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Home-schooled children of the Hoover community participate in Come Roll with Me, a program exposing youth to those with disabilities in hopes of preventing misunderstanding. (Kamp Fender)
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Naomi McGill has trouble exiting an elevator at the Hoover Public Library during Come Roll with Me, a program exposing youth to those with disabilities in hopes of preventing misunderstanding. (Kamp Fender)
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UAB Physical Therapist Cathy Carver shows Savannah Williams how to use her chair during Come Roll with Me, a program exposing youth to those with disabilities in hopes of preventing misunderstanding. (Kamp Fender)
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Josh and Kristen Whitmire tell their story as participants in Come Roll with Me, a program exposing youth to those with disabilities in hopes of preventing misunderstanding. (Kamp Fender)
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Lillian Hays learns to use her chair during Come Roll with Me, a program exposing youth to those with disabilities in hopes of preventing misunderstanding. (Kamp Fender)
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Naomi McGill gets situated in her chair during Come Roll with Me, a program exposing youth to those with disabilities in hopes of preventing misunderstanding. (Kamp Fender)
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John Whitten Hays reaches for a book as he participates in Come Roll with Me, a program exposing youth to those with disabilities in hopes of preventing misunderstanding. (Kamp Fender)
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John Whitten Hays reaches for a book as he participates in Come Roll with Me, a program exposing youth to those with disabilities in hopes of preventing misunderstanding. (Kamp Fender)
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Josh and Kristen Whitmire share their story as participants in Come Roll with Me, a program exposing youth to those with disabilities in hopes of preventing misunderstanding. (Kamp Fender)
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Brantley Williams exits the elevator in reverse as she participates in Come Roll with Me, a program exposing youth to those with disabilities in hopes of preventing misunderstanding. (Kamp Fender)
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Naomi McGill and her family attempt to return books as they participate in Come Roll with Me, a program exposing youth to those with disabilities in hopes of preventing misunderstanding. (Kamp Fender)
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Naomi McGill rolls to check out some books as she participates in Come Roll with Me, a program exposing youth to those with disabilities in hopes of preventing misunderstanding. (Kamp Fender)
Once a month at the Hoover Public Library, UAB Physical Therapist Cathy Carver coordinates an event exposing able-bodied children in the Hoover community to disabled adults.
Her program, Come Roll with Me, attempts to remove the stigma and fear associated to the interaction with those bound to a wheelchair. During the three-hour program, children and their families are given a chair and access to the library to perform everyday activities such as removing a book from a high shelf, using the restroom and navigating a local restaurant where they are allowed to freely ask questions about disabled life to a willing participant.
Carver said that her program has touched more than a hundred local lives in the last two years and that the children, typically ages 5 to 15, begin with a full head of steam before quickly empathizing. She hopes that this exposure at a young age will deter any future misunderstanding.
For more information, go to the library's website at hooverlibrary.org.
