You may have noticed the Read Diverse Books display in the lobby of the library. Some of these titles are children’s and young adult literature that we chose using a search tool called Children’s Books: Portrayals of People with Disabilities. The tool was curated by the IRIS Center * and contains information about the following types of disabilities:
- Autism Spectrum Disorders
- Deaf/Hard of Hearing
- Deaf-Blindness
- Emotional or Behavioral Disorders
- Health Impairments
- Intellectual / Developmental Disabilities
- Learning Disabilities
- Multiple Disabilities
- Physical Impairments
- Speech / Language Impairments
- Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)
- Visual Impairments
Reading materials that include people with disabilities can help normalize interactions among members of the community. Familiarity with disabilities can also help reduce the stress of real-world experiences outside of a child’s everyday view of the world.
If you visit the library in person, I hope that you will stop at the Read Diverse Books display to see if a title catches your interest!
*The IRIS Center is a national center dedicated to improving education outcomes for all children, especially those with disabilities birth through age twenty-one, through the use of effective evidence-based practices and interventions.
