The Arc of Pennsylvania: Include Me Disability Acceptance Through Literature Book Club

Hosted by the Arc of Pennsylvania.

The Arc of PA’s Include Me program is excited to present “Disability Acceptance through Literature,” a virtual book study for students. Books selected by Arc facilitators provide opportunities to learn about the many aspects of disability through the perspective of school-age protagonists.

Discussions center on understanding, acceptance, presuming competence, and friendship. Values like compassion, honesty, authenticity, and diversity steer the ship, and they love when conversations are led by students’ interests. These book studies are an innovative way to provide students interested in reading with a structured opportunity to connect with other students across Pennsylvania. The Arc strives to make the book studies accessible, with:

• audio recordings of each chapter,
• vocabulary resources,
• engaging visual content for discussions, and,
• by providing copies of the book to families as the book studies gear up. 

These four or eight-week book studies make room for silliness and curiosity, and they’re proud of the stigma-blasting power of the program (and that of the students themselves!). Include Me connects each book study and accompanying lessons to the Pennsylvania Academic Standards. 

Follow the link below to view upcoming sessions and age groups.

In affiliation with The Arc of the United States, The Arc is the largest nationwide advocacy organization for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The Arc of Pennsylvania has 33 local chapters and represents over 8,000 members. The state office coordinates strategic, grassroots advocacy efforts; provides policy analysis and trainings, and implements the statewide Include Me and the Arc Discovery Employment Transitions (ADEPT) programs that serve children and adults.