{"id":312,"date":"2010-07-28T13:02:49","date_gmt":"2010-07-28T13:02:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/thinplaces\/2010\/07\/perfectly-human-from-dora-the-explorer-to-jane-austen-my-daughters-reading-world-by-jane-steen.html"},"modified":"2010-07-28T13:02:49","modified_gmt":"2010-07-28T13:02:49","slug":"perfectly-human-from-dora-the-explorer-to-jane-austen-my-daughters-reading-world-by-jane-steen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thinplaces\/2010\/07\/perfectly-human-from-dora-the-explorer-to-jane-austen-my-daughters-reading-world-by-jane-steen.html","title":{"rendered":"Perfectly Human**: From Dora the Explorer to Jane Austen: My Daughter’s Reading World by Jane Steen"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

Jane Steen is a freelance commercial writer working on her first novel. She blogs at <\/i>http:\/\/keepgoingyoufool.blogspot.com<\/a><\/i><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"JaneSteen.jpg\"<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

We’re a reading family. Not quite as much as we used to be, now that
\nthe Internet and our gadgets have stolen away so much of our attention. Yet
\nwalk into our house and you’ll see books–lots of them. My husband likes movie
\nstar biographies and “strange but true” stories; my youngest daughter still
\nenjoys YA novels, although she can read far above that level. My own tastes are
\nwide and deep, and my office shelves overflow with tomes.<\/span><\/p>\n

And Laura? My oldest daughter would be perfectly content with an armful
\nof Dora the Explorer<\/i>. When she worked
\nin the local library as part of her school day, she would check out piles of
\nbooks from the children’s department and litter her bedroom floor with them.
\nShe also adores the Narnia<\/i> books, has
\nreread Harry Potter<\/i> any number of
\ntimes, has read some Jane Austen and has recently developed an interest in Sherlock Holmes<\/i>. She is 18, and has
\ndevelopmental disabilities caused by a rare chromosome disorder.<\/span><\/p>\n

Laura finished high school this year, walking with pride across the
\nstage at graduation and treating the Principal to a big hug. I had explained to
\nher beforehand that she would receive a certificate and not a diploma, because
\nin order to continue to receive services she can’t technically graduate till
\nshe ages out of Special Ed. on her 22nd birthday. An excellent transition
\nprogram awaits her, and she looks forward to expanding her work training at a
\nvariety of job sites and learning life skills with her friends. But what of
\nreading? The jobs available to adults with special needs typically don’t
\ninvolve a great deal of intellectual activity. Laura loses skills quickly if
\nthey’re not practiced, and would be sad if her reading, writing and excellent
\nspelling (forwards AND backwards!) were lost.<\/span><\/p>\n

Fortunately, Laura belongs to a book club specifically for older
\nteenagers and young adults with developmental disabilities. Most of its members
\nhave already left high school; some have jobs, others are looking for
\nemployment, and some, like Laura, are still benefiting from educational services.
\nMany of the members are active Special Olympians and belong to social
\norganizations. A small percentage can drive; most still live with their
\nfamilies, although one was lucky enough to receive funding when there still was<\/i>
\nfunding in Illinois, and has her own apartment and a caregiver who visits
\ndaily. <\/span><\/p>\n

\"Thumbnail<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

The club, named the Book Wizards by its members, was set up by two
\nmothers of young adults with Down Syndrome. It meets monthly throughout the
\nyear, with membership by invitation. These are, as you might guess, the more
\nprivileged members of the developmental disabilities population. They have
\nfamilies who are actively involved in their lives and activities and have been
\neducated in good schools where there is adequate funding for Special Ed.
\nprograms. <\/span><\/p>\n

What do the Book Wizards read? Well, Harry Potter<\/i> has been a
\nfirm favorite (as the club name suggests) and the Twilight<\/i> series often
\ncomes up in discussions. Many of the members prefer books with some romance in
\nthem, and The Last Song<\/i> by Nicholas Sparks was a recent hit. Young adult
\nbooks such as The House of the Scorpion<\/i> and Hunger Games<\/i> were
\nexcellent talking points, and the classic Watership Down<\/i> sparked a
\nlively discussion. Movie tie-ins are always appreciated by the club members; at
\nChristmas, for example, the Wizards read A Christmas Carol<\/i>, and then
\nwent to see the new Disney animated version. If their reading skills are shaky,
\nmembers use audiobooks to assist in following the text.<\/span><\/p>\n

As time goes on, the club’s leaders are steering book choices towards
\nthe adult section, and 300 to 400-page novels are not unusual. For young adults
\nwho can often become stuck in a reading rut, this provides fresh challenges and
\nfrequently opens up whole new interests. Upcoming selections include The No.
\n1 Ladies Detective Agency<\/i> and The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel
\nSociety<\/i>. Club members are also encouraged to bring in articles on current
\nnews items to discuss. One or two of the members occasionally bring in sheets
\nof information and questions they have found on the Internet, or a short
\nwritten review of the book they’ve just read.<\/span><\/p>\n

The club often meets at a local Panera on Saturday mornings, and for a
\nlong time Laura seemed to enjoy the breakfast more than the reading. I
\nrealized, one day when I told her she needed to sit down and read her book club
\nbook and she “finished” in 20 minutes, that she had reverted to her frequent
\nhabit of skimming the books rather than reading them. It took a couple of threats
\nto refuse to take her to the meetings to get her to agree to read the books out
\nloud in my office, but now the habit is ingrained and she’s started to do the
\nsame with books she reads “for fun.” Twenty pages a day is the norm although
\nshe’ll wriggle out of it when she can, knowing full well that when I’m
\nthoroughly distracted by my writing business she can sneak off and watch TV
\ninstead. She has found that if she gets too comfortable she’ll get sleepy, so
\nshe perches on the edge of a footstool in my office and reads while
\nI–pretending to be listening–get on with my work. (Hey, I didn’t say I was the
\nperfect parent.) <\/span><\/p>\n

The world of books has been so important to me throughout my life that
\nI can’t imagine not sharing it with my children. I’ve learned from Laura and
\nher friends that developmental disability is no bar to a rich reading life, but
\nthis love needs to be fostered and encouraged. Laura is now able to contribute
\nto the discussion on Saturday mornings. Another step towards full adulthood has
\nbeen taken.<\/span><\/p>\n

**<\/span>For an explanation of the title “Perfectly Human,” and to read the first entry in this series, click here<\/a>. <\/span><\/span>
<\/span>
<\/span>To read all the entries in the series, type “Perfectly Human” into the search box in the upper right. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Jane Steen is a freelance commercial writer working on her first novel. She blogs at http:\/\/keepgoingyoufool.blogspot.com We’re a reading family. Not quite as much as we used to be, now that the Internet and our gadgets have stolen away so much of our attention. Yet walk into our house and you’ll see books–lots of them. 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Her essays have appeared in First Things, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Christian Century, ChristianityToday.com, and Bloom, among other online venues.","sameAs":["http:\/\/amyjuliabecker.com"],"url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thinplaces\/author\/amyjuliabecker"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thinplaces\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/312","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thinplaces\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thinplaces\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thinplaces\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/88"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thinplaces\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=312"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thinplaces\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/312\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thinplaces\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=312"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thinplaces\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=312"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thinplaces\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=312"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}