Book clubs for people with ID - the evidence and impact on wellbeing and community participation of reading wordless books

This article will introduce the social and scientific rationale for book clubs, whose members read wordless books together, and give examples of storytelling with picture books in libraries and other community settings for people with intellectual disabilities and autism. Design/methodology/approach We consider the impact of book clubs reading picture books without words, alongside an understanding of the underlying neuroscience (see Table 1 for search strategy). We compare differences in the neuroscience of information and emotion processing between pictures and words. Accounts from Book Club facilitators illustrate these differences in practice. Findings Many readers who struggle with reading and comprehending words, find pictures much easier to understand. Book clubs support community inclusion, as for other people in society. A focus on visual rather than word literacy encourages successful shared reading. Research limitations/implications No research has been published about the feasibility and effectiveness of wordless books in community book clubs or shared reading groups. There is very little research on the impact of accessible materials, despite a legal requirement for services to provide reasonable adjustments and the investment of time and resources in developing storylines in pictures, or ‘translating’ information into easy read formats. Practical implications Book clubs whose members read picture books without words are growing in number, especially in p...

Source: Advances in Mental Health and Intellectual Disabilities - October 27, 2016 Category: Disability Source Type: research