About Spec Tales: Life Skills Stories for Kids with Autism & Special Needs

What is a Life Skills Story?

Many children with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs), learning difficulties, or sensory issues experience difficulties coping with daily life activities such as getting a hair cut, having their nails clipped, or using the toilet. Daily life can be especially difficult for those children who have sensory integration challenges. The purpose of life skills stories is to describe the experience in a step-by-step format in order to reduce the child’s anxiety about the activity; life skills stories also state the behavior you expect from the child in a positive, upbeat way.

The Spec Tales Series is the brain child of Christine Ambrose (a freelance writer and editor) and Brenda Insalaco (a speech language pathologist). The two women met when Brenda began working with Christine’s son Dylan. Life skills stories worked so very well for Dylan that Brenda and Christine decided they wanted to share these stories with all children with ASDs who might benefit from them.

All Spec Tales books feature full-color photographs to help visually-oriented children focus on learning individual tasks. Because Spec Tales offer visual clues, the books are appropriate for children who may have limited verbal skills and reading capabilities.

For Parents and Educators:

Each book includes a brief introduction for parents and special educators on that book’s particular topic. Valuable suggestions and tips for success are included. For the hair cut story, one suggested activity is to act out the “hair cut” using a stuffed animal or doll.

Spec Tales ebooks:

Parents, special educators, and speech language pathologists will find that these ebooks will readily engage children. As a result, these stories can serve as a child-friendly tool for the interactive reinforcement of essential life skills.