INCLUSIONS & LITERACY

By Tami Leitz, Spokane County Parent to Parent Coordinator

Inclusion requires intentionally. It is not enough to say, “They could come if they wanted to,” without acknowledging that very real systems in place have separated people with disabilities from their communities.

Equality is not that everyone gets the same thing. True equity offers access to each person according to their needs. Unfortunately, it is rare to see this play out fairly in our lives. At all ages, people with support needs are separated from their peers. This segregation denies people with disabilities access to their communities and normalizes othering and isolation. Because this way of operating is so pervasive most people grow up without experiencing a meaningful relationship with someone who has a developmental disability. This is a disservice to everyone.

Without exposure to differences, people are inclined to become afraid of what they do not understand. It’s easy to fall into the trap of moralizing behavior we are not familiar with and labeling people with disabilities as bad and deserving of separation from others.

Families of children with disabilities experience the loss of things most families take for granted. Sometimes it’s a direct rejection; their child may not participate in a field trip or after school activities. Social rejection can be more subtle, like not being invited to playdates or birthday parties. The experiences pile up and repeatedly send the message that these families are not welcome. It can be challenging logistically to get out into the community when considering things like mobility, sensory input, and medical support. This quickly leads to isolation for families. Getting “out there” often requires being personally invited and assured there will be support. 

Spokane County Libraries partnered with The Arc of Spokane’s Parent to Parent program in March to offer a Sensory Storytime, providing more opportunities for families to be intentionally welcomed into the community. The program was open to people of all ages to come experience the joy of stories, music, play time and crafts, designed to be as inclusive and adaptive as possible. 

Creating spaces that challenge our learned preference for people who look and act the same as us is a worthy goal. One low-effort way to learn about disability is through self-aware and inclusive literature.

Think about the characters with disabilities or physical disfigurements you have seen in media throughout your life. Were they presented as a fully realized and complex person? Most likely they were the villain or posed a challenge for the protagonist to overcome. We also see people with disabilities portrayed as inspirational for simply living their lives, which is also othering to the disability community.

Here are some books recommendations that can challenge our misconceptions about disability and teach us to grow more inclusive communities:

  • Adults (Highly Recommend):

  • Disability Visibility by Alice Wong

  • Black Disability Politics by Sami Schalk

  • Care Work: Dreaming Disability Justice by Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha

  • Being Human by Judith Heumann

  • Demystifying Disability: What to Know, What to Say, and How to Be an Ally by Emily Ladau

  • My Body is Not a Prayer Request: Disability Justice in the Church by Amy Kenny

  • Read This to Get Smarter About Race, Class, Gender, Disability and More by Blair Imani

  • A Disability History of The United States by Kim E Nielsen

  • Like Me: A Story about Disability and Discovering God’s Image in Every Person by Laura Wifler

  • Disfigured: On Fairy Tales, Disability, and Making Space by Amanda Leduc

  • Beasts of Burden: Animals and Disability Liberation by Sunaura Taylor

  • Exiles and Pride: Disability, Queerness and Liberation by Eli Clare

  • Crip Kinship: The Disability Justice and Art Activism of Sins Invalid by Shayda Kafai

  • A Quick and Easy Guide to Sex and Disability by A. Andrews

  • Capitalism & Disability by Marta Russell

  • All our Families: Disability Lineage and the Future of Kinship by Jennifer Natalya Fink

  • The Ultimate Guide to Sex and Disability, Chronic Pain and Illness by Cory Silverberg

  • Fighting for Yes!: The Story of Disability Rights Activist Judith Heumann by Maryann Cocca-Leffler

  • Disability Pride: Dispatches from a Post-ADA World by Ben Mattlin

    Youth (Disability Representation):

  • A List of Cages by Robin Roe

  • Pete Lyre’s Rating Normal by Anna Whateley

  • Marcelo in the Real World by Francisco X. Stork

  • Queen of Geek by Jen Wilde

  • On the Edge of Gone by Corinne Duyvis

  • The Boy Who Steals Houses by C.G. Drew

  • You, Me, and Our Heartstrings by Melissa See

  • Wild and Crooked by Leah Thomas

  • Wonder by R.J. Palacio

  • A Taxonomy of Love by Rachael Allen

     

    Children:

  • We Move Together by Anne McGuire and Kelly Fritsch

  • All Are Welcome by Alexandre Penfold and Suzanne Kaufman

  • Why Are You Looking at Me? I Just Have Down Syndrome by Lisa Tompkins

  • Brave by Stacy McAnulty and Joanne Lew-Vriethoff

  • Strictly No Elephants by Lisa Mantchev and Taeeun Yoo

  • Real Friends by Shannon Hale and Leuyen Pham

  • It’s OK to be Different: A Children’s Picture Book by Sharon Purtill and Saha Sujata

  • Just Right for You by Melanie Heyworth and Celeste Josephine

  • All the Way to the Top: How One Girl’s Fight for Americans with Disabilities Changed Everything by Annette Bay Pimentel

  • The Black Book of Colors by Menena Cottin and Rosana Faria

  • Fish in a Tree by Lynda Mullaly Hunt

  • Just Like ME by Louse Gooding

  • The Reason I Jump by Naoki Higashida

  • Forget Me Not by Ellie Terry

  • I Will Dance by Nancy Bo Flood and Julianna Swaney

  • A Friend for Henry by Jenn Bailey and Mika Song

  • Steggie’s Stutter by Jack Hughes

  • How I Learn: A Kid’s Guide to Learning Disabilities by Brenda Miles and Colleen Patterson

  • Be Good to Eddie Lee by Virginia Fleming

  • Hello Goodbye Dog by Maria Gianferrari and Patrice Barton

  • The Prince Who Was Just Himself by Silke Schnee and Heike Sistig

  • We’re All Wonders by R. J. Palacio

  • Not So Different: What You Really Want to Ask about Having a Disability by Shane Burcaw and Matt Carr

  • Who Do You See When You Look at Me? by Angela Ray Rodgers

  • The Boy with Big, Big Feelings by Britney Winn Lee and Jacob Souva

  • This Beach is Loud! by Samantha Cotterill

  • My Three Best Friends and Me, Zulay by Courtney Butorac and Emily Ziaroth

  • When Charley met Emma by Amy Webb and Merrilee Liddiard

  • Welcome to the Autistic Community by Autistic Self-Advocacy Network