“Does Your Arm Hurt?” A Content Analysis of Upper Limb Differences in Children's Books

Authors

Amber Meyer, Salisbury UniversityFollow
Vince Genareo, Salisbury UniversityFollow

Abstract

Approximately 1,500 children are born with upper limb differences (ULDs) each year in the United States. Recently, public media attention has brought a greater awareness of individuals with upper limb differences (ULDs), but educational research on the PreK-12 experiences, available curricular materials, and effective educational strategies are lacking for this group of people. Researchers in this study identified and performed a content analysis of 24 children’s books with characters with ULDs. Findings indicated more of these books were being published recently, that they represented a number of genres, and were largely informative about experiences of people with ULDs. Most were more appropriate to use with prekindergarten aged children, and nearly all books contained stereotypes typically resolved as a tool to teach children about stereotypes. A discussion of the features that appeared largely missing from the books, and ways for teachers to approach these books with students, is offered.

Author Bio

Dr. Vincent Genareo is Assistant Professor in the Department of Early and Elementary Education at Salisbury University. His teaching and research involves assessment development and testing, but his core interest is the education of people with upper limb diversities. He can be reached at vrgenareo@salisbury.edu.

Dr. Amber Meyer is an Assistant Professor at Salisbury University. She is interested in early literacy methods, bilingual educational practices, and social justice and equity issues. She can be reached at almeyer@salisbury.edu.

Recommended Citation

Meyer, Amber and Genareo, Vince (2021) "“Does Your Arm Hurt?” A Content Analysis of Upper Limb Differences in Children's Books," Michigan Reading Journal: Vol. 53: Iss. 3, Article 8.
Available at: https://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/mrj/vol53/iss3/8