Introduction
Curriculum
Books
Children's Books
Videos
Posters and Other Merchandise
Introduction
NICHCY receives many calls each year from people who are looking for materials on disability awareness. People need these materials for many different reasons, from classroom instructional units, to Girl Scout information fairs, to school reports. This listing of Resources You Can Use provides just a sample of selected materials available from different organizations.
We've arranged the material in the following five categories:
- curriculum;
- books;
- children’s books;
- videos; and
- posters and other merchandise.
For each item, we provide the following information (when available): title and the year it was created; author; the age range for which it is intended; the name, address, phone number, email, and web address of the company from which it is available; and a brief description. You will need to contact the publisher to find out cost and ordering information.
This list is by no means exhaustive of the materials available. The list can serve as a starting point for anyone interested in disability awareness issues. Finally, this resource list is not intended to serve as an endorsement for any of the products listed. We urge you to carefully evaluate all materials in order to determine which is most appropriate for your particular needs.
If you are interested in finding out about what months during the year are dedicated to spotlighting awareness of specific disabilities (for example, March, 2003 is Mental Retardation Awareness Month), you can obtain this information by contacting:
Healthfinder
P.O. Box 1133
Washington, D.C. 20013-1133
Email: healthfinder@nhic.org
Curriculum
Count Me In Disability Awareness Manual (2001)
Age: Unspecified
Available from: PACER Center, Inc., 8161 Normandale Boulevard, Minneapolis, MN 55437-1044., Phone: (888) 248-0822 (toll free), Email: pacer@pacer.org, Web: www.pacer.org
This manual is designed for teachers, parents or volunteer puppeteers. It includes information about many disabilities and suggested activities for increasing disability awareness. PACER also has a puppet sales catalog offering puppets and scripts that can be used with the Count Me In curriculum. A separate Coordinator's Handbook is available for people developing a Count Me In project in their community.
Disability Awareness in the Classroom: A Resource Tool for Teachers and Students (1999)
Age: Unspecified
Available from: Charles C. Thomas Publishers, 2600 S. First Street, Springfield, IL 62704., Phone: (800) 258-8980 (toll free). Email: books@ccthomas.com, Web: www.ccthomas.com
These materials are intended to prepare all students for inclusive classrooms. They explore inclusion and disability awareness and provide many ideas for classroom activities and discussions.
...
Including All of Us: An Early Childhood Curriculum About Disability (1984)
Age: Early childhood
Available from: Educational Equity Concepts, Inc., 100 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10011. Phone: (212) 243-1110 (V/TTY). Email: information@edequity.org, Web: www.edequity.org
Activities in this guide are grouped into three areas: same/different (hearing impairment), body parts (visual impairment), and transportation (mobility impairment). Inclusive Play People and Mainstreaming for Equity Posters are also available (see “Posters and Other Merchandise”).
The Kids on the Block Programs
Age: Unspecified
Available from: The Kids on the Block, Inc., 9385-C Gerwig Lane, Columbia, MD 21046. Phone: (800) 368-5437 (toll free). Email: kob@kotb.com, Web: www.kotb.com
The Kids on the Block curricula use live puppet theater to enlighten children on the issues of disability awareness, medical-educational differences, and social concerns. Curricula include teacher’s guides, puppets, props, audiocassettes, a coordinator’s manual, and a video training guide. The puppets are nearly life-size, and each has “likes, dislikes, hopes, fears, talents, abilities, and limitations.” Over 40 programs are available, covering topics ranging from AIDS to autism to spina bifida.
...
New Friends Curriculum
Age: Preschool and kindergarten
Available from: Chapel Hill Training-Outreach Project, 800 Eastowne Drive, Suite 105, Chapel Hill, NC 27514. Phone: (919) 490-5577. Email: ylayden@intrex.net, Web: www.chtop.com
The New Friends Curriculum is designed to help parents and educators teach young children about disabilities. The program “guides parents and teachers through the process of making dolls with various disabilities” and introducing them into the classroom. The curriculum includes four products: New Friends Teacher’s Manual (also in Spanish), New Friends Trainer’s Notebook, a 12-minute video entitled Introducing New Friends, and a 12-minute video entitled Issues in Mainstreaming.
...
Books
Alike and Different: Exploring Our Humanity with Young Children (1992)
Editor: Bonnie Neugebauer
Available from: National Association for the Education of Young Children Educational Resources and Products, P.O. Box 932569, Atlanta, GA 31193-2569. Phone: (866) 623-9248 (toll free). Email: naeyc@ pbd.com, Web: http://sales.naeyc.org/default.aspx
This collection of essays can be used to help teachers of young children “integrate children with special needs and children with all sorts of backgrounds into your program to make it better for everybody.”
...
Everybody's Different: Understanding and Changing Our Reactions to Disabilities (1999)
Authors: Nancy B. Miller & Catherine C. Sammons
Available from: Paul H. Brookes Publishing, P.O. Box 10624, Baltimore, MD 21285-0624. Phone: (800) 638-3775 (toll free). Email: custserv@brookespublishing.com, Web: www.brookespublishing.com
This book ”discusses mental and emotional obstacles to effective communication between people with and without disabilities and examines ways to become more at ease with the concept of disability.”
Kids, Disabilities & Regular Classrooms (1997)
Author: Gary Bunch
Available from: Inclusion Press International, 24 Thome Crescent, Toronto, Ontario, M6H 2S5, Canada. Phone: (416) 658-5363. Email: info@inclusion.com, Web: www.inclusion.com
This is an annotated bibliography of children's literature about disabilities. It is an ”exciting guide to positive stories about children...[and] an excellent resource for every classroom, family, library, and human service organization.”
Learning From Those We Support: A Disability Awareness Handbook (1999)
Author: Dr. Jill Wheeler
Available from: Program Development Associates, P.O. Box 2038, Syracuse, NY 13022-2038. Phone: (800) 543-2119 (toll free). Email: info@pdassoc.com, Web: www.disabilitytraining.com
This book is intended as a primer for those who provide direct services to adolescents and adults with disabilities and require in-service training. Ideal for adult service personnel, general education staff, and paraprofessionals.
Using Children’s Literature to Learn about Disabilities and Illness (1996)
Author: Joan K. Blaska
Available from: Practical Press, 4627 Eagle Trace Drive, Medford, OR 97504-9049. Phone: (541) 608-9108. Web: www.practicalpress.net
This book is a detailed how-to manual for using children’s literature to teach children about differences, disabilities, and chronic illness. It provides general information about using books, along with annotated bibliographies categorized by subject matter, type of disability, how the disability is treated, and theme.
Children's Books
There are many children’s books available on a wide range of disabilities. We have listed some below. For assistance with obtaining these books, contact the publisher, your local bookstore, or a local library. Also, the book entitled “Using Children’s Literature to Learn about Disabilities and Illness,” listed under Books, offers suggestions for using children’s literature to teach children about differences and disabilities and includes annotated bibliographies of disability-related children’s literature. NICHCY’s Resources You Can Use on children’s literature (Bib5) may also help you identify other children’s books.
Roots & Wings Educational Catalog
Available from: Roots & Wings, P.O. Box 19678, Boulder, CO 80308-2678. Phone: (800) 833-1787 (toll free).
This catalog offers a large number of children’s books, including:
- Arnie and the New Kid (physical disabilities) by Nancy L. Carlson
- Susan Laughs (physical disabilities) by Jeanne Willis
- What It’s Like to Be Me (general) edited by Helen Exley
Turtle Books
Available from: Jason & Nordic Publishers, P.O. Box 441, Hollidaysburg, PA 16648. Phone: (814) 696-2920. Email: turtlebooks@jasonandnordic.com, Web: http://www.jasonandnordic.com/default.asp
- A Smile From Andy (cerebral palsy) by Nan Holcomb
- Buddy's Shadow (Down syndrome) by Shirley Becker
- The Night Search (blindness) by Kate Chamberlin
- Patrick and Emma Lou (cerebral palsy and spina bifida) by Nan Holcomb
- When I Grow Up (deafness) by Candri Hodges
Albert Whitman & Company
Available from: Albert Whitman & Company, 6340 Oakton St., Morton Grove, IL 60053-2723. Phone: (800) 255-7675 (toll free). Email: mail@awhitmanco.com, Web: www.awhitmanco.com
Whitman & Company’s Concept Books cover a wide range of topics including adoption, Down syndrome, asthma, and the loss of a loved one. Titles include:
- Becky the Brave: A Story About Epilepsy by Laurie Lears
- Ben Has Something to Say: A Story About Stuttering by Laurie Lears
- Ian's Walk: A Story About Autism by Laurie Lears
- I'm Tougher Than Asthma by Alden R. Carter and Siri M. Carter
Woodbine House Children's Books
Available from: Woodbine House, 6510 Bells Mill Rd., Bethesda, MD 20817. Phone: (800) 843-7323 (toll free). Web: www.woodbinehouse.com
As part of its special-needs collection, Woodbine House offers a number of children’s books related to disability, including:
- Eddie Enough (ADHD) by Debbie Zimmett
- Josh, A Boy with Dyslexia (ADHD/learning disabilities) by Caroline Janover
- My Brother Matthew (general) by Mary Thompson
- Russ and the Almost Perfect Day (Down syndrome) by Janet Elizabeth Rickert
- Views from Our Shoes: Growing Up With a Brother or Sister with Special Needs (a range of disabilities) edited by Don Meyer
- We'll Paint the Octopus Red (Down syndrome) by Stephanie Stuve-Bodeen
Videos
Autism: Being Friends (1991)
Age: Young children
Available from: Center for Disability Information and Referral, Indiana Institute on Disability and Community, 2853 East Tenth Street, Bloomington, IN 47408-2601. Phone: (812) 855-6508. Email: cedir@indiana.edu.
This eight-minute video “portrays the abilities of the child with autism and describes ways in which peers can help the child to be a part of the everyday world.”
Challenge (1997)
Age: Unspecified
Available from: Fanlight Productions, Inc., 4196 Washington Street, Boston, MA 02131. Phone: (800) 937-4113 (toll free). Email: fanlight@fanlight.com, Web: www.fanlight.com
This 28-minute video focuses on a number of determined people with a variety of disabilities whose lives have been renewed through their participation in athletics. Using minimal narration, they tell us their own stories in their own words. The athletes participate in rock climbing, wheelchair tennis, golf, and downhill and cross-country skiing.
Choices
Age: Pre-K thru junior college
Available from: Comforty Media Concepts, Inc., 2145 Pioneer Road, Evanston, IL 60201.
Phone: (800) 343-5540. Email: comforty@comforty.com, Web: www.comforty.com
This 30-minute video profiles four students who are successfully included into preschool, elementary school, and junior college: Cami, age 3; Erin, age 5; Jackie, age 9; and Joan, 19.
A Classroom Explores Disabilities (1991)
Developed by: Kim Davis, Annamaria Mecca, and Laura Westberg.
Age: Young Children
Available from: Early Childhood Center, Indiana Institute on Disability and Community, 2853 East Tenth Street, Bloomington, IN 47408-2601. Phone: (812) 855-6508. Email: eccenter@indiana.edu.
This videotape and companion curriculum guide provides an overview and specific examples of a disabilities awareness curriculum in action. It shows teachers, children, and parents as participants in the process of learning about disabilities, themselves, and each other.
Educating Peter (1993)
Age: Unspecified
Available from: Ambrose Video, 145 W. 45th Street, Suite 1115, New York, NY 10036. Phone: (800) 526-4663 (toll free). Web: www.ambrosevideo.com
This 30-minute, HBO prime-time documentary follows the story of Peter, a third-grader with Down Syndrome, as he is included into a regular classroom. “Both Peter and his classmates go through a difficult and rewarding process of adjustment as he becomes a regular third grader.”
Embers of the Fire (1992)
Age: Unspecified
Available from: Fanlight Productions, Inc., 4196 Washington Street, Boston, MA 02131. Phone: (800) 937-4113 (toll free). Email: info@fanlight.com, Web: www.fanlight.com
This 29-minute documentary offers a straightforward clinical explanation of cystic fibrosis, but its primary focus is on the stories of several young people with CF during a week at camp. They talk openly about their fears of rejection, isolation, and death, but they also demonstrate the ways in which they have come to terms with their chronic illness and learned to lead fulfilling lives.
Face First (1998)
Age: Unspecified
Available from: Fanlight Productions, 4196 Washington Street, Boston, MA 02131. Phone: (800) 937-4113 (toll free). Email: info@fanlight.com, Web: www.fanlight.com
This 29-minute video reflects the filmmaker's own painful memories of social isolation as a child with cleft lip and palate and how it led him to the three other remarkable people profiled in this video, each with a facial birth defect. These young people developed a strong sense of self and the ability to look at their experiences with compassion and humor.
Freedom of Speech (1997)
Age: Unspecified
Available from: Attainment Company, Inc., P.O. Box 930160, Verona, WI 53593-0160.
Phone: (800) 327-4269 (toll free). Email: info@attainmentcompany.com, Web: www.attainmentcompany.com
This 28-minute video examines the impact augmentative communication has on the quality of life of two individuals, one a professional, the other a preschooler.
Introducing New Friends
(see the New Friends Curriculum).
Issues in Mainstreaming
(see the New Friends Curriculum).
No Body's Perfect...Everybody's Special!!
Age: Grades Pre-K-5
Available from: Attainment Company, Inc., P.O. Box 930160, Verona, WI 53593-0160. Phone: (800) 327-4269 (toll free). Email: info@attainmentcompany.com, Web: www.attainmentcompany.com
This 21-minute video profiles three children with different disabilities. Students are introduced to signing, prosthetics, assistive technology, and Braille. The teacher’s guide includes role-playing, drawing, completing worksheets, and discussing issues that extend to all disabilities.
One of Us: Four Stories of Inclusion (1992)
Age: Unspecified
Available from: Fanlight Productions, 4196 Washington Street, Boston, MA 02130. Phone: (800) 937-4113 (toll free). Email: info@fanlight.com, Web: www.fanlight.com
This 27-minute video showcases four individuals with developmental disabilities and their inclusion into mainstream society.
Small Differences (1995)
Age: Unspecified
Available from: Program Development Associates, P.O. Box 2038, Syracuse, NY 13220-2038. Phone: (800) 543-2119 (toll free). Email: info@pdassoc.com, Web: www.disabilitytraining.com
This 20-minute video was shot by elementary and middle school children and professionally edited. The children interviewed and recorded each other, their parents and other adults, and children with various types of physical and sensory disabilities
Twitch and Shout (1994)
Age: Unspecified
Available from: Fanlight Productions, 4196 Washington Street, Boston, MA 02131. Phone: (800) 937-4113 (toll free). Email: info@fanlight.com, Web: www.fanlight.com
This 57-minute video looks through the eyes of a photojournalist with Tourette Syndrome and introduces viewers to others who have this disorder, including a professional basketball player, an artist, an actress, and a lumberjack.
Posters and Other Merchandise
Inclusive Play People
Available from: Educational Equity Concepts, Inc., 100 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10011. Phone: (212) 243-1110 (V/TTY). Email: information@edequity.org, Web: www.edequity.org
These "six sturdy multiracial wooden figures... provide a unique variety of nonstereotyped work and family roles and are inclusive of disabled and nondisabled people of various ages." The figures can be used alone for block building and dramatic play or as part of the Including All of Us curriculum.
PACER Bookmarks
Available from: PACER Center, Inc., 8161 Normandale Boulevard, Minneapolis, MN 55437-1044. Phone: (888) 248-0822 (toll free). Email: pacer@pacer.org, Web: www.pacer.org
These bookmarks are one of the components in the Count Me In curriculum described earlier and contain “tips for students who meet a person with a physical disability.”
Posters from NAEYC
Available from: National Association for the Education of Young Children, Educational Resources and Products, P.O. Box 932569, Atlanta, GA 31193-2569. Phone: (866) 623-9248 (toll free). Email: naeyc@pbd.com.
- With Inclusion...We’re All Winners
- Alike and Different
- Friendship is Fundamental
- Expanding Opportunities
- Yes, We Will All Get Along!
- Fostering Friendships
Posters, Postcards, T-shirts, Sweatshirts, Tote bags, and Buttons
Available from: Human Policy Press, P.O. Box 127, University Station, Syracuse, NY 13210. Phone: (800) 894-0826 (toll free). Email: thechp@sued.syr.edu, Web: thechp.syr.edu/HumanPolicyPress/
Posters:
- Freedom Now!
- You Vote, You Win
- Celebrate Community
- Label Jars...Not People
- Not Being Able to Speak is Not the Same as Not Having Anything to Say
- I Am Blind Yet I See, I Am Deaf Yet I Hear
- Don’t Think That We Don’t Think
- Our Voice is New
- You Gave Us Your Dimes, Now We Want Our Rights
- Recognize Resistance to Change
- We Must Evacuate the Institutions for the Mentally Retarded
- People—Our Community’s Most Natural Resource
- If You Thought the Wheel was a Good Idea...
- Sticks and Stones...
Postcards:
- Label Jars...Not People
- Not Being Able to Speak...
- Celebrate Community
- Sticks and Stones...
Buttons:
- Label Jars...Not People
- Build Community
- Not Being Able to Speak...
Posters, T-shirts, and Bumperstickers
Available from: The Nth Degree, 21325 Bradner Road, Lucky, OH 43443. Phone: (800) 241-8468 (toll free). Email: wheelchairboy@glasscity.net, Web: www.thenthdegree.com
T-shirts:
- Within the Heart of Each Community Everyone Belongs
- Everyone is Equal Under the Sun
- Our School Welcomes Everybody
- Learning Together So We Can Live Together
Posters:
- A Community That Excludes Even One of Its Members is No Community At All
- There's No Right Way to Do the Wrong Thing
Bumperstickers:
- Think Inclusively
- Inclusion is "Just" Education
- Inclusion: It's a Birthright Not a Privilege
T-shirts, Sweatshirts, and Totes
Available from: Open Hearts, Open Minds, 2 Newman Street, Lewiston, ME 04240. Phone: (800) 375-9337 (toll free). Email: Openhearts@aol.com, Web: members.aol.com/ohom
- Open Hearts - Open Minds Accepted Unconditionally
- Little Hands Make Great Things Happen
- Proud to Be Me! All Aboard the Accepted Express
