Interviewer

Tell me about this project you are involved in which is about putting characters in children’s books with disabilities.

Susan Clow
That’s right. It is a Scope managed project, lottery funded childreninthepicture.org.uk. We have been working for 3 years to try and get images of disabled children into picture books so I’m interested in this debate you have been having today. It has many parallels.

Interviewer

Why is it important to get such characters with disabilities into books?

Susan Clow
Imagine if you are a disabled child and you have never seen yourself in a book and what that tells you about yourself and what effect that might have on your self esteem and in your ability to develop as a person or in fact in later life even get a job because you haven’t been recognised as existing
in the books you first picked up in the very early days.

Interviewer

Can you gauge what impact it might have on a youngster with disabilities when they do come across such characters?

Susan Clow
We can certainly gauge it in the short term. There haven’t been enough around to make a long term guess about it but we can see children hugging books and saying “This is Me!” and really excitedly wanting to talk about these books, animatedly and so, so pleased to see them so that galvanises you further and makes you think it is something that really needs to be done.

Interviewer

What’s your view on dolls with disabilities?

Susan Clow
Like books it’s about choice for the child and if they are part of a range of toys that children have and if they respond to them fine and if they don’t they end up like all toys, in the bottom of the cupboard and get passed on. That’s great too. It is good for all children to see the range of things. We have sourced lots of toys that include Barbies that use wheelchairs and all sorts of things to just show children the range of disabilities and diversity out there in society.

Interviewer

Thanks for ringing us Sue and telling us about that.

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