Week to highlight children

Special needs children receive special recognition this week.

A host of activities aimed at special needs children will be held at Gibbs Library on Monday, Wednesday and Friday as part of Exceptional Children's Week, which is sponsored by the Georgia Division of Early Childhood of the Council for Exceptional Children.

"We try to highlight, not so much the deficiencies of children with disabilities, but the accomplishments," said Billi Bromer, a preschool special needs educator in Columbia County and state president for the Georgia Division of Early Childhood for the council.

On Monday, the group will sponsor a parent workshop on creating and adapting language and literacy materials for young, diverse learners. The free event will be held from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m.

A display for programs and resources for young children with disabilities will be open to the public from 1 to 5 p.m. Wednesday.

Special needs children and their families are invited to a Pajama Night from 6 to 7 p.m. that will feature stories, games, crafts and a puppet show. Again, the event is free, but advance registration is required.

Gibbs Library, 326 North Belair Road, can be reached by calling 863-1946.

"We wanted to do something special that typical kids would do that would accommodate the needs of some of our kids with disabilities," Bromer said.

"It's hard for them to be included, because they may have some needs not easy to accommodate in a typical setting like the library."