Lessons in Disability

Although there is a growing interest in disability studies in art, literature, film, politics, and religion, there is still a dearth of scholarship that explores the intersection between young adult literature and disability, more specifically. This gap in scholarship among young adult literature scholars and teachers is surprising: disability is a growing reality in all of our lives. According to a 2012 report by the United States Census Bureau, ""About 56.7 million people-19 percent of the population-had a disability in 2010, according to a broad definition of disability, with more than half of them reporting the disability was severe."" This is a fruitful time to continue exploring the intersections between literature written for children and teens and disability studies. Whether read in connection to each other or in isolation, readers will find excellent textual analysis, sound pedagogical advice, numerous textual examples, and a thoughtful introduction into the complex (and sometimes complicated) world of connecting students to people (characters and those in real life) that both reflect and contrast the reader's reality. My hope for this book is that it encourages and empowers teachers to expose students to dynamic characters that may or may not be different from them.