Major
Communicative Disorders
Advisor
Mahler, Leslie
Advisor Department
Communicative Disorders
Date
4-2020
Keywords
Children's Book, Speech-Language Pathology, Communicative Disorders, Diffability
Abstract
In the past few decades, responses to people with disabilities have changed drastically. This ranges from legislation enacted at the federal and state levels to the terms used to describe people with disabilities. Today, the best way to refer to someone with a disability is through person-first language, which implies that the person is more than their disability. However, I did not believe that was enough. The word disability still implies that the person cannot do something or is at a disadvantage compared with the neurotypical population. Therefore, when we remove the prefix “dis” and replace it with “diff,” referencing how people with disabilities do things differently, then the new word becomes diffability. By replacing disability with diffability, it removes some of the negative connotations attached to it. Diffability is a more positive term because it implies that a person simply accomplishes things differently.
With the updated terminology for disabilities, I decided to create an informational children’s book. My book features six diffabilities and explains the different ways the characters communicate. This book is intended to teach children ages 6-8 about a variety of diffabilities. The overarching lesson is that everyone is different and the book promotes broad acceptance of people who are not exactly alike. I used a rainbow metaphor to visually and verbally teach this method. The rainbow analogy shows that without everyone involved, the rainbow would be incomplete and less colorful.
Ultimately, the book helps children with diffabilities feel more comfortable with their unique abilities and teaches children that having a diffability is not a negative thing.
Media Format
embedly
Comments
For my honor’s project, I wrote and illustrated an informational children’s book about disabilities. The word ‘disability’ has a lot of negative connotations to it, so I wanted to remove the negative aspect, and turn it into a positive message. If you remove the prefix “dis-”, which implies that a person can’t do something or is at a disadvantage, and replace it with “diff-” the new word becomes diffability. Diffability is a more positive term because it implies that a person simply accomplishes things differently.
The overarching lesson of my book is that everyone is different and this promotes broad acceptance of people who are not exactly alike. I use a rainbow metaphor to teach this lesson visually and verbally. The rainbow analogy shows that without everyone involved, the rainbow would be incomplete and less colorful.
Children’s books are a significant part of how children learn. Through stories they learn many things such as their role in society, values, beliefs, attitudes, and social norms, which shape children’s perceptions of reality. Children learn how to behave, think, and act through the characters they meet. Therefore, I knew that I wanted to create a children’s book for my project for a while, but the subject of it was inspired by one of my fellow students. She has cerebral palsy, and courageously shared her story through a lecture at URI. I learned so much from her, including the term diffability. Her talk inspired me to share the stories of children with diffabilities from their point of view.
The desired audience of this book is children ages six to eight, although it can provide support to children of all ages. This book is meant to comfort children with diffabilities, as well as teach other children that being different is not a bad thing. My book features six diffabilities and explains the different ways the characters communicate: stuttering, dyslexia, Down syndrome, autism spectrum disorder, hearing loss, and cerebral palsy. As a future speech-language pathologist, I wanted to select diffabilities that pertain to my career and my interests in this field. However, I also included a neurotypical character, because I wanted to show that everyone is different, not just children with a diagnosed diffability.
I researched each of these diffabilities in detail and created a story that highlighted their differences as positive aspects to their personality. To research these diffabilities, I started off watching videos of children explaining their diffability in their own words to try and see how a child describes what they are feeling and what they face on a day to day basis. This was interesting to me, and became a big part in how I put together my book. After that, I researched each diffability in detail and wrote a research paper that I then used to create my characters. Through watching these videos, my research on the topic, and my own experience working with children with a range of unique abilities, I developed a better understanding of how to characterize each of my characters. I wanted the characters in my book to be as realistic as possible, yet, I wanted to highlight what they succeed in, rather than what they struggle with.
I wanted my book to be accessible to children with all degrees of ability, so I used a font that is designed specifically for children with dyslexia called Open Dyslexic. Also, since I published my book as an e-book, there is an option for it to be read electronically to children who may not be able to read it themselves.
This project was a fun way for me to get creative, while still doing something related to my major. I learned a great deal of information about each of the diffabilities that I can use in my future career, and hopefully this book can make a positive impact on someone. I am always trying to find ways to help and support children with diffabilities, and I hope someday this will be able to do just that.