscalculia

Books

For Adults:

• The Dyscalculia Toolkit (series) by Ronit Bird

• The Dyscalculia Solution: Teaching Number Sense by Jane Emerson and Patricia Babtie  

For Kids:

• Writing Right by Cassandra Baker

• Can I Tell You About Dyscalculia? by Judy Hornigold

Websites

For Adults:

• Understanding Dysgraphia

• What Is Dyscalculia? 

For Kids: 

• Math Challenges (multiple videos)

• Living With Dyscalculia (video)

Anxiety

Books

For Adults:

• Freeing Your Child From Anxiety by Tamar Chansky

• Helping Your Anxious Child: A Step-By-Step Guide by Ronald M. Rapee

For Kids:

• What To Do When You Worry Too Much by Dawn Huebner

• A Little SPOT of Anxiety by Diane Alber (series with other emotions)

• Wemberly Worried by Kevin Henkes

• A Kids Book About Anxiety by Ross Szabo

Websites

For Adults:

• CDC Anxiety & Depression in Children

• What To Do (And Not Do) When Children Are Anxious

• Signs of Anxiety in Young Kids

• Anxiety & Depression Association of America

For Kids: 

• Cosmic Kids Mindfulness (videos)

• What Causes Anxiety & Depression (video)

• Stress (Brainpop video; may require login)

General Research-Based Info about Parenting/Learning Differences 

Books

• The Whole Brain Child by Tina Payne Bryson and Daniel J. Siegel 

• A Mind At A Time by Mel Levine

• The Power of Different by Gail Saltz

• The Explosive Child by Ross Greene

• Best Friends, Worst Enemies by Michael Thompson and Kathe O’Neill-Grace

• Quirky Kids by Perri Klass and Eileen Costello

Websites

• Learning Differences Simulations - “Through Your Child’s Eyes” 

• Misunderstood Minds

• Understood.org 

• Child Mind Institute

• Learning Disabilities Association of America

• National Institute of Mental Health

• Smart Kids With LD

• WrightsLaw - special education legal and advocacy resources

• Famous People with Learning Disabilities (also good for kids)