According to a new study published in the journal, "Education and Training in Autism and Developmental Disabilities," characters with disabilities may be underrepresented in children's literature. While a wide range of disabilities (including autism) were reported to be present in the children's books analyzed, the characters with disabilities were frequently supporting characters less likely to experience growth and development "in their own right" (Diament, 2010).
You can read an article (by Michelle Diament for DisabilityScoop) with additional details about the study here: http://www.disabilityscoop.com/2011/01/04/disabilities-childrens-books/11830/
Stay tuned to Positively Autism's blog in the next few days for additional articles and resources about positive portrayals of autism in children's books.
I couldn't agree more. Multicultural literature should include EVERYONE, no matter race,gender, sexual orientation and ability. I blog about multicultural books at www.unconventionallibrarian.com and would love for you to review some books or offer some book suggestions for me!
ReplyDeleteThanks! I'll check out your site.
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