“Creating thematic photobooks is a creative yet easy-to-apply technique that can be used with a wide range of people with different problems. With all the sophistication of modern technology, there remains a strong need for connectivity and reciprocal communication methods vital to human interaction. This important and personal aspect of this work cannot be underestimated. Thematic Photobooks provide an opportunity to actively interact with the personality of the child from various initial positions. An adult, professional or parent using a camera can selectively focus on certain topics or content and develop a child's understanding through the use of photographs accompanied by words for better understanding. Involving the child in the work on the content of the thematic photobook about his life and the subsequent discussion allows him or her to see himself and his life from the outside, which gives the child self-awareness of himself and his own life, thereby placing him on a higher level of existence. Putting a camera in the hands of a child opens up a huge variety of possibilities. The technique of Thematic Photobooks can be used in work, individually or with small groups, to create a coherent learning process consisting of visual stages, which together allow them to cope with the initial task on their own in the future. By giving the child the opportunity to use the camera to explore their environment, we also have the added benefit of allowing other adults to become familiar with the characteristics of the child's point of view and perception, allowing the child to express himself. One of the biggest challenges facing professionals and/or parents is to understand how a child perceives when their verbal and/or communication skills are impaired or absent. Thematic Photobooks can be used in a limitless variety of ways to actively engage children, benefiting both the children and those who work with them.
Time and attention are needed to further explore and document the use of the Thematic Photobooks system.

Hello, I ran across your site several years back and was amazed to see/learn how you had used photography to help troubled children. I'm a Child and Family Therapist. I, too, was once a professional photographer and while training as a therapist I devised a group plan for using the camera in therapy-just as art has been used in therapy for years. I now use my camera(s) for personal phototherapy but have never tried your approach with any of my young clients
I'm inspired to find that your site is still "on" and that you are apparently still pursuing your work with children and adolescents. I'm now going to pass on your site address to my fellow therapists, especially those who see their kids at home, school and out in the community. I would also like to present your program (perhaps your first story) to my closest colleagues in the form of a "slide" program so we might talk about it use and variations that individual therapists might be inspired to pursue
With some children, especially those between ages 7 to 11 this approach should work like dynamite to enhance their self-esteem, help them perceive their behavior in a self-empowering rather than shaming way. and so on You've already shown so effectively that it can work wonders with children who might otherwise be "lost" to themselves, their families, and society at large.
I hope you're still out there helping kids with a camera...

“As someone with more than 20 years of experience with resource-driven approaches, I see great potential in using the TPB system in working with special needs children. The author is working on an approach, drawing information from the most reliable sources - the children themselves. They themselves express what needs to be done and how to help them, and the system follows this. Photobooks are a good help during the period of acquaintance with special children, but the main thing is the stage of creating photobooks, in which the leading role is gradually transferred back to the child, developing his creativity and strengths and creating conditions for comprehensive promotion. In the author's approach, the child is perceived as a person with unique powers, capabilities, resources, and skills. The development of the photobook approach in working with special children has a convincing theoretical basis, but most importantly, it increases interest and motivation for development, helps to establish cooperation between an adult and a child.”

“By applying the ability-based model of autism, the author focuses on what a person is capable of doing. The system of Thematic Photobooks involves the strength of people with autism - visual perception - in conscious activity, being a natural consequence of Vygotsky's theories. And if applied, it will bring many benefits both to people on the autism spectrum and, in turn, to society as a whole.”

Just can't get over your web site. So very beautiful. I have been an artist for many years, and what you are doing far exceeds anything I have been across. You have taught these wonderful children to see, and see far better than most artists. You are indeed a very special person with a very special talent.....Very impressed there are millions of people on the planet, and of them only a few have the ability to work with autistic children, and out of those there are only a few chosen people with a gift to help. You are one of those people...

What a great website you have. I think you have hit upon a great tool to use with children who have autism and with children who tend to be shy or have behaviors which interfere with their learning. The key to any great work is that the person has a passion for it, which you do. You have combined the gift that G'd has given you with your love for children. Make sure the parents are aware of what you are doing. You have a great gift. I really like the story of Jacob and how you pictured his good and bad behaviors and then had him teach his siblings about the difference between the behaviors. A stroke of genius! I train parents of children who have autism and I will probably borrow some of your ideas to give them additional ideas. My wife works in a classroom with six children with autism and I am sure she will bring her camera to school more often. Thank you for looking at your pages. I will link to your website if you do not mind. Keep up the great work and may G'd bless you.

The author rightly notes that the creation of thematic photobooks is both a process and a goal. As a result, a number of important tasks are solved, such as establishing contact, diagnostics, motivation, and development.
Based on the provisions of the activity approach described in the studies of the leading Soviet psychologists L. S. Vygotsky, S. L. Rubinstein and A. N. Leontief, and his own many years of practical experience, gives a theoretical and methodological scientific substantiation of the TPB system, competently and logically correlates the basic principles underlying the theory of activity with the features of its practical implementation.
The author offers a holistic approach to solving problems related to the education and development of special children. Demonstrating knowledge of the psychological characteristics of children with disabilities and accompanying his story with cases from his own practice, the author leads us step by step to understanding how, based on the basic principles, to use the TPB system in the process of joint creative activity with a child. These principles are the disclosure of the internal patterns and logic of the development of a special child; attention to internal processes that originate in direct social contacts between a child and an adult, and then are fixed in his mind; zone of proximal development; unity of consciousness and activity; the possibility of developing and compensating for a mental defect through the development and improvement of mental functions, etc., are reflected at each stage.

“The research and effort put into developing this brand new and innovative system for special children is phenomenal. The TPB system takes something as simple as a camera and turns it into a learning tool while engaging children in the process. What makes the system different from conventional teaching methods is how easily it manages to get over the child's learning problems. The process engages adults and children in something that is not just productive and educational, but does so naturally, inspiring participants to learn on their own and get more out of the process of their own free will.”

“I highly recommend using the system for creating Thematic Photobooks. In my early childhood education practice, I use numerous techniques to meet the needs of special learners. The creation of Thematic Photobooks allows you to extremely successfully solve many cognitive, linguistic, social, emotional tasks and develops fine motor skills. Using a digital camera is very encouraging for young children and helps them to learn skills at a much faster pace than other standard approaches.”

I have looked at hundreds, maybe thousands of web sites. but I can honestly say that I have never been moved so much by one, as yours.

Great, you have my total admiration for the work you do with kids..... Please never give up your efforts with the Kids. It's all we have to make it a better world to live in