8vik

Happy Ever Afters - disability awareness in children's storybooks - based on the book Happy Ever Afters.

DICSEY Example - an easy reader

Celebrate the International Day of Disabled People

with a story about a very unusual Viking!

Viking in Trouble written by Jeremy Strong and illustrated by John Levers

1992 A&C Black (Publishers) Ltd. ISBN 0-7136-3577-0

Siggy the Viking finds himself transported from 900 AD to the 20th Century. He lives and works in a hotel to earn his keep and plans to marry, but he runs into trouble with the Law as he gets used to a new language and different ways of doing things.

This story clearly relates a fictional situation but it also happens to describe what sometimes occurs in real life when people who have learning difficulties or mental health problems are caught up in the legal system. It is an example of very many children's stories in which common myths about mental health problems are unintentionally perpetuated, mainly through dialogue. The story includes DICSEY elements Disability, Society and Enable.

If needed, a quick link to 'An Introduction to the DICSEY Code' is here.

Siggy has to learn about how we live.

Question: How do we learn? Answer: Most of us learn about living in our communities from other people as we grow up, or we can learn about new things fairly easily by ourselves. People who have learning difficulties find it's hard to talk with and learn from other people. Learning new skills takes more time. This disables them in comparison to people who learn more easily. Question: Why could Siggy serve at table but not cut a hedge? Answer: He already knew how to serve, but had never cut a hedge before, and Mr. Ellis only assumed Siggy knew what was wanted. Siggy needed to be told exactly what to do and given time to practise to enable him to do a new job.

Siggy is called a maniac who should be in jail.

Question: What does maniac mean? Answer: It is a casual, slang word meaning 'someone whose behaviour is unpredictable and threatening'. More accurately it means 'someone who has a particular form of mental illness', for which high quality community support and medical help is more appropriate than jail. Jail is for criminals, not people who are ill, but many people with mental health problems are in prison. This can make their illness even worse. Question: Are people who have mental health problems often violent? Answer: No. There are many different types of mental illness. Violence is rare and usually occurs only when the person who is ill has not received sufficient skilled support. This support should be provided by society until the person recovers completely.

Question: Are people who have mental health problems disabled? Answer: All illness causes temporary disability but most people recover fully from mental illnesses, so they are not usually permanently disabled by illness itself. However, many people who have recovered from mental health problems still experience discrimination through the ignorance of other people. This can lead to difficulty in getting jobs, keeping their homes and good relationships etc, so in social terms, some people are disabled for a long time.

Words influence how we think about and react to people.

Question: How many words in the text describe 'someone acting strangely'? Do they convey respect and understanding of people who have learning difficulties and mental health problems? Answer: The words are: daft, oaf, idiot, numbskull, peabrain, noodlebonce, dopey, madcap, 'such a child', fusspot, nutter, mad, maniac, madman, berserk, raving, bonkers.

Let children enjoy the story but above all, help them to understand it!

International Day of Disabled Persons information

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