Thank you for penning this post. It is an issue that is often skirted around or completely ignored. I have taught children with disabilities for many years as well as spent two years as a hearing person living within the deaf community. My two years at Gallaudet were incredibly insightful. It was there that I learned a lot about the fact that for many Deaf people they did not wish for a *cure* but were quite happy with their lives. Anyway, I learned a ton from that experience. Books need to portray people who are differently abled in a positive manner. Just as we need to positively reflect children of color in stories. Most children want to find a way to connect or relate with a main character. How cool when we see ourselves in that character. Imagine how sad it is when every book you read has no one that looks like you? Or in the case of a disability - is fully-abled. And imagine how cool it is for a child to finally connect with a main character for the first time because an author chose to reach beyond that which is easy to write.

Thanks for sharing...and the comments have been great to read as well.