Celebrating Inclusion of Children with Disabilities by Sharing Their Stories
Kaitlyn's Interview
Kaitlyn’s Interview Page
We weren’t able to interview Kaitlyn so we will share some fun information about making her book.
Kaitlyn was six years old and in 1st grade when we wrote her story. She loved water and cooking. We talked to her parents about writing a story about swimming or making breakfast. But then we discovered their family loved to go to the zoo and Kaitlyn always wanted to see the ducks. We decided that would be the most fun story to share.
It took five trips to the zoo with Kaitlyn and her family to get all the photographs we needed for her book. Each time everyone had to dress exactly the same way and have their hair exactly the same way. That was very tricky!
Our photographer, Mary, took over 600 photos to get the 58 we used in the book. She had to catch Kaitlyn, her family, and all the animals in the right light and position for the story.
Kaitlyn has Down syndrome. She is a slower learner than other students and doesn’t communicate as well. She did always say, ‘Let’s see ducks.” She also knew sign language so all her family used it. You can see some of their signs in her story.
Learn more about Down syndrome
Learn more about sign language
Learn about sensory inclusion at a zoo
