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Irish Deaf Kids (IDK), in conjunction with Irish publishing house, Special Stories Publishing, announces the publication of a new children’s book called ‘A Birthday for Ben’.

‘A Birthday for Ben’ is about young children who are deaf or who have hearing issues. Designed to introduce all children, especially those in mainstream school, to children with hearing issues the book is beautifully illustrated by talented deaf artist Karen Quirke from Dublin. “The story is told through the eyes of Ben, a young boy who is deaf. Ben doesn’t really like birthdays or birthday parties,” said Kate Gaynor, Publisher of Special Stories. “For a lot of party games you need to be able to hear the music to join in and Ben sometimes feels left out. When it’s time for Ben’s own birthday party, his mum shows him just how easy it is for his deaf and hearing friends to join in and have fun together”.

’A Birthday for Ben’ is a very welcome resource for both parents and teachers as it introduces the whole notion of hearing and deafness to young children,” commented Caroline Carswell, founder of Irish Deaf Kids. “By making the book available to primary schools throughout Ireland, IDK and Special Stories hope to highlight the everyday issues that deaf children may encounter on a daily basis in mainstream school”.

‘A Birthday for Ben’ is the first book of its kind to be published and produced for the Irish market. The book will be available to the public through all good bookstores nationwide from August of this year as well as through the IDK and Special Stories websites.  Parents can also donate a copy of the book to their child’s school at a 20% discount by sending the name and address of the school to Special Stories who will send the book along with a note to say it who it was donated by.

About Irish Deaf Kids

Irish Deaf Kids (www.irishdeafkids.ie) is a "for-impact" venture aimed at supporting inclusive education for deaf children in Ireland while empowering parents to develop their child’s full potential. IDK also seeks to raise awareness about the different ways in which deaf people communicate, to link the deaf and hearing communities through projects and to 'demystify' deafness.

 

About Special Stories Publishing

Special Stories Publishing is an award winning Irish publishing company which specialises in books for children, parents, families and schools throughout the world. It introduces disabilities, social, health and education issues to all children in a child focused and unique way. Its stories are designed to celebrate diversity and difference and help children to learn the importance of accepting all friends and classmates as equals.