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Ability Guidebooks

Ability Guidebooks are step-by-step books to help people with autism visit places in their home city.

For many people with autism there is anxiety when they have to go somewhere new. An Ability Guidebook shows them what to expect and teachers the steps to be successful. A typical book is "I Am Going To Senate Square!" and it shows every step needed to successfully visit this important cultural spot.

Shortlisted

Overview

HundrED shortlisted this innovation

HundrED has shortlisted this innovation to one of its innovation collections. The information on this page has been checked by HundrED.

Web presence

2013

Established

103

Children

39

Countries
Target group
All
Updated
March 2023

About the innovation

I began making Ability Guidebooks for my own students in Portland, Oregon. Now they are helping students in 40 countries!

Part of my program in Portland was to take my students with autism out into the community on a daily basis. Some of them had terrible anxiety about new places so I began to make books about our outings. I would go to the destination the week before, take pictures and write a picture book about how to visit.

It was incredibly successful and a few years later when I was named Oregon Teacher of the Year and an National Education Association Foundation Global Fellow I was able to make more books as I traveled as part of those awards.

There are now over 160 books for 40 countries and on every continent but Antarctica! I am always looking for people to help translate books! There are currently books in English, Italian, French, Spanish, Greek and German with a book in Latvian on its way! There are several books for Helsinki. It would be great to find a classroom or teacher who could translate a book!

Implementation steps

An Ability Guidebook on how to make an Ability Guidebook!

This is a how-to guide on how you to make an Ability Guidebook. If you want to make one for your community, let me know and I can help with formatting! Go here: http://www.mrbsclassroom.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/How-To-Make-An-Ability-Guidebook-4.pdf

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