Lurie Children’s launches disability library to promote inclusion

CHICAGO - Lurie Children’s is making strides toward raising awareness about childhood disabilities with the launch of its first-ever ‘Disability Library.’

While there are millions of kids living with disabilities around the world, their experiences are rarely depicted in storybooks. Now, one local occupational therapist is working to make those stories accessible to patient families.

What we know:

This month, Lurie Children's debuted more than a cart of books; rather, a colorful collection of titles that reflect authentic representations of kids with disabilities.

"We really wanted kids to have an opportunity to see kids just like themselves," said Kevin Durney, an occupational therapist at Lurie Children’s.

Located in the Rehabilitation Services waiting area of Lurie Children’s Outpatient Center in Lincoln Park, the ‘Disability Library’ houses books for all patients and families to enjoy.

"Specifically, stories that really highlight the strengths of disabled people—rather than what they can’t do, these books focus on what they can do," Durney said.

The collection was carefully curated over the last year by Durney and UIC student Allison Antman, who is an entry-level occupational therapy doctoral degree program candidate.

Together, they pored over hundreds of books to ensure the right selection.

The library was created with three key goals: to mirror the experiences of children with disabilities, to provide a window for other children to see their perspectives, and to open the door to new ideas.

The backstory:

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1 in 6 children in the U.S. are living with a developmental disability. Meantime, 1 in 4 adults report having a functional disability.

Still, a 2019 study by the Cooperative Children's Book Center shows that only 3.4 percent of children's books highlight main characters with disabilities.

"We think that books are really powerful tools to push back against biases and myths that stand to devalue disability, and we really see this an opportunity to propose a totally different narrative," Durney said.

Durney came up with the idea to create the library after visiting his local bookstore, Three Avenues Bookshop in Lakeview.

Inspired by the store’s prominent children’s section featuring books about kids with disabilities, he wanted to bring a similar resource to the hospital.

"I was thinking about how wonderful it would be to bring those books to the kids and families that stand to be most impacted by those stories," Durney said. "And I can’t tell you how exciting it’s been to see the kids so excited to have books available to them and then seeing the looks of surprise when they recognize characters in those books that really reflect a lot of their own lived experience."

Throughout the process of creating the library, Durney says the owners of Three Avenues Bookshop played an integral role in raising funds for the books.

What's next:

The ‘Disability Library’ currently houses 70 books, but Lurie Children’s hopes to add more titles, and to expand the program to other locations.

Those interested in contributing can find donation information HERE.