Overview

Dale Borman Fink, the author of the only book on inclusion of youth with special needs in before and after school child care, now presents the first book to examine the experiences of children with disabilities participating in youth programs alongside their typical peers. This book is the product of Fink's quest to learn as much as possible about one community's experience with the inclusion of children with special needs in youth programs. Using a case study technique, he probes into the issues and dynamics that influence the increasing participation of kids with disabilities in such activities as Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, and park and recreation programs. Fink enters a Midwestern community of 14,000, which he calls Wabash, interviewing the parents, the professionals, the peers, the community leaders, and the volunteers about the participation of children with disabilities. How does a girl who relies on an augmentative communication device take part in a Brownie troop? What do other tee-ball players think about a teammate with cerebral palsy? Why does one family refuse to use the local drop-in recreation center? Readers will learn what practices are evolving and what opportunities are being overlooked. Fink makes his own biases and interpretations plain, and he shares part of his own biography along the way. But it is the voices and experiences of the people of Wabash, rather than those of the author, that invest this book with such power and such importance to all who are concerned with youth with special needs.

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Reviews

Making a Place for Kids Disabilities is an extraordinary combination of beautiful storytelling and perceptive research that education and recreation professionals need to read. It will stimulate their creativity, as well as help them confront resistances, in the service of full participation of all children with disabilities in the joys of friendships and play. This book also reminds us all to place a much greater priority on facilitating social interactions among all children of varying abilities. -Stanley D. Klein, Ph.D. Education Director, Abilities Expo Special Needs Expert at Parents.com Cofounder, Former Editor in Chief, Exceptional Parent Magazine The book illustrates over and over that focusing on children's abilities and not disabilities increases the likelihood that participation will be enjoyable and competency-enhancing. Making a Place for Kids With Disabilities makes a significant contribution to our understanding of full community participation. Dr. Fink is commended for his insightful work. -Carl J. Dunst, Ph.D. Research Scientist Orelena Hawks Pucket Institute Asheville NC ?The author, a well-respected authority on special needs and inclusion of children with disabilities, weaves a pattern from his own personal experiences and practice into the form of a qualitative case study from the fictionally named community of Wabash....This book is well written and highly recommended for undergraduate and graduate students in special education, recreation, and adaptive physical education, as well as for health care and education practitioners.?-Choice The author, a well-respected authority on special needs and inclusion of children with disabilities, weaves a pattern from his own personal experiences and practice into the form of a qualitative case study from the fictionally named community of Wabash....This book is well written and highly recommended for undergraduate and graduate students in special education, recreation, and adaptive physical education, as well as for health care and education practitioners. -Choice

Making a Place for Kids Disabilities is an extraordinary combination of beautiful storytelling and perceptive research that education and recreation professionals need to read. It will stimulate their creativity, as well as help them confront resistances, in the service of full participation of all children with disabilities in the joys of friendships and play. This book also reminds us all to place a much greater priority on facilitating social interactions among all children of varying abilities. -Stanley D. Klein, Ph.D. Education Director, Abilities Expo Special Needs Expert at Parents.com Cofounder, Former Editor in Chief, Exceptional Parent Magazine

Author Information

DALE BORMAN FINK is a freelance consultant, author, and researcher. Dr. Fink is recognized as one of the nation's leading authorities on the inclusion of children with disabilities in after school child care programs. His book, School-Age Children With Special Needs: What Do They Do When School Is Out?, is the key source on this topic. He has been a featured speaker at conferences across the United States as well as in Canada and Australia.

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