Early Literacy Organizations in our Community:
Early Head Start (EHS) - EHS programs provide intensive comprehensive child development and family support services to low-income infants and toddlers (under age 3) and their families, and to pregnant women and their families.
Early On/Build Up - for eligible children, birth to 5, who need support and services because of a potential developmental delay or diagnosed disability that could impact their education.
Great Start Readiness Program (GSRP) - is Michigan's state-funded preschool Program for four-year-old children with factors which may place them at risk of educational failure. (Children must be 4 years old by September 1st of the current year.)
Head Start - is a federally funded preschool program for children from ages three to five who are from families with incomes below the poverty guidelines are eligible for Head Start.
Family Literacy Center - is a 501c3 organization that offers family programs including school and library-based tutoring programs, playgroups, and hot-topic workshops.
Great Start Collaborative (Lapeer ISD) - offers Free Developmental Screenings for young children between the ages of 2 months and 5 years residing in Lapeer County School Districts. They have a FREE Ages and Stages (ASQ-3) developmental screening, or Social-Emotional Screening if you have behavior concerns. It only takes 10 minutes to complete and you will receive your results via email or phone within a week.
The Great Start Parent Coalition of Lapeer - consists of parents, grandparents, foster parents, guardians, and caregivers of children. The group is dedicated to informing and shaping early childhood initiatives and community resources while helping families raise children who are supported and prioritized.
TALK - Make any time learning time! Parents and caregivers can use the new service TALK to get up to 8 messages per month with fun activities to do at home to help prepare little ones, ages 5 and under, for school success. Messages also include caregiver tips and encouragement as well.
Not sure where to start? Fill out this Google form from First Steps for Familes to get matched with the information you need OR Text “Tots” to 33222 or call 810-245-3994.
Featured Resources for Grown Ups
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Solving Sleep Problems in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders
Do nightly struggles to get your child with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) to go to sleep and stay asleep leave you frazzled and frustrated? Pinpoint and solve the problems underlying sleep difficulties and improve your entire familys quality of life with the effective interventions found in this easy-to-understand and empathetic guide to good sleep. This book is based on a multi-year study of sleep in children with ASDs which concluded that parent training was the key to resolving childrens sleep problems, and that better sleep leads to improvements in anxiety, attention, and behaviour.
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In a Different Key
Finalist for the 2017 Pulitzer Prize in General Nonfiction
An extraordinary narrative history of autism: the riveting story of parents fighting for their children 's civil rights; of doctors struggling to define autism; of ingenuity, self-advocacy, and profound social change.
Nearly seventy-five years ago, Donald Triplett of Forest, Mississippi, became the first child diagnosed with autism. Beginning with his family's odyssey, In a Different Key tells the extraordinary story of this often misunderstood condition, and of the civil rights battles waged by the families of those who have it. Unfolding over decades, it is a beautifully rendered history of ordinary people determined to secure a place in the world for those with autism--by liberating children from dank institutions, campaigning for their right to go to school, challenging expert opinion on what it means to have autism, and persuading society to accept those who are different.
It is the story of women like Ruth Sullivan, who rebelled against a medical establishment that blamed cold and rejecting "refrigerator mothers" for causing autism; and of fathers who pushed scientists to dig harder for treatments. Many others played starring roles too: doctors like Leo Kanner, who pioneered our understanding of autism; lawyers like Tom Gilhool, who took the families' battle for education to the courtroom; scientists who sparred over how to treat autism; and those with autism, like Temple Grandin, Alex Plank, and Ari Ne'eman, who explained their inner worlds and championed the philosophy of neurodiversity.
This is also a story of fierce controversies--from the question of whether there is truly an autism "epidemic," and whether vaccines played a part in it; to scandals involving "facilitated communication," one of many treatments that have proved to be blind alleys; to stark disagreements about whether scientists should pursue a cure for autism. There are dark turns too: we learn about experimenters feeding LSD to children with autism, or shocking them with electricity to change their behavi∨ and the authors reveal compelling evidence that Hans Asperger, discoverer of the syndrome named after him, participated in the Nazi program that consigned disabled children to death.
By turns intimate and panoramic, In a Different Key takes us on a journey from an era when families were shamed and children were condemned to institutions to one in which a cadre of people with autism push not simply for inclusion, but for a new understanding of autism: as difference rather than disability. -
Navigating Autism: 9 Mindsets For Helping Kids on the Spectrum
Empowering strategies for anyone who works with children and teens on the spectrum.
International best-selling writer and autist Temple Grandin joins psychologist Debra Moore in presenting nine strengths-based mindsets necessary to successfully work with young people on the autism spectrum. Examples and stories bring the approaches to life, and detailed suggestions and checklists help readers put them to practical use.
Temple Grandin shares her own personal experiences and anecdotes from parents and professionals who have sought her advice, while Debra Moore draws on more than three decades of work as a psychologist with kids on the spectrum and those who love and care for them. So many people support the lives of these kids, and this book is for all of them: teachers; special education staff; mental health clinicians; physical, occupational, and speech therapists; parents; and anyone interacting with autistic children or teens.
Readers will come away with new, empowering mindsets they can apply to develop the full potential of every child.
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The Montessori Baby
It’s time to change the way we see babies.
Drawing on principles developed by the educator Dr Maria Montessori, The Montessori Baby shows how to raise your baby from birth to age one with love, respect, insight, and a surprising sense of calm. Cowritten by Simone Davies, author of the bestselling The Montessori Toddler, and Junnifa Uzodike, it’s a book filled with hundreds of practical ideas for understanding what is actually happening with your baby, and how you can mindfully assist in their learning and development. Including how to prepare yourself for parenthood physically, emotionally, intellectually, and spiritually. Become an active observer to understand what your baby is really telling you. Create Montessori spaces in your home, including “yes” spaces where nothing is off-limits. Set up activities that encourage baby’s movement and language development at their own pace, and raise a secure baby who’s ready to explore the world with confidence.
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The Complete Guide to Baby Sign Language
The complete resource for communicating with your baby!
Whether you're new to signing with your baby or looking to expand both of your vocabularies, The Complete Guide to Baby Sign Language--from TinySigns® founder Lane Rebelo--makes it a snap. Featuring more than 200 American Sign Language (ASL) signs, this book will have you and your little one signing up a storm.
Infants and toddlers can use sign language well before they can speak, offering an exciting opportunity for the two of you to communicate in deeper and more complete ways. Start things off with baby sign language essentials--like "eat," "more," and "all done"--then move on to more complex ideas--like different foods, the outside world, opposites, and emotions.
The Complete Guide to Baby Sign Language includes:
- Songs and activities-- Incorporate baby sign language into everyday fun and master advanced signing concepts.
- Fully illustrated--Detailed illustrations simplify the learning process and make sure both of you are signing perfectly.
- Advanced tips--Get helpful advice and practical tools (including memory tips and baby sign approximations) that show how easy teaching your baby sign language it can be.
Discover a new way to truly connect with your baby using The Complete Guide to Baby Sign Language.
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The Book You Wish Your Parents Had Read
"A beautifully comprehensive look at what it might mean to be a sane and emotionally intelligent parent . . . hugely warm, wise, hopeful and encouraging."--Alain de Botton, author of How Proust Can Change Your Life
Instant #1 Sunday Times Bestseller
Every parent wants their child to be happy and every parent wants to avoid screwing them up (the way their parents did!). But how do you do that?
In this absorbing, clever, and warm book, renowned psychotherapist Philippa Perry tells us what really matters and what behavior it is important to avoid--the vital dos and don'ts of parenting.
Her approach begins with parents themselves and their own psychological make-up and history--and how that in turn influences one's parenting.
Instead of mapping out the "perfect" plan, Perry offers a big-picture look at the elements that lead to good parent-child relationships. This refreshing judgement-free book will help you to:
• Understand how your own upbringing may affect your parenting
• Accept that you will make mistakes and learn what you can do about them
• Break negative cycles and patterns
• Handle your own and child's feelings
• Understand what different behaviors communicate
Full of sage and sane advice, The Book You Wish Your Parents Had Read is one every parent will want to read and every child will wish their parents had.
A PAMELA DORMAN BOOKS/VIKING LIFE TITLE -
Discipline with Love and Limits
"The tools in this beloved book change everyday struggles into teachable moments." -- Wendy Webb, Mother, Grandmother, and National Trainer, Parents as TeachersFilled with parent-tested advice for over 100 asked-for behaviors, including:
Screen Addiction - Bullying - Temper Tantrums - Won't Listen - Whining - Not Eating - Jealousy - Biting - Lying - Talking Back - Testing Limits - Won't Go to Bed - Clinging - Interrupting - Won't Do Homework - Sibling Rivalry...and more!
With over 1 million copies sold, this updated and completely revised bestseller is the only pediatrician-recommended guide for what to do and what not to do in encouraging, respectful ways when responding to everyday behavior challenges of toddlers to teens. Practical solutions on each page teach empathy and inclusiveness, reduce stress and anxiety, build positive relationships, and empower children to thrive emotionally and physically. -
Raising Good Humans
"A wise and fresh approach to mindful parenting."
--Tara Brach, author of Radical Acceptance
A kinder, more compassionate world starts with kind and compassionate kids. In Raising Good Humans, you'll find powerful and practical strategies to break free from "reactive parenting" habits and raise kind, cooperative, and confident kids.Whether you're running late for school, trying to get your child to eat their vegetables, or dealing with an epic meltdown in the checkout line at a grocery store--being a parent is hard work! And, as parents, many of us react in times of stress without thinking--often by yelling. But what if, instead of always reacting on autopilot, you could respond thoughtfully in those moments, keep your cool, and get from A to B on time and in one piece?
With this book, you'll find powerful mindfulness skills for calming your own stress response when difficult emotions arise. You'll also discover strategies for cultivating respectful communication, effective conflict resolution, and reflective listening. In the process, you'll learn to examine your own unhelpful patterns and ingrained reactions that reflect the generational habits shaped by your parents, so you can break the cycle and respond to your children in more skillful ways.
When children experience a parent reacting with kindness and patience, they learn to act with kindness as well--thereby altering generational patterns for a kinder, more compassionate future. With this essential guide, you'll see how changing your own "autopilot reactions" can create a lasting positive impact, not just for your kids, but for generations to come.
An essential, must-read for all parents--now more than ever.
"To raise the children we hope to raise, we have to learn to become the person we hoped to be.... This wonderful book will help you handle the ride."
--KJ Dell'Antonia, author of How to Be a Happier Parent
"Hunter Clarke-Fields shares her wisdom and personal experience to help parents create peaceful families."
--Joanna Faber and Julie King, coauthors of How to Talk So Little Kids Will Listen
Children's Services
Reducing trauma to children during abuse investigations
Investigating of and reporting child abuse and neglect
The Family Literacy Center of Lapeer is a 501c3 organization providing one-to-one and small group tutoring for adults in the thumb area of Michigan, helping people in our community reach their literacy and employment goals.
Information about early childhood programs including Early Head Start, Early On and preschool programs including Head Start and Great Start Readiness.
The GSRP is a state-funded FREE preschool for four year old children. GSRPs are located in area school districts and licensed child care centers. Classes are full day, Monday through Thursday and some programs provide transportation.
810-667-4175 help line; 810-667-4193 general line
Emergency shelter for women and children