Littérature, jeunesse et handicap : questions d'accès, questions de construction [Literature, Youth and Handicap: Questions of access, questions of construction] (review)
- Littérature, jeunesse et handicap : questions d'accès, questions de construction [Literature, Youth and Handicap: Questions of access, questions of construction]
A symposium was held on the subject of young handicapped persons' access to literature at the INS HEA (Institut national supérieur pour l'éducation des jeunes handicapés et les enseignements adaptés [End Page 85] [National superior institute for the education of the young handicapped and specific teaching methods]) in December 2007. These proceedings gather 18 of the 21 papers given during the symposium, including a transcript of the panel discussion.
These proceedings address the topic from various angles and are organized into four sections. They deal with the role and the reception of children's literature by young handicapped persons, but they also tackle the figure of the handicapped person as a character in children's literature.
In the first part, "Questions of Access," the many examples focus on concrete achievements, showing how children's literature can be made accessible to young, handicapped persons. The solutions range from adapting or simplifying classics to make them accessible to the intellectually challenged to using DVDs of folktales or picture books translated into sign language for the deaf and creating tactile books or books in Braille for the visually impaired, as detailed in the Korean contribution on "adapted publishing." The Korean contribution also presents novels for young adults featuring handicapped protagonists. Finally, five specialized publishers, gathered for the occasion to exchange their points of view, explain their philosophy and speak of their achievements.1
The second part, "Literature and self-construction", presents an article by Evelio Cabrejo-Parra, a psychoanalyst and linguist, and various accounts by handicapped children on how reading has given them the means to develop, to find the strength to live their everyday lives and to deal with other people's preconceptions about their handicaps. Sometimes, however, reading was a stumbling block—a young dyslexic woman realized, after becoming an adult, that, despite all her efforts, reading would never be a pleasure for her.
The third part, "Mediations," presents certain strategies proposed by professionals in schools, to put children's literature and "school" literature within reach of handicapped or ill children. These include a blog in the hospital to motivate the young to read, reading in a classroom of blind children, a case-study on teaching literature to deaf children, followed by a survey of deaf children's reading. The last contribution is about the use of plays as an entry into literature for ill or handicapped children who have been hospitalized for a long period of time.
The fourth part, "Questions of Representation," addresses the image of the handicapped protagonist in children's literature, with examples from different countries and language regions, including the Czech Republic, Italy, and Dutch speaking countries. Two books from France are presented in detail: the comic book La Bande à Ed [Ed's Gang], by Jak and Geg, which features several young handicapped people, and the Castor Poche series (Père Castor), which also contains several handicapped characters.
The absence of a final synthesis in the proceedings is disappointing; it would have helped to overcome the feeling that the book is merely a series of case studies. A general bibliography would also have been welcomed [End Page 86] (although personal accounts are undeniably difficult to document, only 3 or 4 articles have a proper bibliography). Certain subjects, like psychological handicaps including autism, could have been addressed more thoroughly (neither of the two papers on this topic given at the seminar are part of the proceedings). Some of the abbreviations and medical terms could have been explained for the non-specialists. These matters aside, the positive aspects of this book largely overcome its flaws.
The contributors are specialists who have a thorough grasp of their subjects, be it through research or personal experience. The book is lively...
