Hoop Dreams for Children With Special Needs

Holt adoptive mom Julie Banta shares how raising and teaching children with special needs inspired her to write books in which children with disabilities are the hero of their own story. A portion of the funds from her newly published book, “Hoop Dreams,” will go to support vulnerable children and families through Holt’s Where Most Needed fund. Order “Hoop Dreams” now on Amazon!

Growing up, Julie Banta’s daughter Kari encountered plenty of physical challenges in school. But as a Thai adoptee with a disability, her differences gave her additional challenges. Julie recalls one incident that particularly affected Kari. At a middle school dance, a group of girls took over her wheelchair.

“She said, ‘Mom, some of the girls wanted me out of my chair. They were twirling around in it,’” Julie shares. “And she was stuck, immobile.”

After the dance, Julie spoke with the principal of the school, saying, “We really need to educate these kids.”

Julie is the mother of three birth children and a four-time Holt adoptive mom. She is a former Holt board member, as well as a retired special education teacher in a Texas school district. Throughout her career as a teacher, she noticed something seriously lacking in grade-school libraries: books in which children with disabilities are the hero of their own story.

“They just didn’t exist,” she says. “It wasn’t a matter of searching — because I knew there was nothing there.”

But as a special education teacher and a mom to four adopted children with special needs, Julie recognized a tremendous need for these kinds of stories — stories that celebrated and taught acceptance of differences.

So, she decided to write them.

“Teaching kids with special needs and seeing how they’re often treated, I wanted to reach out to that population,” she says. “Not just that population of disabled kids, but also able-bodied kids — to teach them not be afraid, to be accepting and show we’re all in this together.”

Julie’s first book, “Hoop Dreams,” was inspired by Kari, who she and her husband, Steve, adopted through Holt’s Thailand program in 1999.

Born with spina bifida, a birth defect in which the spinal column doesn’t completely close, Kari has always relied on a wheelchair for mobility. Growing up with the love and support of her family, Kari received the medical and therapeutic resources she needed to thrive, including five back surgeries. Not only did she adapt to her physical limitations — she went on to become a competitive athlete.

Starting in 4th grade, Kari played wheelchair basketball with the Dallas Junior Mavs Program. Through her wheelchair basketball team, she found friends and community.  Kari even got the opportunity to travel with and support the older team, the Dallas Women’s Wheelchair Mavericks, when they competed in the 2008 Paralympic games in Beijing. The U.S. Women’s Wheelchair Basketball Team proudly took gold!

While always cheering for Kari, Julie also learned a lot about the sport and its unique ability to bring both disabled and able-bodied kids together. So, when Julie retired from teaching during the pandemic and decided to write children’s books, her first idea centered on two friends — one able-bodied and one in a wheelchair — who learn to play basketball together. The back matter of “Hoop Dreams” lists the rules for wheelchair basketball.

“I told Kari, ‘It’s not your story, but inspired by you to help able-bodied kids accept kids in wheelchairs and kids in chairs to succeed,’” Julie explains. “The idea is, Hope and Harriett are best friends, except Hope is in a wheelchair and Harriett is not. That was inspired by watching Kari go through school and being the only one in a wheelchair. It can be kind of scary for young kids who’ve never been around a kid in a wheelchair.”

“We’re seeing more children’s books based on differences and disabilities. This is the time in our world when we need it more than ever. I think the education needs to start with young kids.” — Julie Banta, author of “Hoop Dreams”

Julie wrote the story soon after completing a ten-week course through the Highlights Foundation on writing and publishing children’s books.

“I took this class and all along I’m writing, writing, writing,” Julie explains. “After nine months, I got my first agent, which is extremely difficult to do. My agent believed in this book and found the right publisher. I’ve dedicated ‘Hoop Dreams’ to my late agent.”

With the publication of “Hoop Dreams,” now available on Amazon, Julie plans to donate a portion of the proceeds to help children and families in Holt programs around the world. While donations will go to Holt’s Where Most Needed fund, Julie has a special heart for Holt-supported programs in Thailand — the country where two of her four adopted children were born — and for programs that help children with disabilities and special needs.

A Heart for Kids with Special Needs

Julie’s heart for children with special needs is woven throughout her life and career. After earning a master’s degree in education, she spent the last eight years of her career teaching children with autism. And although she says she has always written stories for children, it was in this role where she first put her talent to use — crafting social stories to help children with autism understand and navigate their world.

“It was a way to help them understand whatever it was that they were not understanding in the world,” Julie explains. “It could be as simple as thunderstorms … or making friends, being different, that that’s okay, encouraging kind of stories.”

With each of their four adoptions, Julie and Steve also began their journey with the intention of providing a loving home for a child with special needs.

Their first adopted child, a son they welcomed through Holt’s former Brazil program, struggled with mental health issues. Then came Amy, adopted from Hong Kong, who contracted polio as a baby — and who, like Kari, also relies on a wheelchair for mobility. After Kari joined their family in 1999, Julie and Steve returned to Thailand three years later to adopt their son Michael, who is hearing impaired.

“He’s my heart, Michael,” Julie says. “He was 10 when he came home, and he didn’t speak any English. And my Thai wasn’t worth anything. So, we cooked and we cooked Thai food because that just breaks every barrier. That’s how we bonded.”

Today, Michael works as a caterer and special education teacher in Dallas and Kari lives independently in an apartment that is wheelchair accessible. She is currently not working but stays active with friends. Amy is a successful career woman. “We saw Amy’s picture in one of the old Holt magazines with pictures of the kids waiting to be adopted,” Julie says, explaining how they first learned about Amy. “We fell in love with her.”

During her tenure as a board member, Julie also traveled to every country where Holt had programs for children and families — and met many children with disabilities.

Dreams Can Come True

Although Julie couldn’t find many children’s books teaching acceptance and inclusion when she was teaching and raising children with special needs, she has noticed a more positive trend in recent years.

“We’re seeing more children’s books based on differences and disabilities. This is the time in our world when we need it more than ever,” she says. “I think the education needs to start with young kids.”

Motivated and determined to contribute to that effort, Julie already has a roster of books hoping for publication — most with a theme of acceptance.

“They’re all very different, but there’s an element of acceptance in each one,” she says.

One is about a star baseball player who teaches another boy how to play the game, with both ultimately becoming heroes. One is about a boy following his heart, torn between soccer and dance. Another is about a sloth who learns to accept and love who he is, while yet another is an intergenerational story about a boy who learns wishes can come true.

Although Kari didn’t know her mom was writing a book inspired by her, when she was shown the fully illustrated book, she absolutely loved it.

Kari says of her hopes for the book, “I hope this book gives you the courage and strength to get out of your comfort zone. To show the best of our differences, knowing we have someone who will be there to support us. Our disability shouldn’t stop us. It should motivate us to show our creative side.”

While “Hoop Dreams” is about accepting and embracing differences, Julie says the book is also about “unconditional friendship — and that dreams can come true.”

“Hoop Dreams” is now available for purchase on Amazon. A portion of the proceeds will go to support vulnerable children and families through Holt’s Where Most Needed fund.