As someone who works with people from all walks of life, this book helped me better understand people with disabilities and all of the obstacles they have to overcome. The book provides definitions, easy to understand explanations, and engaging pictures and blurbs about people who have those disabilities. It allows them to be brought to the forefront and hopefully, to not only offer representation but for people who may not fully understand or comprehend what it's like to live with a disability to get a glimpse at that just because someone has a disability doesn't mean they are any less.

As a special education teacher in America , I found this book enlightening and wonderful to read.

There definitely are differences between how individuals with disabilities are viewed and treated between Canada and the US but this book did a good job representing both

I can see using this book in school with students as a supplemental read for a research project on acceptance, inclusion and understanding of disabilities.

The Disability Experience is a very informative book aimed mostly at people outside the very diverse community of people with disabilities. It explains in a very systematic way what different conditions mean, what are the official definitions and legal specificities - with a particular focus on Canada and sideline, the USA. There are different ways of perceiving, defining and living on an everyday basis disability hence the need of a deep understanding of the society. Although there is no dictionary good enough to explain what does it mean living with disabilities, this book is an useful guide for those trying to understand and therefore, maybe change their attitude towards it.
The author herself has a visual impairment thus she created more than a practical book but sharing an experience which, in the end, is empowering as well. We are living in times of unprecedent technical and medical advancement - globally - which can make the life of people with disabilities significantly better. There are important achievements to the everyday life of people in this condition.
The illustrations are inspiring and bring a bit of dynamism to the writing which is sometimes too general and lukewarm. The individual stories of various people with disabilities make the story more engaging and individual.

This is insightful, especially as someone who has a disability. However, was expecting individual stories more than it being read similarly to a research paper.

I would give this book more than 5 stars if I could. It's a great mix of breadth and depth - great for the beginner, but even a seasoned accessibility person would learn something new. I especially found the history component especially insightful and informative to explain where we are today in the movement.

This was such an incredibly informative and educational read. The Disability Experience is perfect for all ages and is very inspiring!

I have received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The Disability Experience was definitely an eye opener for me. Mostly because I like learning about things that I don't fully understand or haven't experienced in my life. So, no, I don't have any disabilities but that doesn't mean that I don't know anyone who does or doesn't either. My brother is autistic and he went through things that just upsets me. Just because he was different than everyone else at school and no one really knew back then what he had and how to deal with it. So they just kind of gave him passing grades and pushed him on to the next teacher/person.

That being said, I didn't experience anything that he went through but that doesn't mean I allowed anyone to treat him as a different person. He was normal boy who just didn't process things the way other people could. Doesn't mean you had to talk down to him or speak slowly. So when I saw certain people acting certain ways toward him, I would step in and tell them to not do that. Did I have to? No, because he would've eventually been upset and walked away. I won't really dive into the reasons why I did that and continue to do so... he's just family and I will also treat him as an older brother... and annoy the shit out of him from time to time.

Maybe I should talk about the book? Yeah - let's do that. So this book was definitely an eye opener for me. Again, I've never gone through any of this. I was shocked that airlines don't have better sitting areas or options on planes for people with disabilities. It was also a little heartbreaking to read about people who use animals - for seeing and such - and going places and people saying no animals allowed. If they have the vest stating they are working they should be allowed. That's just my two cents.

I also really enjoyed the details of each disability and the examples that were used. It was honestly interesting to read about celebrities and such who have these disabilities but continue to be a bad ass in their every day lives. These disabilities never held them back from their dreams and that's how it should be. Anything is possible.

Other than that, there was a picture about what braille looked like for numbers and letters. Since I never knew what this looked like I thought it was pretty cool to see the picture. I do think I would get confused with the numbers and letters that had the same pattern but I guess it would just be a trial and error sort of thing when reading? Not sure but I think it would be fun to learn. Also sign language - I knew the alphabet when I was younger but I don't really know how to sign anything other than that. So I think it would be cool to learn that as well.

In the end, I definitely enjoyed this book so much and I'm very happy that I got the chance to dive into it.

Excellent book! As a parent of two children on the autism spectrum I appreciate how easy to understand this book was. This book celebrates the accomplishments of people with disabilities and the obstacles they have overcome. This book is written in a way that children as young as middle school age can understand and benefit from the information in this book. Well written and beautifully illustrated, this book should be required reading for everyone.

This book was pretty great overall! Even though it provides a lot of information that almost feels like reading a textbook (except for the fact that the author often talks in first person), I really liked the approach that was made by using resources like pictures, real-life empowering examples, and beautiful illustrations.

In this book, we understand through different topics such as sports, communication, relationships, family, politics, work, entertainment, and more, how people with disabilities (PWDs) live and we get a little insight into how they feel through the author's perspective (which is kind of a generalization). I really liked how it was written, I appreciate many details such as the ones I mentioned before, the glossary at the end of the book, and the fact that the author is inviting us, to be part of the change for PDWs and to speak out for those who are not able to. I liked seeing how there are countries that are working towards inclusion, however, I felt like it missed a little in mentioning places that weren't the United States or Canada, but I guess that's what the author got to study when working on this book.

I feel like this book should be one of those that must be put on schools, libraries, institutions, and on our bookshelves. Let's take part in the construction of a more inclusive world!

If you’re currently able-bodied, you might not know how your classmates and neighbors with disabilities live. Yeah, I said “currently able-bodied”, because a lot of us will end up facing issues as our bodies get older and older. Unless you die young, you probably don’t have a disability YET.

There’s a lot to talk about when you talk about people with disabilities and how society affects them, and the author makes a fair attempt to cover all of it at least a little. Some of it is surprisingly cheerful (“the homelike, supportive atmosphere of group homes has been well received”—perhaps I’ve heard secondhand stories only from people who disagree) and some of it is realistically gritty (“there are laws and then there is justice, the latter being not so easily attained”).

The Disability Experience was written for teens who are currently able-bodied. That’s not a bad thing on its own, but readers who are disabled might find that assumption a bit unwelcome. People with a mobility impairment might be reading this to learn more about blind people.

The author (in my advance copy, at least) uses a lower-case d in “deaf” except at the beginning of a sentence, which contrasts with the Deaf custom of using a capital D to refer to Deaf culture, Deaf languages, Deaf education, and using a lower-case d only when talking about being deaf as an impairment. The pre-publication version also says “person with autism” instead of “autistic person”. I’m hoping that issues like these can be corrected; as of yet I can’t recommend this book without reservations.

I am grateful to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for a free advance review copy.

As a teacher librarian, I appreciated this book! It would be a great addition to a middle school/high school library to help inform people about disabilities. I really enjoyed the memoir/personal anecdotes the most. I also enjoyed the nonfiction parts. I think it is a solid addition.

The Disability Experience: Working Toward Belonging is a good introduction for middle grade and young adults in high school to talking about disabilities. I could see having this book in a classroom and using it for grades 7/8 and up. It uses age-appropriate language to talk about different kinds of disabilities, the discrimination disabled people often experience, and I think it encourages the reader to think about accessibility in their everyday lives and spaces.

Some parts of the book read as memoir of the author's experiences, and some parts read as traditional non-fiction facts and explanations. It is different from the non-fiction books I've usually seen for kids that are rarely personal and strictly facts and information, but I didn't hate it. Reading some previous reviews for this ARC, I can see where they are coming from in the comments about it not being unbiased. But I think it is meant to be unbiased because the author is trying to advocate for a marginalized group of individuals to be seen, heard and understood.

I do think the synopsis is misleading and should change to more accurately reflect what to expect when reading this book. I expected it to be all personal stories about people with disabilities (PWDs) and how their stories reflect the successes of the disabled community but also the struggles they experience. While the book does feature a lot of these stories, they are sprinkled throughout the chapters based on the topic covered in that chapter. I learned a lot while reading it but, it just was not what I was expecting from the synopsis.

Now to the parts I did not love and could use some improvement. I appreciated seeing racialized people in photos and illustrations however, the content does not talk a lot about how other intersections of a person's identity like race, age, and socio-economic class to name a few, can also affect their experiences as a disabled person. For example, while the book mentions that ASL (American Sign Language) may differ from BSL (British Sign Language) and sign language in other countries, it does not mention dialects of sign language like Black American Sign Language or Black Sign, that is specific to Black Deaf populations in the U.S. I know it's not possible to include all information about each disability in this book but I think information like this is important for racialized populations to see themselves represented in the content. It does talk about LGBTQ+ disabled identities which is an important and on-going movement.

The other thing that is missing in my opinion is the inclusion of aging populations and seniors in pictures and information. 1 in 4 Canadians are disabled. It should not be surprising that most of our disabled population is comprised of seniors. Majority of the photos in this book are young or middle-aged people. And while it is important for young people to see themselves reflected in the images and the target audience for this book is not older populations, I think there needs to be variety across all the age groups. Connected to this is socio-economic status and how that affects a disabled persons life experiences. Some of the content mentions the cost of aids and technology and while the technology is useful and revolutionary, not all people can afford it. Families living below the poverty line, seniors living on pension and more may not be able to afford these resources. I think that some of these struggles could also be mentioned in the book possibly as an addition to the advocacy section.

Overall I think this book was educational, easy to read and organized well. It is a huge undertaking especially with the amount of research involved in bringing this to life and I think the author did a great job with it. There are just a few things that I think would make it more inclusive for readers.

While I am continuing to post my regular content, the BLM movement is still going on. Please keep referring to my story and linktree to find ways to help out.✊🏻‼️
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Me nervously looking at my netgalley percentage likeeeeee🥴
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The Disability Experience: Working Toward Belonging is a nonfiction book that highlights all different types of disabilities from physical to mental. It narrows in on the ways that non neuro typical live, as well as the accommodations they need to take part in everyday activities. Most importantly, it cues the reader in on the ableist policies that make it almost impossible for disabilities to have a job, have adequate housing and transportation, as well as high quality education.💞
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I think my favorite part about this book is that it is written by someone who actually has a disability. You have no idea how long I have waited for an educational book, that isn’t a memoir, that is written by a non abled bodied person. With the author’s personal anecdotes it made the book so much more memorable, as well as it made the information I didn’t know already affect me even more than usual. I highly recommend this as your starting point for learning about people and disabilities. I loved it so much.😍
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What’s your opinion on abled bodied people writing books about people with disabilities? Let me know!💋
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Dm me to talk about all things book or writing related! I’ll be looking forward to it! —Em😌

#bookstagram #books #book #bookworm #booklover #reading #bookish #bibliophile #instabook #booknerd #bookish #bookstagrammer #read #bookshelf #booksofinstagram #instabooks #booklove #igreads #reader #bookbloggerspost

I loved the inclusion of the disability experience. This book discussed the mindset one with disability experiences when being the only one at a work place/school and the ignorance comments that those who aren’t disable make. This is great to share with kids and I recommend all read it.

I have mixed feelings on The Disability Experience by Hannalora Leavitt.

First of all, I was drawn in by Belle Wuthrich’s illustrations. They were beautiful. I appreciated that the book went into several kinds and types of disabilities. Disabilities that people often do not think about. I also think it would be great for people who are newer to learning about disabilities.

With that I found the reading a little slow and dry at times. I wish there had been even more disabilities mentioned and included. I know there are so many to include, but still, maybe a few more. I kind of wish this was more of a compilation of people telling their stories instead of one overall authour.

Overall, not a great book for me, but I think it could be useful for people who know nothing about disabilities or don’t have much experience.

I received an eARC from Orca Book Publishing through NetGalley. All opinions are 100% my own.

Firstly, I want to share several things I loved about this book. What first drew me in was the front cover and the intentionality put into representing a diverse group of disabilities (including nonapparent disabilities!), races & ethnicities, and genders. The illustrations throughout the book are equally crafted with care, and they're a beautiful addition to the book. The content itself--as a disabled person myself, I'm always looking to read more personal experiences and stories from other folks with disabilities. I loved the diversity in stories told, both from well-known folks but also from folks who aren't celebrities. This type of representation helps to combat the idea that the only visible people with disabilities worth talking about are the ones that are famous. I also learned so much about assistive technologies and the wonderful organizations and companies mentioned, such as Be My Eyes--especially since I'm an engineer in this space!

Now, to share several things I had conflicting feelings about. I wasn't a huge fan of the history of disability chapter because it was solely focused on Western history with no disclaimer that the "disability experience" represented in this book would be focused in this way. While the author mentions that she has done a lot of research for this book, I would've loved to see more research done outside of the US, Canada, and the UK. I also wasn't sure that taking up space to print out the entire dictionary definition of "disability" was necessarily needed. While the author then takes the rest of the book to combat this negative bias against disability, I felt like there could've been a more effective way to present these biases and then interrogate them.

This is more of a personal view on disability, but I would love to see books meant to provide an overview on disability, especially ones written to be read by nondisabled folks, to not include a rigid categorization of disabilities. It's my belief that disability is fluid as an identity and as a state (as folks can move in and out of being disabled). My disabilities were not represented within this book, and I fear that the reader navigating this topic for the first time will fall from a rigid homogenous view of disability to then a rigid categorization of disability. Granted, it's a lot to expect a single book on disability to cover everything, and the responsibility is also on the readers to read more books about disability to widen their horizons and build allyship.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author and illustrator for providing me with an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is an informative book for those who may not know a lot about the people with disabilities and what those can look like. It also goes into what the history of Disability looks like, though only briefly and it did feel like a sanitized take on what the past looks like.


I did enjoy the look at culture looks like in different settings such as in the medical field. But what was interesting was the sections on how to make our world accessible to all to allow for independence along with the outlook for the future.

I am a Special Education Teacher, and I loved this book!

The pictures and the language used made it very un-intimidating and child/ teen-friendly. I liked the definitions of disabilities, and how the book explained how they were different from each other. I enjoyed the diversity in the photos. They show that people with disabilities are present in every race and culture. I thought it was also very enlightening to include people with disabilities that are at the top of their game. I had no idea that Millie Bobby Brown was partially deaf, or that a deaf/blind woman graduated from Harvard Law! That's freaking awesome.

I am very much looking forward to this book coming out, so I can include it in my classroom. It will make my students with disabilities feel seen. It will also provide answers to the questions that my able-bodied students want to ask, but don't know how, or are concerned that will be impolite.

The Disability Experience
Working Toward Belonging
by Hannalora Leavitt, ills. Belle Wuthrich
Orca Book Publishers
Nonfiction (Adult) | Teens & YA
Pub Date 13 Apr 2021


I am reviewing a copy of The Disability Experience through Orca Book Publishers and Netgalley:


This beautifully written and illustrated book delves into the subject that is close to my heart, those with disabilities, and how the world often perceives those with disabilities in a negative light. But this book shares the positives.p, but first to some statistics, according to a 2017 update on the Canadian Surveys on Disabilities (CSD) produced by Employment and Social Development in Canada 3.8 millions Canadians over the aged fifteen or over live with are living with a disability.


The United States Census Bureau reported that 8.7 Percent of Americans sixty five or under were living with a disability, that’s approximately 29 million people, the survey covered the years 2013-2017. Generally these surveys measures serious issues with walking, climbing stairs, cognition, hearing as well things like difficulty with personal care, and independent living.



There are over 33 million people with Disabilities in North America, so why are we being marginalized?


It is important to note that most persons with disabilities have the same aspirations for their life as you do yours. We struggle to figure out where we fit in like everyone else does.


There are both visible disabilities, the disabilities we can see, and the invisible ones the ones we cannot see and often discount as not being real, or not mattering somehow. But defining a disability in medical terms alone can be misleading, because there are social implications that come with living with a disability.


Anyone can become disabled we are all vulnerable, a car accident, an illness, a fall the wrong way can change a life in an instant.


There are Congenital Disabilities which are often called Burt defects, generally caused by chromosomal defects, gene abnormalities and genetic factors interacting with the environment. A smaller percentage of this category can be linked to drug and alcohol abuse, or by infections.


Acquired disabilities are the ones whose onset occurs after birth. In this category head injuries, and spinal cord injuries are included.


Persons with disabilities are as different from one another as are able bodied people, but are often lumped together under the term disabled.


There are also intellectual disabilities as well as sensory disabilities, but they cannot be lumped into the same neat category. Both blindness and deafness are sensory disabilities. There are those that are both deaf and blind.


We as a society have come a long way in accepting those with disabilities in society in the lass couple of centuries, but we have a ways to go.


Disability Culture is a newer term that came about in the early 1980’s. This concept is used to give PWD’s a collective voice, therefore empowering them.


If you are looking for a highly readable and easily understandable book on the Disability, I recommend The Disability Experience. And if you are an educator, I’d recommend you read this book with your students, and discuss it so they can better understand.


I give The Disability Culture five out of five stars!


Happy Reading!

This book is one I feel everyone should read even if you know quite a bit about disabilities you definitely will know even more by the end of this book.I think though its more of a textbook/coffeebook that you can read more than once with a ton of resources and history when it comes to disabilities. There are also a ton of real life examples incorporated/facts that may not be common knowledge although more for the visually impaired than anything. There's also a lot of resources from Canada that are helpful for people there who may need them. The illustrations are wonderful addition to the book as well. Because of these points, I have to give this book a 4 out of 5 stars. Would definitely recommend but I can see why it wouldn't be for everyone.