On Our Own Terms: Children Living With Physical Handicaps (Don't Turn Away) (English and Swedish Edition)

Bergman, Thomas

ISBN 10: 155532942X ISBN 13: 9781555329426

Publisher: Gareth Stevens Pub, 1989

Synopsis

Describes the activities at the Caroline Hospital in Stockholm where children with congenital handicaps receive training and physiotherapy

About this title

Language Notes

Text: English, Swedish (translation)

From School Library Journal

Grade 3 Up-- In simple language and accompanied by three-quarter page black - and - white photographs, these books give the basic facts about five disabilities. Six-year-old Caroline attends a special preschool for the hearing impaired; after school, she plays with a hearing friend to whom she has taught sign language. In a clinic for the treatment of children with physical disabilities, therapists work with children like Helena, born with spina bifida, and Ronny, born without arms or legs. Hanna is two years old when she begins her long, painful treatment for leukemia; Frederick is three. Nine children at a school for the visually impaired talk about themselves and their disabilities. Their unique personalities emerge through the interview scripts that comprise this volume. Anna Karin and her sister, Asa, are mentally retarded and unable to talk. Twice a week, they attend a clinic where they learn and practice motor skills. Previously published in Swedish, the books feature striking photographs showing the children in a wide variety of settings. The texts are clear and factual. All five books include sections answering questions about the disability and a series of projects to help children better understand it. The texts vary widely in theme, limiting the audience to whom the books might appeal. The stories of Caroline and Anna Karin and Asa are presented as a typical day. These books are realistic about the problems children with these disabilities face, and provide well-rounded portraits to which other children can relate. The interviews in the book on blind children present charming portraits of the children in their own words; however, the question-response format makes the text choppy. The books on children with leukemia and physical disabilities, while equally factual, stress the hospital environment. While this may be necessary in presenting the facts surrounding the three-year treatment of leukemia, it is less appropriate for presenting information on physical disability. There are many physically disabled children in regular school settings, and yet no disabled children who live normal lives are shown here. Thus, On Our Own Terms is the weakest of the five books, with photographs limited to the clinical setting. The other four books, with their excellent photographs and clear explanations, will foster an understanding of mainstreamed children and help disabled children, their siblings, friends, and families understand disability. --Constance A. Mellon, Department of Library & Information Studies, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Gareth Stevens Pub
• Publication date: 1989
• ISBN 10: 155532942X
• ISBN 13: 9781555329426
• Binding: Library Binding
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 48