Nathan Ebanks Foundation: A Story About Living with Cerebral Palsy
Designing children’s book in digital and print formats to sensitize and to help parents and teachers to introduce young children to others who may have disabilities — how to relate, play, and interact with
CLIENT
Nathan Ebanks Foundation
THE CHALLENGE
Help parents, teachers and others to introduce young children who are typically developing to others who may have disabilities — how to relate, play, and interact with children like Nathan; and to inspire parents to write and publish their child’s (with special needs) story, to increase the representation in the publication space
THE OUTCOME
Layout, design and illustration of a story about living with cerebral palsy as a fun, engaging and interactive children’s book; the book is used as a learning tool in classrooms to promote inclusion and encourage children to form friendships with classmates who have cerebral palsy, autism or Down syndrome, or have other special needs
Learning how to make and keep friends is a major theme for children generally, and is equally important for children with disabilities and special needs. There are not many children’s storybooks which tackle this topic for children with disabilities and special needs.
This was the thought process behind the development of I’m Just Like You But Different: A story about living with cerebral palsy. This story was first written by Nathan’s mother, Christine Staple-Ebanks, to support his integration in kindergarten. Christine had realized that Nathan was not happy about going to school. Nathan was diagnosed with cerebral palsy, a disorder which affects movement and development in children when he was only nine months old. He was the only one in his school with a disability. After spending time in his classroom, Christine recognized that Nathan had no friends. No one talked to him or included him in playtime because he looked different. This made him sad. It broke her heart.
In sharing this observation with a friend and colleague who is an inclusion specialist, the question was asked: “why not create a storybook to share Nathan’s story and show the ways that he is same as his peers, and explain what his differences mean?”
Using construction paper and photos from Nathan’s birth and early years, Christine constructed a storybook I’m Just Like You But Different, which she then read to Nathan’s classmates during reading circle activity. The story was phenomenally successful and quickly became the # 1 requested book for reading circle every week for the entire school year. It opened the way for Nathan to experience one of the most engaging and enjoyable school years up to that point.
“I was utterly amazed at how quickly these young children (4 and 5-year-old) in Nathan’s class were able to recognize the many ways in which they were like Nathan. Several of the children were also able to identify with him being sick at birth and being in the hospital. They also learned how to play with him and communicate with him as he was nonverbal. I found that the story empowered my son (who loved to see himself in the book) and gave him a voice among his peers. It brought about a major shift in the attitudes of the children towards Nathan. That year, he formed some great friendships, and enjoyed a year of belonging, love and true inclusion,” says Christine.
I’m Just Like You But Different: A story about living with cerebral palsy is a fun, engaging and interactive children’s book. It is a great book to add to home libraries and should be used as a learning tool in our classrooms to promote inclusion, so typically developing children can learn to see beyond the wheelchair or braces. They will learn not to be afraid or shy about forming friendships with classmates who have cerebral palsy, autism or Down syndrome, or have other special needs. Showing friendships between typically developing children and those with “unique abilities” will help foster understanding, compassion, and acceptance, says Erin Mercer, speech and language pathologist who provided editorial and development support to the project.
At Future By Design, we were proud to support the advocacy work of the Nathan Ebanks Foundation, through our creative work, by illustrating Nathan‘s book in a way which captures the heart and spirit of this beautiful story of inclusion. It is a collaboration of love and support that sends the message that every child matters. Every child has the right to belong and to have meaningful friendships, no matter their abilities or disabilities.
The book is available on Amazon worldwide in print and ebook formats: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08DJ5NBZW/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i2.
To learn more about the work of the Nathan Ebanks Foundation, please visit https://www.nefjamaica.org.
You can also find more information on this and other books written by Christine Staple-Ebanks at https://www.christinestapleebanks.com.
