Library Thursdays: Most Popular of 2009

Resources for babies were, not surprisingly, the most popular items borrowed from the library in 2009. Down Syndrome: The First 18 Months DVD by Will Schermerhorn was the borrowed item as it was in 2008. Gifts: Mothers Reflect on how Children with Down Syndrome Enrich Their Lives, edited by Kathryn L. Soper again was the most borrowed book, second overall.

Development in Practice: Activities for Babies DVD by DownsEd in the UK was the next most borrowed item.

Next came Teaching Children with Down Syndrome about their Bodies, Boundaries and Sexuality by Terri Couwenhoven, then Development in Practice: Speech and Language Activities for preschoolers with Down syndrome (a DVD produced by DownsEd), and then A Kid's Guide to Down syndrome from the Down Syndrome Society of South Australia. All these featured on last year's list.

Next were two from the Topics in Down Syndrome series produced by Woodbine House--Fine Motor Skills in children with Down Syndrome by Maryanne Bruni and Gross Motor Skills in Children with Down Syndrome by Patricia C Winders.

And finishing off the list are Discovery: Pathways to Better Speech for Children with Down syndrome DVD by Will Schermerhorn, Mental Wellness in Adults with Down Syndrome by Dennis McGuire & Brian Chicoine and the DownsEd Issues and Information Series (Speech and Language Development for Infants(0-5 yrs) with Down Syndrome and Issues for Families of Children with Down syndrome were the most popular of those this year). Most of the Issue and Information series is now available for free to view online at: www.down-syndrome.org/information

There were no personal stories in the top ten this year, although Roadmap to Holland by Jennifer Graf Groneberg nearly made it as did the excellent teenage sibling information book, Fasten Your Seatbelt by Brian Skotko & Susan Levine.

On to 2010...we are looking forward to the US Down Syndrome Education Conference DVDs due in January. They have DVDs of sessions for professionals and ones for familes, both grouped into age groups and a speech and language disk (professionals only). Woodbine House also have a couple of interesting books coming up: The Down Syndrome Transition Handbook (due in April) and Managing My Money: Banking and Budgeting Basics (due in July). And hopefully there will be some interesting personal stories as well.

Happy New Year and Happy Reading, Information Gathering and Viewing!