The Disability Experience: Working Toward Belonging

by Hannalora Leavitt, Belle Wuthrich (Illustrator)

People with disabilities (PWDs) have the same aspirations for their lives as you do for yours. The difference is that PWDs don’t have the same access to education, employment, housing, transportation and healthcare in order to achieve their goals. In The Disability Experience you’ll meet people with different kinds of disabilities, and you'll begin to understand the ways PWDs have been ignored, reviled and marginalized throughout history. The book also celebrates the triumphs and achievements of PWDs and shares the powerful stories of those who have fought for change.

Genres: Disability, Nonfiction, Social Justice, Middle Grade, Teen, History, Childrens

192 pages, Paperback

First published April 13, 2021

Reviews

[Creya Casale | cc.shelflove · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and Orca Book Publishers for providing a digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

The synopsis of this book was entirely misleading. I was expecting stories of individuals with various types of disabilities, but that is not what I got. Rather, this was written like a research paper I would have completed in middle school, and it was not unbiased. Because the author is visually impaired, many aspects circled back to her accommodations and experiences. Transitions were not seamless. I do not recommend this if you would like a well-rounded view of ALL types of disabilities.

[Bee Ostrowsky · Rating 2 out of 5]

If you’re currently able-bodied, you might not know how your classmates and neighbors with disabilities live. Yeah, I said “currently able-bodied”, because a lot of us will end up facing issues as our bodies get older and older. Unless you die young, you probably don’t have a disability yet.

There’s a lot to talk about when you talk about people with disabilities and how society affects them, and the author makes a fair attempt to cover all of it at least a little. Some of it is surprisingly cheerful (“the homelike, supportive atmosphere of group homes has been well received”—perhaps I’ve heard secondhand stories only from people who disagree) and some of it is realistically gritty (“there are laws and then there is justice, the latter being not so easily attained”).

The Disability Experience was written for teens who are currently able-bodied. That’s not a bad thing on its own, but readers who are disabled might find that assumption a bit unwelcome. People with a mobility impairment might be reading this to learn more about blind people.

The author (in my advance copy, at least) uses a lower-case d in “deaf” except at the beginning of a sentence, which contrasts with the Deaf custom of using a capital D to refer to Deaf culture, Deaf languages, Deaf education, and using a lower-case d only when talking about being deaf as an impairment. The pre-publication version also says “person with autism” instead of “autistic person”.

I’m hoping that issues like these can be corrected; as of yet I can’t recommend this book without reservations.

I am grateful to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for a free advance review copy.

[Alaina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The Disability Experience was definitely an eye opener for me. Mostly because I like learning about things that I don't fully understand or haven't experienced in my life. So, no, I don't have any disabilities but that doesn't mean that I don't know anyone who does or doesn't either. My brother is autistic and he went through things that just upsets me. Just because he was different than everyone else at school and no one really knew back then what he had and how to deal with it. So they just kind of gave him passing grades and pushed him on to the next teacher/person.

That being said, I didn't experience anything that he went through but that doesn't mean I allowed anyone to treat him as a different person. He was normal boy who just didn't process things the way other people could. Doesn't mean you had to talk down to him or speak slowly. So when I saw certain people acting certain ways toward him, I would step in and tell them to not do that. Did I have to? No, because he would've eventually been upset and walked away. I won't really dive into the reasons why I did that and continue to do so... he's just family and I will also treat him as an older brother... and annoy the shit out of him from time to time.

Maybe I should talk about the book? Yeah - let's do that. So this book was definitely an eye opener for me. Again, I've never gone through any of this. I was shocked that airlines don't have better sitting areas or options on planes for people with disabilities. It was also a little heartbreaking to read about people who use animals - for seeing and such - and going places and people saying no animals allowed. If they have the vest stating they are working they should be allowed. That's just my two cents.

I also really enjoyed the details of each disability and the examples that were used. It was honestly interesting to read about celebrities and such who have these disabilities but continue to be a bad ass in their every day lives. These disabilities never held them back from their dreams and that's how it should be. Anything is possible.

Other than that, there was a picture about what braille looked like for numbers and letters. Since I never knew what this looked like I thought it was pretty cool to see the picture. I do think I would get confused with the numbers and letters that had the same pattern but I guess it would just be a trial and error sort of thing when reading? Not sure but I think it would be fun to learn. Also sign language - I knew the alphabet when I was younger but I don't really know how to sign anything other than that. So I think it would be cool to learn that as well.

In the end, I definitely enjoyed this book so much and I'm very happy that I got the chance to dive into it.

[Rebecca Parten · Rating 2 out of 5]

As a PWD, I had high hopes for this book….

I picked up the Kindle version of this book awhile back with the intention of reading it in order to know whether I’d recommend to others. Let me just say it: no. I would not.

While I think that the premise of the book (something geared towards middle grade readers I think?) this book is rough. It’s all over the place. Sometimes it’s too technical and sometimes too simplified. I felt like some topics were discussed too heavily and others could have been expanded upon.

The other interesting thing is that I didn’t notice any captions for the illustrations. There were captions for photographs but illustrations are still sprinkled throughout the book and should have been described too. (Unless they were in the ALT Text and I just didn’t know it because I wasn’t using a screen reader too). But, I think some kind of caption or description should still have been included with them. I have low vision so seeing some details within the illustrations and photos was difficult. Having a written description would also help with explaining their purpose or context.

I’m not 100% sure on this but I was surprised to see deaf written with a lowercase “d” as I understood the preference (at least when referring to a person’s identity) to be “Deaf”. Many people have a sense of pride around being Deaf and Deaf culture.

[Joline · Rating 1 out of 5]

I don't know if it's internalized ableism or just a lack of awareness of other disabilities, but this books misses so many marks. From disregarding the language preferred by communities (e.g. author used with autism instead of autistic) to championing IQ tests as a good measure of a person's competence to the lack of addressing how sexism and racism run rampant in the disability community, i have to ask, was there no sensitivity reading done? I understand the author is a member of one area of the disability community, but that doesn't mean she shouldn't have used a sensitivity reader. Sheesh.

[Jack Bertuna · Rating 1 out of 5]

I’ll start out with the simple fact that I absolutely hated this book. There is not a single thing I can genuinely say I enjoyed. This was not a book about the disability experience, it was a book about a blind woman recounting her experiences while also writing a research paper.

I’m physically disabled, I have plating issues which cause my feet and legs to not have formed right and cause my walking to be impaired, so I use forearm crutches to navigate life. I am also autistic. I have several other neurodivergencies, but they are not as relevant to the review of this book.

To start, this book does a horrible job of explaining what language disabled people like to use. The author continues to use PWD throughout the book, person/people with disabilities, and says that this language “recognizes the individual first.” This ignores what a lot of people within disabled communities have said, and considering it is only about her experience I’m not surprised. It ignores the autistic community, who has consistently advocated for disability first language versus person first. Many people use “person with autism” as infantilizing, or refusing to acknowledge the fact that we are autistic.

This author also continually makes the mistake of not capitalizing the “d” in Deaf when talking about Deaf people and the Deaf community, while also consistently talking about them all the time. If you’re going to write a book about the “disability experience” it might be helpful to actually write with the preferred language of disabled people, but that might just be my opinion.

Another issue I have with this book is how often it ignores, glosses over, and downright paints over chronic illness and physical disabilities. There is little to no mention of chronically ill people in this book whatsoever which, for a book written in 2021, is an issue. There also comes the problem of during the chapter about mobility aids, while blind and Deaf issues have a ton of talk about disabled tech, there is less than a page about people with mobility issues, and nothing about people with chronic illnesses. There is only three (3) sentences in total with the mention of canes, crutches, and walkers combined, and barely any information about wheelchairs. However things like the white cane get a full page and service dogs get multiple. This also ignores how people with chronic and mental illnesses also use service dogs.

This book is simply about a blind woman talking about her experiences and nothing else. There is truly no mention of chronic illnesses, barely anything on those with disabilities, and that was genuinely a disheartening read. Even talks about disability accessible jobs and buildings left out physically disabled people, and physically disabled people who do not use wheelchairs, on multiple occasions.

[Tirzah Hayes · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think this book had a lot of potential, which is why I didnt give it a 2. However, I felt that the author was trying to claim her personal experiences and opinions as the only valid experiences and opinions.

For example, at the beginning she explains that she is going to refer to the people she is speaking about as "people with disabilities" or "pwds" as she believes that "disabled person" is incorrect. While this is a valid opinion to have, she frames it as if calling someone a "disabled person" is inherently wrong. While I understand that she prefers "PWDs", I both personally prefer "disabled person" to describe myself and know others who prefer it as well.

It felt limiting in a book about how everyone is different and has different needs to be claiming that one opinion is right while the other is wrong.

Another thing I noticed was that the "d" in Deaf was only ever capitalized at the beginning of sentences. Many Deaf people prefer a capital letter when referring to the community or a person, while a lowercase deaf is used when referring to a medical condition. This is probably not the fault of the author, as to my knowledge braille does not have the concept of capital letters and she mentioned writing it on a braille device.

[Allie · Rating 2 out of 5]

This rating/review is based on an advanced copy from Netgalley and Orca book publishers.

This is fine. I'm not 100% sure who the audience is, because at times it's too advanced for children and at others it's too simple for teens and adults. The tone is a little too formal, and the parts I liked were where the author relaxed a little. The author is blind so a lot of the information skews towards sensory disabilities. There are many, many pages about the ways that blind/low vision folks and d/Deaf folks have adapted technologies and then like half a page about canes and wheelchairs. The book also really prioritizes physically disabilities, and doesn't spend a lot of time (particularly in the second half) about neurodiversity and mental illness.

There is one particularly good chapter dealing with advocacy and the politics of disability. The author talks about eugenics, quality of life arguments, and the politics of the unborn. There's a lot more to be said, but it's a good introduction.

[Monica · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Disability Experience: Working Toward Belonging is a good introduction for middle grade and young adults in high school to talking about disabilities. I could see having this book in a classroom and using it for grades 7/8 and up. It uses age-appropriate language to talk about different kinds of disabilities, the discrimination disabled people often experience, and I think it encourages the reader to think about accessibility in their everyday lives and spaces.

Some parts of the book read as memoir of the author's experiences, and some parts read as traditional non-fiction facts and explanations. It is different from the non-fiction books I've usually seen for kids that are rarely personal and strictly facts and information, but I didn't hate it. Reading some previous reviews for this ARC, I can see where they are coming from in the comments about it not being unbiased. But I think it is meant to be unbiased because the author is trying to advocate for a marginalized group of individuals to be seen, heard and understood.

I do think the synopsis is misleading and should change to more accurately reflect what to expect when reading this book. I expected it to be all personal stories about people with disabilities (PWDs) and how their stories reflect the successes of the disabled community but also the struggles they experience. While the book does feature a lot of these stories, they are sprinkled throughout the chapters based on the topic covered in that chapter. I learned a lot while reading it but, it just was not what I was expecting from the synopsis.

Now to the parts I did not love and could use some improvement. I appreciated seeing racialized people in photos and illustrations however, the content does not talk a lot about how other intersections of a person's identity like race, age, and socio-economic class to name a few, can also affect their experiences as a disabled person. For example, while the book mentions that ASL (American Sign Language) may differ from BSL (British Sign Language) and sign language in other countries, it does not mention dialects of sign language like Black American Sign Language or Black Sign, that is specific to Black Deaf populations in the U.S. I know it's not possible to include all information about each disability in this book but I think information like this is important for racialized populations to see themselves represented in the content. It does talk about LGBTQ+ disabled identities which is an important and on-going movement.

The other thing that is missing in my opinion is the inclusion of aging populations and seniors in pictures and information. 1 in 4 Canadians are disabled. It should not be surprising that most of our disabled population is comprised of seniors. Majority of the photos in this book are young or middle-aged people. And while it is important for young people to see themselves reflected in the images and the target audience for this book is not older populations, I think there needs to be variety across all the age groups. Connected to this is socio-economic status and how that affects a disabled persons life experiences. Some of the content mentions the cost of aids and technology and while the technology is useful and revolutionary, not all people can afford it. Families living below the poverty line, seniors living on pension and more may not be able to afford these resources. I think that some of these struggles could also be mentioned in the book possibly as an addition to the advocacy section.

Overall I think this book was educational, easy to read and organized well. It is a huge undertaking especially with the amount of research involved in bringing this to life and I think the author did a great job with it. There are just a few things that I think would make it more inclusive for readers.

[Hailey Linenkugel · Rating 2 out of 5]

I grabbed this book at the library because I’m very interested in learning more about Disability Justice.

I was a little confused about who the audience was intended to be — I found it in the YA section, some explanations felt infantilizing, and also there were sections on assisted suicide & court cases?

I think the author would benefit from writing about their personal experiences being blind, rather than trying to cover all types of disability in 150 pages plus pictures. I still enjoyed, it just felt disorganized.

[Cat Who Reads · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was so bad. While I am for that books about disability should exist, I really don't agree that this is the right book for anyone. It's misleading and I wish it was different, because we need more books that talks about disability.

[Kathryn · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a rather disappointing book; nothing all that special at all. It was written for middle graders, but I don't think they'll find it all that interesting It didn't really hold my attention, all that much. Some of the glimpses of people with disabilities were somewhat interesting, but they were much too brief and needed to be more in-depth. I wrote this review several weeks ago and am now several weeks later typing this into Goodreads and I have to admit that I do not remember ANYTHING in this book, I assume Helen Keller was mentioned in this book, but I wouldn't swear to it. since this book was published last year, I feel they should have mentioned the U.S. Senator, Tammy Duckworth, who lost her legs while serving in the military in Iraq and I don't believe there was any mention of Christopher Reeves, who formerly starred as Superman in the last part of the20th century and was paralyzed in a horseback riding accident, nor several other actors who suffered from various disabilities and invisible or semi- invisible disabilities should also have been discussed. such as Michael J. Fox, w2ho has suffered from Parkinson's Disease for over 25 years.. In fact, I am changing this to a 2-star book and I almost never change my rating once I have written the review.

[Rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really nice, accessible primer on disability. This would be good for maybe middle schoolers and up, with disabilities or not. It’s got a lot of good examples of people living with disabilities, bolded Vocab words, and a glossary at the end. Not everything is covered, and it focused more on physical and developmental disabilities than learning disabilities or disabilities that don’t use assistive devices, but it would be really helpful for someone who is just learning about disabilities or for a young person who may need access to materials with positive representation of people with disabilities or help finding resources to assist them.

This book uses people-first language, and is written by someone who has a disability (vision impairment) and also shares some of their experiences living with a disability.

[Ben · Rating 5 out of 5]

Belonging

This was an excellent book on disability.

I really enjoyed the spotlight it put on different disabilities and it did a great job at detailing the barriers people go through, but also how people have thrived in light of the disability.

The book was really well laid out, and the art and headings were easy to read and understand.

Finally, I appreciated how the author noted that not all disabilities are visible, and no one can know if someone has a disability.

Great book, would recommend everyone read it.

4.8/5

[Hilary · Rating 3 out of 5]

Firstly, I want to share several things I loved about this book. What first drew me in was the front cover and the intentionality put into representing a diverse group of disabilities (including nonapparent disabilities!), races & ethnicities, and genders. The illustrations throughout the book are equally crafted with care, and they're a beautiful addition to the book. The content itself--as a disabled person myself, I'm always looking to read more personal experiences and stories from other folks with disabilities. I loved the diversity in stories told, both from well-known folks but also from folks who aren't celebrities. This type of representation helps to combat the idea that the only visible people with disabilities worth talking about are the ones that are famous. I also learned so much about assistive technologies and the wonderful organizations and companies mentioned, such as Be My Eyes!

Now, to share several things I had conflicting feelings about. I wasn't a huge fan of the history of disability chapter because it was solely focused on Western history with no disclaimer that the "disability experience" represented in this book would be focused in this way. While the author mentions that she has done a lot of research for this book, I would've loved to see more research done outside of the US, Canada, and the UK. I also wasn't sure that taking up space to print out the entire dictionary definition of "disability" was necessarily needed. While the author then takes the rest of the book to combat this negative bias against disability, I felt like there could've been a more effective way to present these biases and then interrogate them.

This is more of a personal view on disability, but I would love to see books meant to provide an overview on disability, especially ones written to be read by nondisabled folks, to not include a rigid categorization of disabilities. It's my belief that disability is fluid as an identity and as a state (as folks can move in and out of being disabled). My disabilities were not represented within this book, and I fear that the reader navigating this topic for the first time will fall from a rigid homogenous view of disability to then a rigid categorization of disability. Granted, it's a lot to expect a single book on disability to cover everything, and the responsibility is also on the readers to read more books about disability to widen their horizons and build allyship.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author and illustrator for providing me with an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Nadine Keels · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'll say right off that I did and didn't find exactly what I was expecting from The Disability Experience: Working Toward Belonging by author Hannalora Leavitt (with illustrations by Belle Wuthrich). After reading the blurb for this nonfiction book aimed toward young adults, I thought it would have multiple people telling their stories, perhaps through interviews, with supporting information woven in.

As it turns out, the boxes throughout the book that tell a little about different people's experiences are this book's supporting feature. The majority of the book is a layout of information from the author, almost like a short textbook.

Nevertheless, I also did find what I was expecting: content to help expand my perspective.

For instance, while I've heard about barriers people with disabilities face when it comes to education and employment, I hadn't heard as much about barriers to healthcare. What do you do when the doors inside the doctor's office are too narrow to fit your wheelchair? Or the nurses in the emergency room don't know how to take blood or draw urine from someone in a wheelchair? Or a doctor with allergies turns you away from his office because of your service dog?

I got a look at positive points that were new to me too. Like, I've seen wheelchair basketball and para ice hockey before, but here I learned a little about how visually impaired athletes play hockey, golf, softball, and tennis. I also found out about accessibility advancements through smart technology I hadn't heard of.

Now, I think it's important to note that this author, who's legally blind, focuses on the North American disability experience, and she assumes from the start that the reader doesn't have a disability. I don't think the book quite addresses all the questions raised in the introduction. As for the writing style, I found the flow of ideas to be awkward to follow at times when there could have been smoother transitions.

Even so, while it's by no means exhaustive, this book does a nice job overall of giving an introductory look into what people with disabilities face and what readers can do after finishing the book.
_________
I received an advance reading copy of this book from the publisher for an honest review.

[Bridgette · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is more like Disability 101 than a disability experience. It is more definitions and basics, than says essays from people different people with disabilities. The audience is people without disabilities; the age group is wide for this from upper elementary to high school. There is an emphasis on those with disabilities related to vision, as the author has, and that shows in the writing. The author also never used Deaf with a D anywhere in the book are touched on the difference between Deaf and deaf, which feels like an over sight.

This is best for someone who knows nothing to very little about people with disabilities.

[Michelle Kidwell · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Disability Experience
Working Toward Belonging
by Hannalora Leavitt, ills. Belle Wuthrich
Orca Book Publishers
Nonfiction (Adult) | Teens & YA
Pub Date 13 Apr 2021


I am reviewing a copy of The Disability Experience through Orca Book Publishers and Netgalley:


This beautifully written and illustrated book delves into the subject that is close to my heart, those with disabilities, and how the world often perceives those with disabilities in a negative light. But this book shares the positives.p, but first to some statistics, according to a 2017 update on the Canadian Surveys on Disabilities (CSD) produced by Employment and Social Development in Canada 3.8 millions Canadians over the aged fifteen or over live with are living with a disability.


The United States Census Bureau reported that 8.7 Percent of Americans sixty five or under were living with a disability, that’s approximately 29 million people, the survey covered the years 2013-2017. Generally these surveys measures serious issues with walking, climbing stairs, cognition, hearing as well things like difficulty with personal care, and independent living.



There are over 33 million people with Disabilities in North America, so why are we being marginalized?


It is important to note that most persons with disabilities have the same aspirations for their life as you do yours. We struggle to figure out where we fit in like everyone else does.


There are both visible disabilities, the disabilities we can see, and the invisible ones the ones we cannot see and often discount as not being real, or not mattering somehow. But defining a disability in medical terms alone can be misleading, because there are social implications that come with living with a disability.


Anyone can become disabled we are all vulnerable, a car accident, an illness, a fall the wrong way can change a life in an instant.


There are Congenital Disabilities which are often called Burt defects, generally caused by chromosomal defects, gene abnormalities and genetic factors interacting with the environment. A smaller percentage of this category can be linked to drug and alcohol abuse, or by infections.


Acquired disabilities are the ones whose onset occurs after birth. In this category head injuries, and spinal cord injuries are included.


Persons with disabilities are as different from one another as are able bodied people, but are often lumped together under the term disabled.


There are also intellectual disabilities as well as sensory disabilities, but they cannot be lumped into the same neat category. Both blindness and deafness are sensory disabilities. There are those that are both deaf and blind.


We as a society have come a long way in accepting those with disabilities in society in the lass couple of centuries, but we have a ways to go.


Disability Culture is a newer term that came about in the early 1980’s. This concept is used to give PWD’s a collective voice, therefore empowering them.


If you are looking for a highly readable and easily understandable book on the Disability, I recommend The Disability Experience. And if you are an educator, I’d recommend you read this book with your students, and discuss it so they can better understand.


I give The Disability Culture five out of five stars!


Happy Reading!

[Hello Naomi · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was . . . not great. People have already talked about a lot of my complaints with the book in other reviews, so I won't elaborate much further on those, but one thing that it seems no one has mentioned is the inaccuracies in the book. I was quite disappointed how basic this was, especially because the description implied otherwise, and how it's completely assumed that the reader is not disabled themselves. The incredibly skewed focus on sensory disabilities, to the exclusion of others was also strange (the fact that there is more than twice as much written about a singular mobile app for blind people versus walkers, canes, and crutches combined in a book that claims to be about the whole disability experience is patently ridiculous.)

However, even with all these flaws, if the book had at least been a decent primer on some disability study topic, I would have been more forgiving, but instead it is filled with clear inaccuracies. I have to wonder if there were any rounds of fact-checking because some of these were pretty egregious. For example Stephen Hawking is listed as having the cognitive disability of ALS, which is a motor neuron disease that causes physical disability, and not cognitive disability (though sometimes it may lead to cognitive disability, in Hawking it didn't). (I assume this was a confusion between neurological, as in affecting the nerves, versus neurological affecting the mind.) Also, the ASL chart is not actually ASL. It's a mislabeled International Sign Language chart. (As a bonus, the letter "x" is also mislabeled as "z".) Some of the statistics are incorrect or misleading as well, such as saying "the majority of disabled people can't drive" (the actual statistic is that around 65% of disabled US adults drive a car). Also saying that only 18% of disabled US adults are employed is pretty misleading when you consider that over half of those adults are over retirement age anyway. For working age adults, the statistic is actually about 40%, compared to 65% of non-disabled adults. This is obviously a disparity, but nowhere near as much as the book attempts to imply.

There were a lot of cultural things that seemed under-researched as well. There was a strange mix of more euphemistic language (such as "people with disabilities") and terms that are often considered straight up offensive. There are multiple descriptions of "deformed limbs" and "deformed infants" when the preferred term in those communities is almost always "limb difference" in my experience. The suggestion to always kneel or bend down when talking to someone in a wheelchair was also concerning. There are certainly some people who prefer that for the reasons listed in the book, but that is nowhere near universal, and there are many people who would be off-put or offended by that. As with many things, the best option is to simply ask someone what they prefer, but the book doesn't even suggest that.

There were clearly some good intentions here, but it didn't land.

[Steph L · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hi! This book was free on Net Galley read now in exchange for an honest review. These opinions are my own. Information about the book comes from Goodreads.

Title: The Disability Experience: Working toward Belonging

Author: Hannalora Leavitt and Belle Wuthrich (Illustrations)

Genre: Middle Grade, Young Adult, Non-Fiction, and Own-Voices

Expected Publication: April 13th, 2021 from Orca Book Publishers

Add to Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5...



Rating: **** (4 stars)

Goodreads Summary



People with disabilities (PWDs) have the same aspirations for their lives as you do for yours. The difference is that PWDs don’t have the same access to education, employment, housing, transportation, and healthcare to achieve their goals. In The Disability Experience, you’ll meet people with different kinds of disabilities, and you'll begin to understand the ways PWDs have been ignored, reviled, and marginalized throughout history. The book also celebrates the triumphs and achievements of PWDs and shares the powerful stories of those who have fought for change.



Overall

I saw this book on Net Galley Read Now, and I knew that I would want to read it. I’m glad I read it because even though I knew a lot about what they said in the book, I still enjoyed the experience and I still did learn some things. My favorite sections of the book were the ones that talked about people living with disabilities in real life. These sections showed that just because someone had some kind of disability, it didn’t mean that they were much different from you. This book featured people who had jobs, athletes, and we're helping people in their community. I love learning about these people and seeing what they were doing with their lives.



Writing



One of the reasons you read a Non-Fiction book is to learn something. The book will teach you something about a topic, and you hope to come out knowing something more than what you knew when you started reading. The key thing about the writing of this book is that it is conversational, and it has a factual tone because it lets you know about people with all kinds of different disabilities. The writing is clear and the word choice makes this book easy to follow. What stood out for me about this book was that this covered a lot of different bases, giving information to the reader about specific types, and leaving room for research after you have finished reading. Information about disability services throughout the world, and how people can help disabled people is also found throughout the book. Another reason I loved this book was that it talked about real people with disabilities, and it showed how they were living their daily lives. While this book might be geared towards Middle Grade and Young Adult, I think that even an adult could learn from reading this. A work of Non-Fiction can start a conversation, and this book is a great way to start talking about the topic of people with disabilities.



Photos and Illustrations

The photos in this book are excellent because it makes the reader see exactly what the people with disabilities look like. Each section that talks about a person with a disability in real life has a photo, and there are photo’s as you read through the rest of the book. The illustrations are great because it brings the reader into the life of a person with disabilities. Having the photos and illustrations only adds to and enhances what is being said in the book.

[Cheriee Weichel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was excited to read about this book and even more excited to get my hands on a copy of it.

Using the word disabled makes me uncomfortable. I think it tends to make us focus on what someone can’t do, rather than what they can. Still, it’s the word used by the author of this book, and I don’t have another one I'm comfortable with, so I’ll continue using it here.

While I am not disabled, I grew up in a family with a disabled person. My father, at 26 years old, was injured in a logging accident. He used a wheelchair from then on. This was well before the world was accessible for people like him. Many years later my mother had a fall that left her with a traumatic brain injury. Even in 2010, the world of medicine and society lacked understanding and acceptance of this kind of invisible disability.

Mostly I appreciate this book. It’s full of important content that looks at multiple aspects of what it means to be ‘other.’

I like that the layout includes plenty of nonfiction text features. The table of contents provides an overview of the different aspects of disability explored. Captioned photographs, detailed drawings, facts in extra large print, labeled diagrams, lists, maps, and the use of bold colourful headings and subheadings support the accessibility of this information. The back matter contains a glossary, resources list, and index.

I really liked the yellow framed ‘In Real Life’ inserts that highlight an individual with issues connected to the topic at hand.

My only quibble is that the content focuses primarily on the North American countries of Canada and the United States. The history of disability is limited to Western experiences. In her notes the author states that researching this aspect of the book was traumatic. I get it, it’s hard stuff to take in. I still wish it had explored how disability was dealt with historically in other parts of the world. I would also have liked to have seen a chapter about the role of cultural differences in how people with disabilities are perceived. Perhaps that's for another book

That said, this book is a brilliant introduction to what it means to live life with a disability. As Leavitt asserted, otherness that stems from disability is complicated and multifaceted. This book mentions many different ways to be disabled, but essentially focuses on sensory and physical aspects. Still, I think it provides a good starting point for research and conversations about what it means to be other.
Hopefully readers will be challenged to see diversity rather than disability.

[Storytime With Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Knowledge is power and when we know more we can do better. As much as I have been trying to diversify my reading life there has been a big gap. I have not read many books written by authors with a disability or about disability itself. The team at FOLDKids, as always, comes up big by recommending The Disability Experience: Working Toward Belonging by Hannalora Leavitt with illustrations by Belle Wuthrich.

Although this remarkable text is marketed to kids, specifically middle graders and teens, I truly believe it’s a book for ALL readers, most especially adults. There is so much that able bodied people don’t understand and cannot appreciate about disability and this comprehensive text lays it all out for readers in a way that is really easy to understand. Broken into six different sections readers learn about different types of disabilities, some history and disability culture as well as how technology and advocacy is changing the way persons with a disability (PWD) navigate a world build for able bodied people.

As an able bodied person there are times when my children ask questions and want to know about the world around them. Since reading The Disability Experience, I have confidence I am providing them with correct information about disability. There is a ton of work still to do and advocacy still needs to be front and centre. Since COVID has forced many organizations to provide accessible ways for people to perform their jobs, it’s vital that those programs continue to be in place to support PWDs. The more decision makers understand the impacts of policy decisions the more accommodating experiences will be for all. If you have a work place book club, if you are a teacher, if you are an employee who would like to see their workplace be more accommodating, provide your co-workers with a book like The Disability Experience to help guide understanding and policy.

Teachers, please read this book and share it with your students. The information within these pages will help to combat ableist thinking and language and to help demystify disability.

[Cozy Reviews · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to the publisher and to Net Galley for the opportunity. My review opinion is my own given for a ARC for review.
As a late in life disabled person that took me out of the work force, I have found that now that I am disabled I am marginalized by society. I am discriminated against everywhere I go, stalked by disability stalkers that are abusive and frightening that harass me and yell at me in public . I am verbally attacked by these stalkers and others in public particularly women that hate disabled people and are verbally abusive. My own family and friends marginalized me and insulted me and my disabilities. So I began on a extensive educational journey of disabled people in this country and am shocked to find in my research how marginalized we truly are and how discriminated against in this day and age. Disabled people are one of the most highly discriminated against people in this country.

This book has served a wonderful purpose of educating a ignorant public on disabilities. I particularly like the chapters where i hear from other disabled people like me that are suffering discrimination. This is a excellent book for disabled people to read to understand we are not alone and for those of ignorance to learn our path and how it is truly to live with disabilities. I applaud the author for a very well documented body of work that will make a difference in the world to those of us that are disabled.

[Daniela García · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was pretty great overall! Even though it provides a lot of information that almost feels like reading a textbook (except for the fact that the author often talks in first person), I really liked the approach that was made by using resources like pictures, real-life empowering examples, and beautiful illustrations.

In this book, we understand through different topics such as sports, communication, relationships, family, politics, work, entertainment, and more, how people with disabilities (PWDs) live and we get a little insight into how they feel through the author's perspective (which is kind of a generalization). I really liked how it was written, I appreciate many details such as the ones I mentioned before, the glossary at the end of the book, and the fact that the author is inviting us, to be part of the change for PDWs and to speak out for those who are not able to. I liked seeing how there are countries that are working towards inclusion, however, I felt like it missed a little in mentioning places that weren't the United States or Canada, but I guess that's what the author got to study when working on this book.

I feel like this book should be one of those that must be put on schools, libraries, institutions, and on our bookshelves. Let's take part in the construction of a more inclusive world!

[Ilana · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Disability Experience is a very informative book aimed mostly at people outside the very diverse community of people with disabilities. It explains in a very systematic way what different conditions mean, what are the official definitions and legal specificities - with a particular focus on Canada and sideline, the USA. There are different ways of perceiving, defining and living on an everyday basis disability hence the need of a deep understanding of the society. Although there is no dictionary good enough to explain what does it mean living with disabilities, this book is an useful guide for those trying to understand and therefore, maybe change their attitude towards it.
The author herself has a visual impairment thus she created more than a practical book but sharing an experience which, in the end, is empowering as well. We are living in times of unprecedent technical and medical advancement - globally - which can make the life of people with disabilities significantly better. There are important achievements to the everyday life of people in this condition.
The illustrations are inspiring and bring a bit of dynamism to the writing which is sometimes too general and lukewarm. The individual stories of various people with disabilities make the story more engaging and individual.
Disclaimer: Book offered by the publisher in exchange for an honest review

[agate · Rating 3 out of 5]

(I'm stuck between 3 and 4 stars)
I love that this book exists. It sets a strong precedent for more books of this nature, and for that, it deserves praise! I particularly enjoyed the application of the social model of disability throughout the book; it was informative and heart warming to see it discussed so thoroughly! The author talked mainly about her own experiences, and I appreciate the opportunity to be able to read about them!

This book works well as an introduction to disabilities, and the social model, but I couldn't help feeling like it wasn't enough. I was expecting a in-depth discussion of a variety of disabilities that people may not necessarily talk about and the barriers that exist in society. Instead, I got a very detailed insight into the author's personal experience. While this is not a bad thing at all, it was disappointing considering what the book promised! It would have been nice to see more discussion from a more diverse group of people!

Overall though, I liked this book. It was really validating to read about, and I definitely learnt something! I think this book should be taught in schools.

Thank you to netgalley for an ARC of this book! All opinions are 100% my own :)

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

A decent starter about disability studies, covering from all the different types of disabilities to their history, and legal rights to some famous examples.

But this was as an ebook rather inaccessible (netgalley ebook). Since the writer of the book is legally blind, we can reasonable assume the version the author provided for editors was accessible. Something broke after. Every 4-5 pages voiceover stops, and you’ll have to manually interfere and disable and re-enable accessibility to continue. Laborious... and needs to be fixed. When you can’t really see the book and the text on your phone, the logical thing is to switch to it being read. It simply needs to work. (3 stars because of inaccessibility)

After that will have been fixed, this would also make a great human read audiobook. The writing is clear, and the audiences are easily middle school to no upper age. Since a few days ago there were some incredible Helen Keller doubting started from tiktok and spread all over the social medias, there is a clear need for books like this.

[Sara Hill · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have mixed feelings on The Disability Experience by Hannalora Leavitt.

First of all, I was drawn in by Belle Wuthrich’s illustrations. They were beautiful. I appreciated that the book went into several kinds and types of disabilities. Disabilities that people often do not think about. I also think it would be great for people who are newer to learning about disabilities.

With that I found the reading a little slow and dry at times. I wish there had been even more disabilities mentioned and included. I know there are so many to include, but still, maybe a few more. I kind of wish this was more of a compilation of people telling their stories instead of one overall authour.

Overall, not a great book for me, but I think it could be useful for people who know nothing about disabilities or don’t have much experience.

I received an eARC from Orca Book Publishing through NetGalley. All opinions are 100% my own.

[Julia Bilderback · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a PWD, a person with disabled family members, and someone who has worked with PWDs this book is a great intro to the disability topic for people wanting to learn more. The topic of disabilities is vastly complex and no one book can fully cover it all. Also even the language around disabilities, like little d or big D in when talking about people who are deaf, is constantly changing and has cultural variations. This book does also focus more on the perspective from Canada, and does show how they seem to be both ahead and behind the US in how they handle many things. I think that this is a great read for people of all ages and would say that I would personally make this a required read in a JEDI program I would teach because of how much info it is able to cover and how the info is presented. The book is not perfect, but no book is. It is one of the best books I have found out there on the topic of disability.

[Gaia · Rating 5 out of 5]

“The Disability Experience: Working Toward Belonging,” by Hannalora Leavitt, provides an extensive account of persons with disabilities (pwd); not only their challenges, but also their contributions. Leavitt also describes the assistance and accommodations that pwd may require depending on their ability.

There were so many barriers that I had never taken into consideration. I thought this book was well-researched, inclusive, and informative. I think we can all benefit from reading it to better understand those who have a history of marginalization and discrimination, and hopefully to act as advocate/ally if they need our help.

Leavitt provides historical and legal information about Canada, where she is a citizen, but also the United States, and even at the international level of the United Nations.