Do you have a vision impairment? Or perhaps a loved one? The Indiana Talking Books & Braille Library (TBBL) is a fabulous free resource available to Hoosier living with a vision or physical impairment that makes reading standard printed materials difficult. All one has to do is fill out an application and have a medical professional or librarian verify the reading impairment. Once you are in the program, you can have Large Print books, audiobooks, and/or Braille materials mailed to you with free return shipping included. This has been a wonderful service for a dear family friend of mine who has macular degeneration. Find more information and an application at https://www.in.gov/library/tbbl.htm.
Another helpful resource is WFYI’s Indiana Reading and Information Services (IRIS). It is available for anyone with a visual, physical, or learning disability who would like to hear local and national newspapers, magazines, and other community information read aloud. My father-in-law volunteers each week to read The Reader’s Digest for IRIS listeners. If you don’t need the service, consider volunteering to read for those who do. Visit https://www.wfyi.org/iris-reading-services for a list of publications and more info.
The American Library Association uses the Schneider Family Book Award to “honor an author or illustrator for a book that embodies an artistic expression of the disability experience for child and adolescent audiences.” You can find lists of both current and past awardees on their website.
Disability in Kidlit features reviews of middle grade and young adult books with a focus on the disabled perspective. All of the site’s contributors identify as disabled. While they are on a hiatus from new submissions, past reviews and their “