Creating Inviting, Inclusive Spaces for People With Special Needs

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The ABC Children’s Institute session “Creating a Welcoming Environment for Readers with Special Needs” brought together a panel of independent booksellers who shared their viewpoints on how to best ensure their stores are seen as inviting spaces for all people, particularly those with disabilities.

Stefani Beddingfield, the owner of Inkwood Books in Tampa, Florida, who served as the panel’s moderator, said her overall goal when interacting with customers is to treat people like people. “They’re just there to shop. They don’t want your special attention. They just want good recommendations, like everyone else,” she said.

Because Beddingfield’s daughter uses a wheelchair, she built a ramp for the bookstore’s back door, which she leaves open as often as possible and has made more inviting with a welcome mat and a pot of flowers. She also explained that her sister, Julie Beddingfield, who owns the Inkwood Books in Haddonfield, New Jersey, was unable to add a ramp to her storefront but keeps a portable one available and a sign about it in the window.

As part of a renovation, Tami Furlong added a ramp at the front door of Fundamentals Parent Teacher Bookstore in Delaware, Ohio, several years ago. “Between the ADA regulations, the city, and the state, because my building is a historic building, it took about a year to get everybody to agree on how to do it,” Furlong said. “But it’s very nice now, and it’s definitely accessible.”

Joan Price, who co-owns The Fine Print in Lakeside, Ohio, said she and co-owner Beverly Bartczak always try to be mindful about ensuring the store’s 500-square-foot space is accessible. “We could’ve gotten a lot more books but instead we went with one [bookcase] in the center so we were sure to have plenty of space so people could get around,” she said.

Aubrey Restifo of Northshire Bookstore in Manchester Center, Vermont, encourages staff to use “people-first language” as often as possible. “People-first language basically puts the person before the disability,” she said. “Customers or staff members get nervous about talking to people with disabilities because you don’t know what’s right. It’s ok to be wrong and to engage in a conversation about that with the customer or with each other.”

“We like to train staff to always talk to the person [with the disability] first,” Restifo added. “You’re not talking to a caregiver, you’re not talking to a parent, and you’re not talking to a disability. Always make eye contact with that person. Don’t just give help — you ask, ‘Would you like me to?’”

Price agreed. “The best way you can train your staff is by example. If you are comfortable with any customer who comes in, they will learn to be,” she said.

It’s also important not to make assumptions, added Price. “You may see a child acting out and it’s really easy to think, why doesn’t that parent control that child? But you don’t know what the parent’s dealing with.”

When recommending books to a customer with a disability, booksellers should be conscious about not offering a book featuring that disability. “You don’t necessarily want to read about yourself — books are an escape and entertainment,” said Beddingfield. “A lot of customers already know what they want. You’re there to help if needed.”

At Inkwood, Beddingfield shelves face-out books that showcase people with a range of disabilities, going by the philosophy that books act as a window for people without disabilities to learn about others’ lives. Displaying these books shows what the bookstore is about and conveys it’s a safe space, even if people don’t buy them, said Beddingfield.

Staff should be encouraged to learn about a diverse array of books featuring characters with different abilities and should encourage customers to read them, said Restifo. Her favorite books for younger readers are the ones in which the disability is mentioned later on, or not at all.

“I look for books, in particular, where the character’s use of a wheelchair, their cerebral palsy, or their autism isn’t the obstacle. It’s so important to see story arcs where the character is who the character is and you get to see them struggle, but that there are other things happening,” Restifo said.

Price tries to make all events at The Fine Print inclusive and adaptable. “The children who come in who have special needs can usually participate in the kinds of things we do,” she said. “We try always to keep our crafts very simple and let every child do it alone if they can, but we have an extra person giving help to anyone who needs it.

“I’m a strong believer in inclusion. However, there’s a time you might want to have some segregated activities,” added Price, who has held picture book story times for adults with Alzheimer’s, keeping it separate from children’s story time. Additionally, teenagers with more severe disabling conditions may wish to be in a group separate from other teenagers.

Staff members at The Fine Print have also learned to sign the names of animals, colors, and foods and to use the signs when they can pair them with a featured children’s story time book. “It’s fun for kids and it gives them knowledge that there are different kinds of people and they have different needs, and we respect them all,” said Price.

Furlong tries to ensure that Fundamentals Bookstore is clearly an inclusive store by participating in lots of community events, such as Alzheimer’s walks. The store also invites Creative Foundations, which supports people with disabilities, to bring clients and their aides into the store for field trips. “You have to put yourself out there and let people know you’re a welcoming space,” said Furlong.

At the session, Furlong provided a handout of picture books featuring children with disabilities and a skills matrix for games. Restifo has created a list of middle grade and young adult titles featuring children with disabilities. A PDF of these lists is available on BookWeb.