Professional Resource

Understanding Disabilities through Children’s Literature
Source: Kurtts, Stephanie A., and Karen W. Gavigan. "Understanding Disabilities through Children's Literature." Education Libraries 31 no1 (2008): 23-31.

Sources cited in the article:
Harvey, S., & Goudvis, A. (2000). Strategies that work: Teaching comprehension to enhance understanding. Portland, MN: Stenhouse Publishers.
Iaquinta, A., & Hipsky, S. (2006). Practical bibliotherapy strategies for the inclusive elementary classroom. Early Childhood Education Journal, 34(3), 209-213.

Dr. Stephanie Kurtts is an assistant Teacher Educator professor and has been in the teaching field for over 25 years as a special education teacher. She has used children’s and young adult literature to help her students develop empathy, understanding, and acceptance of those people with disabilities. She has used this literature to also implement with her teacher-candidates to demonstrate how to teach these books about disabilities to children to help them develop an understanding of those with disabilities. Dr. Kurtts along with Karen Gavigan, a former librarian, have studied the use of children’s and young adult literature to teach children about disabilities.
In “Understanding Disabilities through Children's Literature”, Dr. Kurtts and Gavigan examine how pre-service teachers can incorporate literature about people with disabilities into their classroom to “enhance understanding of individual differences through a bibliotherapeutic approach. Bibliotherapy is the process of using literature in therapeutic ways.” (Kurtts and Gavigan, p. 1) The article states that it is used in the school setting and is used to build self esteem and maintain mental health and it also helps students without disabilities to understand those with disabilities. Bibliotherapy sessions include reading or listening to the literature and then discussing it as a class. The goals (established by Cook, 2006) are to “provide information, an insight into a situation or experience, and alternate solutions to the problem. It is also to stimulate a discussion of the problem, communicate new values and attitudes about the problem, and to understand that they are not the only ones with the problem.” (Kurtts and Gavigan, p.1). I feel that it is important for students to achieve these goals and for teachers to know that they understand the problems that exist in students with disabilities and that literature is important to demonstrate these problems. Without this literature we would not have a means to clearly demonstrate the problems that exist between people and disabilities and we would not understand others. Students are able to feel a connection with the literature and I was able to see the example that Kurtts gives of Harvey and Goudvis (2006). This example is about a boy who reads a story about a slow turtle and he says that it reminds him of how he feels when his special education teacher comes to get him. He feels slow like the turtle. Many students may feel like this boy, or they may feel dumb or “different”. With bibliotherapy, students can feel this connection and they will realize that they are not the only ones out there with a disability.
“Bibliotherapy has proven to be a useful strategy for addressing the needs of students with disabilities in addition to helping those without disabilities to understand the lives of children with special needs.” (Kurtts and Gavigan, p. 2) First of all, it is extremely important that we have quality literature in which to guide us in our teaching efforts on people with disabilities. Finding literature that properly demonstrates disabilities is important in the bibliotherapeutic approach to help children understand themselves and each other and to cope with problems that they or their families may present. It is an emotional healing process that is guided through literature and so it is important that teachers find the proper material to help children heal and have good emotions. “Examining disabilities through children's and young adult literature provides a new perspective on understanding and acceptance of individual differences, and the importance of being sensitive to those issues that are part of the lives of individuals with disabilities.” (Kurtts and Gavigan, p.2) With that being said, in order to provide this new perspective, teachers must learn to properly select literature that demonstrates these issues correctly and do not under represent the issues discussed. I feel that teachers must first learn how to select quality literature that best represents the issues of disabilities before they use them in their therapeutic approach to teach children with or without disabilities.
Kurtts and Gavigan found that there have been several studies on bibliotherapy and students with disabilities. Each of these studies found that bibliotherapeutic instruction was effective to use to teach children about disabilities and to improve their self efficacy and self achievement. I feel that this is important for these students to improve their self-esteem and to achieve higher goals. Bibliotherapy has been studied and shown to be effective, so I believe that it is an important part of a teacher program. Also, it has been studied and discovered that students without disabilities “may be more willing to discuss their feelings about disabilities when a book or story is used as a focal point”. (Inquinta and Hipsky, 2006) I believe this to be true because students without disabilities need to be well educated on the issues that students with disabilities are affected by and these students may be able to relate to their feelings and their situations. Bibliotherapy may help students to understand each other and to express their feelings on a deeper more intimate level with one another.