Elvin's Friends

About the Book

Today most students with disabilities are either educated in special education classes located on general education campuses or mainstreamed individually into general education classes. Often, however, a lack of understanding of the disability exists in the minds of students and teachers, causing them to make generalizations concerning the person or persons with disabilities. To facilitate understanding and foster friendships, integration should begin in the elementary schools. For when an individual takes the time to get to know someone, he or she can appreciate the fact that each person has unique strengths and qualities to offer. Elvin’s Friends demonstrates, not only how someone with a disability can excel and teach others, but also how friendships can form when two people stop to take the time to get to know each other.

About the Author

For 25 years prior to her retirement in 2010, Eloise Lovelace worked for the Contra Costa County Office of Education as an instructional assistant and teacher for children with special needs. For the majority of that time, her classes were on elementary school campuses. She grew to be an advocate of integration among general education students, children with disabilities, and the public at large. She mainstreamed her students with their peers at recess, lunchtime and in general education classes, presented “Ability Awareness” lessons to the general education students and teachers, and took the students into the community on a regular basis. She strongly promoted friendships and understanding among all students.

Ms. Lovelace lives with her husband and two retrievers in the coastal mountain community of Boulder Creek, California. She has two daughters and four young grandchildren. Her first book, Your Ema Loves You, was written after her diagnosis of ALS, in which she presents the idea that, though a grandma may be in declining health, she is still the same person inside. She went on to write I Was a Boy Just Like You, in which she demonstrates how alike grandparents and grandchildren really are. In her third book, Thoughts for My Daughters, she presents to her daughters and other young parents her beliefs or opinions that she has formulated from a lifetime of positive social interaction and rewarding experiences and learning. She currently spends her time reading, writing, traveling, playing with her grandchildren and providing therapy with her Golden Retriever.