This Master's thesis, Children with special needs as a topic of the Series of works titled Ljubezni je dovolj za vse /There is enough love for everybody/ by the writer Helena Kraljič explores picturebooks addressing children with disabilities. The topic is rarely discussed or included in the lessons, and the use of such picture books helps to accept differences, including children with special needs who are among us every day.
The theoretical section outlines the concept of youth literature and picture books based on the theories of authors Dragica Haramija and Janja Batič, and Marjana Kobe and Igor Saksida - at the same time it also defines the concept of crossover picture books. The second part of the theoretical section delves into children with special needs and offers an in depth description of epilepsy, dyslexia, Down syndrome, autism, asthma and diabetes. At the same time, it also evaluates how legislation defines children with disabilities (education, adjustments, and gadgets).
The first part of the empirical section analyses six picturebooks (Larina skrivnost; Imam disleksijo; Imam downov sindrom; Žan je drugačen; Elvis in Tara morata stran; Miha in Maja, otroka s sladkorno boleznijo) on the basis of the presented theories. The aim is to explore how the topic of children with special needs is integrated into youth literature and eventually to compare the works in the final part. The second part of the empirical section features an interview with a child with diabetes. The purpose is to find out the child's attitude towards picture books that deal with a topic similar to their illness, and to evaluate their interpretation.
|
