Disability+Books

Often it’s hard for students in your class to gain an understanding about learning disabilities and why the children with disabilities may act differently.

This website below is a good source for teachers to look at when trying to find books suitable to read to their class about disabilities. [] By clicking on the bubble ‘books’ it takes you to a page that gives you topics of books such as ‘Friends and personalities’ and ‘what is a learning disability’, which, from there gives you a range of book titles and blurbs. This is where you can choose a book suitable for the type of disability you want to teach your class. Also next to each book it gives you a guide to what age group these books are appropriate for.

While this website may be a good resource for us as teachers, I think it is also a good website to introduce to students who have a learning disability. This is because there are books on this website that the student may be able to relate to as well as learn ways that other people have coped with their own disabilities. It also shows students with learning disabilities that they are not alone.

Also, this website has other bubbles you can click which show examples of work such as art and stories that students with a learning disability have done. I believe this could encourage students with a learning disability that they too can do work like this.

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__TEACHER VISION__

This is just one page from an incredible teacher’s resource website []. This page has a list of books that are about disabilities and the list is broken down into categories of suitability. I am mainly focusing on the AC (adults read to children) categorised books and how I think they could be implemented by a teacher. These don’t even necessarily have to only be used in classes or schools with children with additional needs, but in any class setting to help children become familiar and comfortable with children with additional needs. These first (AC) books are suitable for children from pre-school aged up to about 8 years of age. These books are aimed to be read to children by an adult. I think there are a few these books, or these types of books could be implemented in an inclusive setting to prepare children for the meeting of other children with additional needs. I believe these texts would help children understand, from a young age, that everyone is different and that sometimes these differences cause a children to have additional needs. It would help to increase their understanding of such issues or disabilities as are described in the book(s) and I believe it would also promote acceptance amongst school children.
 * 1) Teachers could provide these books as the home readers that children take home to read with their parents who could then spend time discussing the issue or theme of that book.
 * 2) Teachers could aim to read a book about disabilities or additional needs once a week and have a class discussion following the reading of the book. The discussion could include asking the children questions, having the children give their opinion.

Teachers Vision (2011) //Children's books about disabilities//. Retrieved from: []