The ‘Get to Know Me’ resources aim to support children, with those around them, who may have additional/special educational needs. They are designed to empower the professionals and adults who support those with identified needs. Developed by child psychologist Dr Louise Lightfoot, the series includes activities specific to anxiety, depression and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD).
Key Features
- Supporting Children with OCD to Understand and Celebrate Difference - This book has been created for key adults (teachers, therapists and parents) as a complement to the picture book and draw along versions of Tidy Tim – a traditional narrative story exploring thoughts, feelings and sensations experienced by many children with OCD. The activities in this book offer practical tools and strategies to support the child and those around them in addition to the information specific to the condition to improve understanding of a child’s needs to promote empathy and acceptance.
- Tidy Tim - This book has been designed to support the individual child but also to be used in whole class teaching, to encourage an empathetic and inclusive environment. In this book, we meet Tidy Tim, an octopus with many arms but not many friends. His swirly whirly feelings make him spend all day cleaning and tidying his house instead of going out and making friends. But one day, Tidy Tim gets himself into a terrible tangle and realises he needs the help of Jenni the Jellyfish, who helps him untangle his arms and his feelings.
- Draw Along With Tidy Tim - This book is an activity-based picture book story, in which individual children are encouraged to interact with the story in a creative way – through writing, drawing, scrap booking, collage, activities etc. Active engagement helps children to understand and process information, and aids long-term recall.
Additional Information
However, children with a range of needs may benefit from the story. The book is written in a narrative style, so it does not use diagnostic labels and is not intended for this purpose. Instead the focus is on creating a common language which children can understand and use to make sense of how they are feeling.