ITV’s Signed Stories have signed up Avril Webster, author of the Off We Go! series. You can see ‘Going to Buy Clothes’ being signed here.

Avril’s inspiration for the series came from her son Stephen’s love of books. Stephen has intellectual disabilities and found everyday experiences overwhelming. Looking at her books about going to the hairdresser, supermarket, a restaurant, the doctor, the dentist and the swimming pool helped him deal with these situations.

Since I interviewed Avril in 2007, she has introduced more stories: Going to Buy Shoes, Going to Buy Clothes, Going to a Birthday Party, Going to the Optician, Going on a Plane and Going to the Cinema. These were reviewed very positively in the Summer 10 issue by Helen Burnford who said, “They are a useful resource to be used as part of preparation for daily living or by therapists in narrative therapy groups or as part of topic based literacy or language groups in schools.”

As well as the website, Off We Go! is also on facebook.