Draw Along With Tidy Tim

Get to Know me: OCD

Louise Lightfoot, Catherine Hicks

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2019
• eBook ISBN: 9781351164542
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Education General

The 'Get to Know Me' series is made up of resources aimed at children with additional needs. Developed by child psychologist Dr Louise Lightfoot and illustrated by Catherine Hicks, the series includes activities specific to anxiety, depression and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). This book, Draw Along With Tidy Tim, is an activity-based picture book story, in which individual children are encouraged to interact with the story in a creative way – through writing, drawing, scrap booking, collage, activities etc.

Active engagement helps children to understand and process information, and aids long-term recall. It has been designed to support the individual child and encourage an empathetic and inclusive environment. In this book, we meet Tidy Tim, an octopus with many arms but not many friends. His swirly whirly feelings make him spend all day cleaning and tidying his house instead of going out and making friends. But one day, Tidy Tim gets himself into a terrible tangle and realises he needs the help of Jenni the Jellyfish, who helps him untangle his arms and his feelings.

This book was written with children with OCD in mind, providing an opportunity to relate to Tim's thoughts, feelings, behaviours and experiences. However, children with a range of needs may benefit from the story. The book is written in a narrative style, so it does not use diagnostic labels and is not intended for this purpose. Instead the focus is on creating a common language which children can understand and use to make sense of how they are feeling.

A practitioner guidebook is also available (ISBN 978-0-8153-4948-8).

Deep, deep down in the ocean

Where squishy fishes swim,

Lived many different creatures

And an octopus called Tim.

QUESTIONS: Can you draw Tim with his friends?

Or find his picture at the back of this book and colour it, cut it out and stick it at the back of the book?

Tim wasn’t very friendly

Or blessed with many charms,

But Tim had lots of other skills

As well as lots of arms.

QUESTION: Tim is always busy. What keeps you busy? Name one thing you like to do.

Tim was super organised

And always had a plan;

His house was very ordered

And always spick and span.

QUESTIONS: What does your bedroom look like?

Draw a picture of it, are you as Tidy as Tidy Tim?

One day a knock came to his door,

He heard a small voice say,

“Hello, Tim – are you in there?

Oh, won’t you come and play?”

He looked out of his window

“It’s me,” a voice declared.

“It’s Jenni the jelly fish! Please come play!”

But Tim just stood and stared.

ACTIVITY: Draw, talk or write about someone who asks you to play.

“I’m busy,” Tim replied at once

“I’ve lots of things to do

The house is very messy

I have no time for you”

Jenni asked Tim every day,

Though he never once came out

She’d ask him still, just in case,

And so he wouldn’t feel left out.

QUESTION: What distracts you? Draw a picture or cut and stick pictures of things that also distract Tim.

Jenni turned and swam away

And Tim felt sad and mean,

But then the buzzing built inside

And Tim began to clean.

QUESTIONS: Would you have gone to play with Jenni, or stayed to clean the house? What do you think?

The swirling feelings grew inside

his arms began to whiz,

He rushed and raced about the house

In a swirly twirly tiz.

QUESTION: How do you think Tim feels? Draw, discuss or write about it.

He used his arms to wash and mop

And squish and splash and jangle;

But Tim was such a whirlwind

It ended in a tangle.

QUESTION: How would you help Tim? Draw, discuss or write about it.

...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Series
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• Work book instructions for practitioners, parents and carers
• Draw along with Tidy Tim