In the past decade more and more school districts are including special education students in classrooms instead of having a separate room for them. It has become important for teacher to educate their students about their new special education peers. For my application assignment I researched how cognitive impairments, specifically autism, are portrayed in children’s literature and if those portrayals are accurate. I analyzed each book using the article “Ten Quick Ways to Analyze Children’s Books for Ableism” by Chloe Myers and Hank Bersani to assess their quality of anti-bias information.
I found that although there are many children's books available about Autism, very few of them are accurate representations of the cognitive impairment. Out of all the books I analyzed the best anti-bias book was “Russell’s World: A Story for Kids About Autism” by Charles Amenta III. It is a non-fiction story written by Russell’s parents. The book gives readers an inside look into a family living with sever autism. In the book we see Russell doing regular, familiar, every-day activities with his brothers and parents. The book explains Russell’s behaviors like how he has a hard time learning to talk, he uses sign language and he sometimes has temper tantrums at night. However the book also talks about all the other normal activities he can do it. The real-life photos mixed with the drawings help readers view Russell as a real person.
I think that “Russell’s World” is such a good anti-bias resource because it is Non-fiction therefore it is based on a real child and his real life experiences. The reality of the story makes it easy for children to understand and to relate to. Children with autism struggle to make friends and navigate social situations. However, one child can make a significant difference in the life of a child with autism by offering compassion, understanding and friendship. Therefore, it is important for teachers to educate their students about the specific special needs of the new children in their classrooms.
I found your post to be extremely interesting. As a future educator interested in working with children with autism, I am always looking for resources and books to explain cognitive impairment to my kindergarten class. I think that Autism Spectrum can be a very difficult thing to portray accurately through any medium because it is a "spectrum", and autism affects all individuals differently. There is no one specific portrayal that can be used as a cover-all for all aspects of autism, and I think that as an educator attempting to incorporate it into the classroom, it is important to remember to explain this to students.
ReplyDeleteOver the summer I worked at a summer camp for individuals with autism. We had seven classrooms with an average of 6-8 students each, and every single one of our kids had different strengths, weaknesses, and personalities. As a future teacher and individual committed to individuals with autism, I will always be looking for resources, books, and classroom aides to ensure my students understand and appreciate every one of their peers regardless of their cognitive abilities or weaknesses.
Last year, for CEP 240, I had to look for books that had to do with a disability, one book that I really enjoyed was called My Brother Charlie, and it's all about a little girl talking about her twin brother who has autism. This book is a great way to expose children to the topic of autism, and it helps them to see that children with autism are still kids. This book talks about how the girl just has to be a little more patient with her brother, which is very true. IT shows that he is still a little boy who likes to play and pick on his sister, it shows the reader that students with Autism are not that different from general education students.
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