There is a wealth of information written for children regarding death but very little information for a large number of children who have special needs. Even very young children experience grief. Understanding death at any age is difficult. Explaining death to a child with very little functional language is even more of a challenge. This book is designed to help parents and early childhood specialists give a child with limited language skills the information and support to deal with the death of a loved one. The goal of the book is to combine simple speech strategies with grief coping methods to assist a child who is functioning at or below the developmental age of three years. Using this information parents can create a social story regarding the circumstances facing their child.Cocoa’s Collar provides specific skills for adults to assist very young children to understand and cope with death and loss. On top of a story about the death of a pet dog, the author has added a layer of unique narrative and illustrations to teach adults to use effective strategies for fostering language development and understanding of loss in very young children. Cocoa’s Collar is a valuable vehicle for opening up a healing conversation between adults and children. It targets the necessary level of communication needed to assist young children with special needs begin to understand loss and healing.
Michelle (Mickey) Pardew, Ph.D.
Professor of Special Education
Western Oregon University
To purchase a copy of Cocoa's Collar from Compassion Books click HERE.