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THE IMPORTANCE OF YOUNG ADULT AND CHILDREN'S BOOKS THAT PORTRAY CHARACTERS WITH DISABILITIES
Why Do We Need Characters with Disabilities?
Literature for children and young adults is written for many different reasons. It is written purely to entertain, to help children and young adults understand the world they live in, or to help cope with problems they face. It can also be written to introduce new places, ideas, or situations to its readers, or to portray characters with whom readers can relate to better understand themselves. Children's and young adult books that portray characters with disabilities are important tools for helping all readers learn about, understand, and relate to people with disabilities.
All children like to see themselves in literature (Campbell 20?6). For many children and young adults with disabilities, the feeling of being totally and completely alone - the only one facing a specific set of challenges - is overwhelming. Christina Minaki, an author living with cerebral palsy, remembers her childhood:
"Growing up with Cerebral Palsy, I quickly grew tired of dealing with - and hearing excuses for - a society clearly not welcoming to disability __ And the message was unmistakably clear, if most often implicit rather than explicit: You aren't welcome here. People with disabilities don't come here, and if they do, they better be "normal enough" to handle the world as it exists. It was clear that if I wanted to belong, I would have to change - become 'normal.' If I couldn't do so, I would have to settle for being an outsider" (2OO9, 12,).
For Minaki and so many other children living with disabilities, the world is not an easy place. School librarians and educators must remember that in addition to the social obstacles all children and young adults face, some also face physical obstacles. The majority of the world is simply not designed with disabilities in mind. All of these obstacles combine to create a world that could potentially be pretty lonely for anyone who "does not fit in." Literature provides the necessary perspectives for children and young adults with disabilities to see themselves differently, more positively.
Literature portraying characters with disabilities can help children and young adults develop the habit of reading for pleasure about characters...