Amy Eight Track

by Theresa Gonzales

Description It soon became apparent that these two wonderful children came into her life to give her a greater purpose. Her life was filled with so much love, excitement, life changes, and learning experiences that took her in a direction she would have never imagined. She became a volunteer and an advocate for not only her children, but all other children with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Because of them, she is the person she is today. During the times that the children rested, she spent her time writing her thoughts down, thoughts turned into poems, and poems turned into stories that she would then tell to her children. Stories that were created by the situations, circumstances, and life experiences centered around events happening in their lives. Life began to change and take another turn. The children went to school, Theresa went to work for an organization that advocates for the rights of persons with intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, and the stories were put away with the thought of one day having them published into books so that they can be shared with other children. Fast forward 40 years, five stories have been published into books and the last two are in the works. A portion of each book sold will be donated to Theresa's favorite charity.

Book Summary:
Children often don't understand why other children look different, act different, or walk and talk different. However, children are very curious and are more apt to ask why that other child is different from them. The answer is, those children, if given a chance are very much like any other child. They want to be liked, fit in and have fun. Matt, Michael, and Jimmy live in the neighborhood where a little girl moves in across the street. Her family moved there because the little girl, Amy, is developmentally disabled and needs a better educational program. The boys know that she is new in the neighborhood, they know she goes to a different school, and they know she has a disability, yet they choose to ignore her. One day, Amy sees the boys playing outside. She walks across the street, sits down on the grass, and stays there until she gets their attention. With Amy's help, the boys learn something they would have never expected.