Q. What are Adapted Books?

The Adapted Books collection is a unique set of books for children, teens and their families to share and enjoy stories and information. Just as there are many ways to learn, there are different ways to read. For youth with physical or developmental challenges that make verbal communication difficult, or for those who are non-verbal, adapted books are a useful and fun way to read.

 

The Adapted Books collection, launched in October 2008, is held in the Children’s Services department at Millennium Library with citywide access by all library members who may request specific titles be sent to the branch library of their choice for pick up (when searching the library catalogue, choose Browse by Format > Specialty Collections > Adapted Books). Prior to the launch of this collection, adapted books were available only through client affiliation with the Rehabilitation Centre for Children.

 

The project was a joint initiative between the Rehabilitation Centre for Children, the Winnipeg Library Foundation and Winnipeg Public Library. Funding was provided by a grant from the Literacy for Life Fund held at The Winnipeg Foundation in addition to significant in-kind contributions by the Rehabilitation Centre for Children and Winnipeg Public Library.

 

Adapted books combine two reading methods in one book. The original printed text is combined with Picture Communication Symbols added to the page. Using Boardmaker® software, the staff of the Rehabilitation Centre for Children used their technical and creative expertise to produce the adapted books.  Favourite titles such as Where the Wild Things Are for young children and biographies of famous Canadians for teens are accessible by youth who communicate through the identification of symbols.

 

This adaptation allows readers, who do not have the ability to speak, to point to the symbol on the page or to select the same symbol on their personal communication device. The device could be a communication board on which the reader points to the appropriate symbol or a voice-output device which generates speech electronically when a symbol is chosen from pre-loaded software. Readers who understand text and readers who understand symbols can enjoy the story together.

 

Open access to adapted books increases the opportunity to develop intergenerational family literacy skills. Children, teens, parents, grandparents and caregivers can be active participants in sharing books even when some family members cannot read printed text or cannot use oral language. This alternative method of reading, by using symbols, gives the power of speech and communication to youth who are unable to use their voice.