In his sister's words

I recently read a very touching and inspiring book about a mother who have given birth to twins at 23 gestation. She begged to have the doctors leave them be, knowing full well that they would either die or live with very bad complications. She was entirely right but how she dealt with it was entirely different from what she ever expected. If you would like to read it as well the name is "This Lovely Life".

The mother of the twins also has an older child too. She tries to find a way to explain to the then 3 year old about the events that have taken place. She buys her a book called "Views from Our Shoes: Growing up with a brother or sister with special needs".

I thought that this book might be good for Alison. For a long time I have tried to find something that could help Alison understand why her brother is different. She gets it at a certain level but (just like her mom and dad) there is a lot that I know she has questions about.

This particular book shares stories from children 4-13 who have a brother or sister with special needs. There is a lot in the book that goes way over her head and would go over a lot of adults' heads as well. The idea is for her to be able to identify with others who are going through similar family dynamics, and to broaden her vocabulary to encourage her to talk about how she feels about her brother. Alison was so inspired by some of the stories in this book that she decided to write her own:

Alison Sokoloff, 6

My name is Alison Sokoloff. My baby brother is Danny. My brother has special needs. Sometimes my brother gets into trouble. One time my brother grind his teeth. At first I laughed but then I got mad. My brother is still little. I love my brother.

Alison likes to ride her bike, get the mail and play basketball and almost got in the net.