Customer Reviews

Understanding Katie

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I have found all of Dr. Shipon-Blum's materials to be very helpful in the treatment of SM. It is hard sometimes to explain this condition to others in the family, school, etc....this book gives a basic story of a little girl with SM, how she feels, how she acts and how her parents and teachers work to help her. My SM 6-yr-old and his sisters enjoy reading this story, too, and although he does not experience all of the same symptoms, he does relate to Katie, which I think has been helpful. It is a good springboard for discussion with your child.

This book was very helpful for my daughter with selective mutism. She realized for the first time that she was not the only kid with this problem. When we received it she read it every night and started to talk about how she felt. We shared this book with her teacher and her best friend, they too had no idea that this was how she felt. My daughter is 8 years old and this book was maybe a bit on the young side for her. It would be great for younger children with selective mutism and for those who need to understand how they feel.

While this book is an easy read and provides good insight into SM for older readers, it is not appropriate for children as young as 4 (as indicated in the product information provided). It is too long, contains too many references to the title character's behavior chart system, and fairly uninteresting pictures to engage the attention of youngsters. I have used it to a limited degree with some kindergarten girls, but I had to adapt the verbiage and skip some of it completely in order to hold their attention. In the end, they voted more for When My Worries Get Too Big! A Relaxation Book for Children Who Live with Anxiety.

Understanding Katie might be somewhat useful for a young child with SM who is already on a chart or token system, but not really a good read for other youngsters. The treatment guide available as a separate purchase is great information, but too expensive for what it is, in my opinion.

I bought this book for my 8 year old daughter who has selective mutism. Both of us liked the book however I had to read this with her. The book is probably written for a 10 years or older. I didn't mind reading it with her but she likes to read alone so she found it abit overwhelming, many long words. I think if it was meant for a girl her age it should have had less words per page and more colorful. But overall a well written book and lets her know she is not alone.Understanding Katie

This is a very nice book. I read w/a 12 yo girl w/selective mutism, and she liked it very much. She took it home to share w/her mother. My only complaint is that all the inside pictures are in black and white.