Saturday, June 27, 2015

Next Chapter Book Club: A community-based model for engaging people with disabilities

Why start a book club for people with Developmental Disabilities?
  •      Common Barriers for people with DD

o   Community inclusion barriers
o   Limited opportunities for social interaction
o   Segregated social activities

  •     Lifelong learning barriers created by prevailing social attitudes that people with DD are not

o   Interested in, or capable of, learning after high school
o   Interested in reading or books

3-Pronged Model:
  •      Literacy Learning – broad definition of literacy
    •    Pointing to pictures, pointing to the page, reading out loud together, asking questions
  •       Community Inclusion
  •       Social Connectedness


Goal: for members to interact more frequently, and in new ways with:
  •       Books and a variety of written/oral communication
  •       Each other
  •       The community around them
  •       Goal is not to teach reading


How it Works:
  •       5-8 members and 2 facilitators
  •       Meeting in natural and inviting community settings – coffee shops, libraries, etc.
    •    Don’t meet in isolated settings such as workshops or agencies or private meeting rooms in public spaces
  •     Welcome members with ANY reading level – meet them where they are
  • Different Ways to engage non-readers in the bookclub - Examples – adapted classics, popular juvi fiction, newspaper/sports page (surveyed people want to read about relationships)
  • Wrote short stories for NCBC – Lucky Dogs, Lost Hats, and Dating Don’ts: Hi-Lo Stories about Real Life – 14 short stories + 2 plays
  • Focus on Reading to learn as opposed to learning to read
  • Use Echo Reading
Video Ad from a NCBC Member




No comments:

Post a Comment