When their children were transitioning from SoonerStart to the public school system, two parents, Kim Wofford and Lynette Lambert, met with Sherilyn Walton to get some ideas on how to make the process as smooth as possible. Sherilyn, the Family Support Coordinator with TARC in Tulsa, suggested that they create books, or portfolios, about their children. The books were a hit with the children's teachers. SoonerStart resource coordinators now encourage every family to create a portfolio or life book for their child.

Life books help others who are new in a child's life - teachers, therapists, etc. - to get to know the child better and see aspects that can't be measured, such as the child's interests, personality, and dreams.

Portfolios can be as simple as handwritten information on sheets of tablet paper and stapled in the corner, to something elaborately created on a computer and bound. The book can be decorated or illustrated with simple figures and colored with crayons, or it can include photographs of your child and family.

You can put anything you want into the book. This is a list of suggestions from an article on life books written by Molly Grogan Mattheis in the September/October 1996 issue of Disability Solutions.

• full name, nicknames, birth date and age
• address and picture of where the child lives
• picture of the child's room or study area
• names and pictures of siblings, their ages, school they attend
• pets
• pictures, names and information of significant others who play an active role in the child's life
• daily schedule
• typical weekend activities
• favorite activities
• favorite toys and books
• samples of drawings, story telling, handwriting, math concepts
• information concerning the kind of help necessary to participate in activities
• extra curricular activities such as religious activities, neighborhood groups and sports
• diagnoses and information about them
• medications and potential side effects that may affect learning, behavior, or energy level
• information about adapted equipment, augmentative communication systems or adapted computer equipment and descriptions of how they are used at home and in the classroom
• special dietary or eating considerations
• past or upcoming surgeries that may effect performance
• description of any vision or hearing impairment and how to adapt for it in the classroom
• list of verbal approximations, their meaning, core signs/pictures used, etc
• accommodations for learning, including the adaptations that have been successful and unsuccessful
• learning strengths
• learning needs
• information on how your child learns best, things that motivate him or her, and the subjects your child enjoys most
• information about approaches that encourage your child to interact, indicators as to whether your child is having a good day or a bad day, and things they are sensitive or shy about
• friends at school and in the neighborhood, including comments from friends an information about what activities they enjoy together
• resources that might be helpful to the other person such as books, literature and good references, information from specialty clinics that might be relevant, and community agencies that might be helpful
• thoughts from the parents including past successes, what they would like to have happen this year, things they have done to help, how they can help this year, and dreams for their child
• thoughts that are dictated or done by the student which can include what they want to accomplish this year in school, what they want to do this year with their friends, and what their dreams are for their life
• thoughts form teachers can be included and can address such things as what they learned from the child, what worked and what didn't, and reflections on the year
• therapists and other providers can include comments about what they and the child have done together, things they are working on, what they have learned form the child, and their dreams for your child

If you child is currently receiving SoonerStart services, you can contact your resource coordinator for more information on creating a portfolio for your child.

The September/October 1996 issue of Disability Solutions containing an article on life books is available on the internet at www.disabilitysolutions.org.

Sherilyn Walton, Family Support Coordinator, can be reached at TARC, (918) 582-8272. TARC is a network of programs advocating for the rights of citizens with developmental disabilities.

Kim Wofford, mother of 4 ear old Nathan, and Lynette Lambert, mother of 4 year old Alaine, are active not only in spreading the word about life books, but are also involved with the Down Syndrome Association of Tulsa (DSAT). For more information about DSAT, call (918) 622-6906, or visit the website at www.dsat.org for current meeting schedule or general information.

last modified: May 2001