“Reading Together: Why Your Baby Needs Books” originally appeared at freespiritpublishingblog.com. Copyright © 2020 by Free Spirit Publishing. All rights reserved. When you read to your baby, you’re not just bonding, you’re promoting language and social skills. It’s never too early to start a positive lifetime habit. “In the first few weeks with my newborn at home, whatever I was reading, I would read aloud to my baby—novels, magazine articles, even emails. As she got older, I started adding in baby board books, and she seemed mesmerized by the pictures,” said new mother Sarah Fazio. “Now, at five months, we read a variety of children’s books, and I’m always surprised

“Invite Guests—Not Germs—to Your Home During the Holidays” originally appeared at freespiritpublishingblog.com. Copyright © 2020 by Free Spirit Publishing. All rights reserved. Hurray, it’s the holiday season! Uh-oh, it’s also cold and flu season. Parties, travel, and gatherings are all part of holiday fun, but time spent with others during cold and flu season means that you and your children are more likely to get sick. What are you supposed to do—hide out and avoid the crowds? Impossible. There are ways to reduce the risk of getting viruses, though. It all starts with the hands. Your hands are busy all day long, and they touch so many different surfaces: railings,

“Free Spirit Storytellers on Their Best Behavior” originally appeared at freespiritpublishingblog.com. Copyright © 2020 by Free Spirit Publishing. All rights reserved. By Elizabeth Verdick and Marieka Heinlen, author and illustrator of the Best Behavior® series Storytelling is at the heart of being human—and it starts at birth. We share stories as we talk to our babies, sing to them, and read to them. They grow rich in stories, and once children are verbal, they are eager to share their own tales, eventually writing and drawing them on paper. Storytelling helps children better understand the world, develop empathy, and grow up with greater knowledge and confidence. As an author/illustrator team, we’re

“5 Stress Management Strategies for Kids” originally appeared at freespiritpublishingblog.com. Copyright © 2020 by Free Spirit Publishing. All rights reserved. Experts say kids are more stressed today than ever before. That’s no surprise. We see the fast-paced, competitive, tech-savvy world they’re growing up in. We’ve heard the stories about kids getting bullied, struggling academically, being exposed to violence at home or school, dealing with economic uncertainty, and worrying about the environment or conflicts in their communities and country. That’s a lot to carry on small shoulders. There’s a lot at stake too. According to Bruce Compas, professor of psychology at Vanderbilt University’s Peabody College of Education and Human Development and

1 in 3 students are bullied during the school year. 1 out of 4 are bullied every day. Those with autism are especially at risk for being bullied. Bullying is when one student, or a group of students, purposely and repeatedly targets another student in a way that causes physical, social, or emotional harm. The ones doing the bullying usually have an advantage of some kind over those being bullied: size, strength, or popularity. As moms, we’re angered and saddened by the bullying statistics we see. As moms of sons on the spectrum, we can’t help but worry—a lot. Kids with ASD (autism spectrum disorder) are often easy targets because

“Elizabeth Verdick: A Look at “Autism Fiction”” originally appeared in Bookology Magazine. Copyright © 2020 by Winding Oak LLC. All rights reserved. I spent the month of April reading children’s fiction featuring characters with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). April was Autism Awareness Month, but that wasn’t my only motivation. I love children’s literature, I have written nonfiction about ASD, and I’m raising a son who’s on the autism spectrum. I wondered, Which middle-grade stories could I hand him, saying, “I think you’ll really like this”? I read the books with zeal — and growing discomfort. Why did many portrayals of characters with ASD lack the authenticity one yearns for in fiction? Why

“Summer Spectrum-style” originally appeared at freespiritpublishingblog.com. Copyright © 2020 by Free Spirit Publishing. All rights reserved. Keeping kids active and safe in the summer is a challenge for all parents. For those with kids on the autism spectrum, some extra planning can help make the shift into a summer routine easier on their child, and on themselves. Two of Free Spirit Publishing’s autism experts offer some practical suggestions. Listen to the podcast below:   Elizabeth Reeve, M.D.: Summer is here and for most of us that means sunshine, vacations, and a change in the daily routine. But if you have a child or teen on the autism spectrum, summertime may

“Caring for the Caregiver” originally appeared at freespiritpublishingblog.com. Copyright © 2020 by Free Spirit Publishing. All rights reserved. Your 13-year-old daughter just spent 45 minutes in the bathroom doing her hair while texting her friends in anticipation of her first big middle school dance. She’s focused on how she looks and wants to make a big impression tonight. Down the hall, your 18-year-old son with autism emerges from the other bathroom after a shower, having once again forgotten to wash his hair. He’s wearing the same clothes he had on before he took his shower. You notice the stain on his shirt from last night’s dinner. You approach him with