Diana Pastora Carson:
Hi there. Thank you so much for joining me today. Before we get started with our amazing guest, I wanna tell you about a brand new disability awareness educators guide that I am so excited to announce. It's published through National Professional Resources Inc. And it's a trifold laminated Beyond Disability Awareness: An Educators Guide that really takes everything that you will find in my books and on the podcast, and just gives you...It's kind of like Cliff's Notes of disability awareness in a way that's respectful and founded in research and a social justice lens. So if you're interested in checking it out, you can go to DianaPastoraCarson.com/store, and you'll find a link there. Now, let's get started.
Diana Pastora Carson:
Welcome to the Beyond Awareness: Disability Awareness That Matters podcast. Here you will find a safe space to learn and grow with leaders in education, disability studies, disability advocacy, and diversity, equity and inclusion conversations. Specifically, we look at how disability fits into diversity, equity, and inclusion, and how to frame disability awareness in the context of educating K through 12 communities. This podcast serves educators, parents and community members who strive to learn and or teach about disability in a research-based and respectful way, moving beyond simple awareness and diving into inclusive and socially responsive conversations. Thank you for joining us today. Now let's go beyond awareness.
Diana Pastora Carson :
Hello everyone, and welcome back to Beyond Awareness: Disability Awareness That Matters. I am so honored to have our guest here today, Richard Rieman of Imagination Storybooks. Welcome, Richard.
Richard Rieman:
Thank you, Diana. Great to be here.
Diana Pastora Carson:
So let's start with you just telling us a little bit about yourself and about Imagination Storybooks and the journey you took to get to the point that you're at.
Richard Rieman:
Sure. well, growing up I wanted to be Superman, but I couldn't fly. So I decided to be, I decided to be Clark Kent instead and began a long career in radio news as an anchor and correspondent which led me to storytelling in front of microphones to narrate audiobooks which led me to my current project, which is Imagination Storybooks, making children's illustrated books accessible to blind, deaf and neurodiverse children. Because once they're chapter books, all children can listen to them. But there are very, very few, almost none of the illustrated picture books that are made accessible by adding audio description of the pictures for blind children and sign language and captions for deaf children.
Diana Pastora Carson:
Well, how did you even think about that? So many of us do not even recognize that that is a barrier to a lot of students, a lot of children.
Richard Rieman:
Well, actually it began with my late wife Nancy, who was a special education teacher. And she, you know, reminded me all the time when I'm doing these audiobooks of the inaccessibility of these books to blind children because they can't see the wonderful pictures. And that's how we really started out. When she passed, she created the Nancy Hinde Giving Fund, and that's what funded the nonprofit and got us started. She was, you know, so happy that we were gonna help the over 5 million children with special needs in the US between the ages of three and eight, who desperately need access to these illustrated audio and video books.
Diana Pastora Carson:
What a joyous and what an amazing contribution that her passion for these students has for these children has made. And so you've carried that on. What, so what did you do? How did, I mean, you have quite an operation, so tell us how that came about.
Richard Rieman:
Well to found a nonprofit isyou know, is , anybody who's done it knows it's it's a tough journey, especially when you're trying to do it at a time of covid. So it took a while to get us going, but we actually have been in business just over two years now and have produced over 150 audio and video books that are accessible to children. And, you know, we are mainly volunteers. All of our narrators, with the exception of a few who are blind or low vision themselves, are volunteers. Some of the top narrators in the country, because I've been an audiobook narrator for many, many years, have volunteered their voices to narrate these children's books because they're usually 10 to 15 minutes long. So it's not a huge investment of their time, but they've been very generous and it makes it sound so professional to have these truly professional voices. And then we, we have vendors who do our audio editing, our video editing our audio description writing. We have writers who actually work for Netflix and HBO and live theater who write audio description, and they love our projects because they don't have the time constraints they have when they do audio description for a TV show. They have to put it in in between the dialogue. The quick descriptions, well, with this, with these children's illustrated books, we can give them time to richly describe what these pictures are all about.
Diana Pastora Carson:
So you mentioned that you have video books and audio books. So can you, for our listeners, just tell us the main distinctions between the two types of storybooks that you offer?
Richard Rieman:
Yes. We we started out with the concept of doing audiobooks for blind children. And we quickly learned when you talk about blind children 85% of them are not totally blind. They have some vision. So if you do a video for them showing the pictures from the book and describe it and tell the story, they can follow it because they can see as much as they can see, and it's a good experience for them. And then we found out from the deaf community thatespecially special ed teachers, that there are so few books and resources available to them with the sign language in the video and the captions. So deaf children can see the book being signed, and they can see the words and also the picture of the illustration. So it's good for deaf children. And then the third thing we found was that Neurodiverse children, autistic children, dyslexic children those who have some challenges with the way they learnthey can follow our videos because instead of fast animation going by and, and lots of music and noise and it is simply one picture being described, the story being told, and then the next picture being described and the story being told, and it's easier for them to follow.
Diana Pastora Carson:
Wonderful. I was wanting to be able to provide listeners with a comparison of a regular reading of a book versus an accessible audio reading that Imagination Storybooks offers. As I was browsing your website, I found that you already have a comparison video, and so would it be okay if we go ahead and take a quick listen?
Richard Rieman:
Sure. So here's an example of before and after we add accessibility, just someone who's reading the story very well, and then what happens when we are able to add what we do.
Richard Rieman:
Here's an example of before one page taken from, If I Were Your Angel narrated by Michelle Maraz as a simple read along,
Female Voice Actor Reads:
If I were your angel, I'd use my harp to strum you notes both flat and sharp. Fill your ears with joyful song so you can clap and sing along.
Richard Rieman:
Now, here's the after we add audio description of the pictures for blind children captions and simultaneous American sign language interpretation for deaf children, the after is a different experience.
Female Voice Actor Reads:
If I were your angel, I'd use my harp to strum notes both flat and sharp. Fill your ears with joyful song so you can clap and sing along.
Male Voice Announcer Describes Scenery:
Birds soar above pink tinged clouds music staffs with notes on them float like ribbons in the sky seated on a fluffy cloud. A girl reaches out to a bird as it flies past through the blue expanse chasing a stray note.
Diana Pastora Carson:
Wow. Wow. What a beautiful, fun, multidimensional, accessible way to read a book.
Richard Rieman:
It is a truly different experience of how a book is delivered. Because I've had many of the authors tell me they didn't even see some of the things in their own illustrations until it was described to them. They didn't know that, you know, that the little bird was there, or, you know, they, that there was a, you know two aliens playing golf on the moon in the background . So we really we really try to make it and I use the word rich a richer experience because you can, you really get into the pictures being described and of course, the addition of the sign language for children just learning sign language, there are not a lot of things for them at the children's illustrated book level. So there are some YouTube videos, but the quality will vary. Certainlypeople try, but this is the professional production way of doing it.
Diana Pastora Carson:
Mm. You know, when I talk about disability awareness with teachers and families, I, I say, you know, it's not about disability awareness, it's about access awareness. And that's what you are doing at Imagination Story Books, is you are committed to ensuring that all children have access to the richness and, and all the value there is in literature, children's literature. And you mentioned, you know, that the a s l interpretation for, for those who are listening right now, you can't see the screen, but Richard and I are on screen and you shared your, your video, your screen, and it's, it's an actual video of the book and the pages. You can see it, and there is a sign language interpreter on the screen signing so that the, the book is accessible to a deaf or hard of hearing child as well.
Richard Rieman:
Yes. And Diana, there is something that is also critically important for the blind children. The National Federation of the Blind in their latest study says 90% of blind children are not learning braille.
Richard Rieman:
They are being mainstreamed into schools and their IEPs and, and special ed programs are supposed to help them. Well, you know, so they don't actually get to read these books in braille anymore. And certainly most of the children's picture books in braille don't have descriptions of the pictures. It's just the story. So we are trying to fill that gap for all of the blind and low vision children who are not learning braille or don't have access to braille files. We are also providing a downloadable braille file of every book that we do for those parents and teachers who want to print out a copy of the book with audio description for their blind children who know braille.
Diana Pastora Carson:
Oh, that is fantastic. Thank you for doing that. Wow. And I really had never thought of that. So thank you also for pointing that out, that, you know, you're filling in a gap that is so missing that just,
Richard Rieman:
Well, and just, just like curb cuts were created for wheelchairs and now everyone uses them for bicycles and strollers and ramps created for disabled people. We are creating these audiobooks with audio description of the pictures that can be used by all children. And we've created a storybooks club you can join to get access to all of these books in audio, in video, and in podcast format.
Diana Pastora Carson:
Have you encountered any barriers in getting buy-in from the community or spreading the word?
Richard Rieman:
Well, no problems at all with reaching the blind and deaf communities themselves, and even the Neurodiverse community. Where the trouble comes in is the publishing community. Publishers book publishers are reluctant to make their children's picture books accessible because number one, they don't think they'll make enough money, the audience won't be big enough for it. And number two, they say they have to redo their agreements with their authors because they don't allow them to do an accessible version of the book. So, you know, we have an advisor who used to work at Scholastic for 20 years, and she said, well, you know, you're trying to appeal to the publisher's hearts, and they don't have anyThey have pocket books, so we have to make it worth their, while even buy the rights to these books, raise enough money to be able to purchase the right to a book to make it accessible. And that's what we're also trying to do right now.
Diana Pastora Carson:
Wow. Thank you.
Diana Pastora Carson:
School Bell Rings indicating ad break: Do you have a burning desire to have a more equitable and inclusive school culture? Are you a person who understands the importance of diversity, equity, and inclusion work in schools, but when it comes to disability, you're just not sure you know the right things to say and do. Maybe you're a special education teacher or a general education teacher, a specialist or an administrator, and you may know a lot about disabilities, but not necessarily about the experience of being disabled by society. You're interested in disability awareness that will actually make a difference, but you feel stuck. Maybe you're still experiencing a lack of guidance and lack of research-based disability awareness materials or strategies. Maybe you're seeing segregation on your campus and a lack of belonging for all students. Maybe you feel frustrated due to resistance to inclusion, and you're afraid that you're not qualified to lead the charge for disability inclusion in your d e I work.
Diana Pastora Carson:
You know, there's gotta be a better way, but you're not sure what it is. If this is you, then I have a couple things that might be helpful to you. First off, I invite you to take advantage of my free resource called The Five Keys to Going Beyond Awareness. All you have to do is go to gobeyondawareness.com/keys, and I'll send you my important tips for starting your journey toward a more inclusive school culture. And if you've already started the Journey and are wanting more to keep you grounded and moving forward in disability awareness that is based in dignity, respect, and research, then head over to gobeyondawareness.com and sign up for my Compact Digital Beyond Awareness Course filled with valuable information and resources. In it, you'll learn the foundations of disability awareness strategies that align with research so you can feel confident in your diversity, equity, access, inclusion, belonging, and disability awareness endeavors. Again, just head on over to gobeyondawareness.com. (School Bell rings indicating end of ad.)
Diana Pastora Carson:
What do you think the benefit of Imagination Storybooks will be in the lives of children who are blind and deaf, neurodiverse and other children? Why is this so important?
Richard Rieman:
Because it's a critical time in a child's educational development. The ages, we're talking about three to eight, they need to be exposed to the children's story books we heard when we were growing up. We just did an accessible version of Winnie the Pooh. Well, our blind audio editor said that that's the first time he's heard really good descriptions of what Winnie the Pooh looks like, Eyore, and Owl, and all the other characters. And we're also doing the Accessible Wizard of Oz. And, you know, they don't describe the Cowardly Lion in the movie. He's, you know, he's just there and, and he's a lion. But, you know, of course there's much more to how he looks. And so that's why we see the importance of adding audio description of the pictures for both the audio versions and video versions.
Richard Rieman:
We, you know, we're, we're really out to make sure that there are more special education materials available for the teachers, and we actually make most of our videos free to Teachers of the Blind and Deaf through our partnership with the Described and Captioned Media Program, dcmp.org, they offer free videos of our books and much more to teachers of the Blind or deaf or Parents of the Blind or deaf. You just have to register for access to them. And they're just a wonderful [email protected]. And there are our close partners in this project.
Diana Pastora Carson:
Thank you. Do you have any new projects that you wanna share with listeners?
Richard Rieman:
Well, I briefly mentioned the Storybooks Club, and we're very proud of that because on our website ImaginationStorybooks.orgwe now have the ability for anyone to join our club. It's $9.99 a month or $99 a year, and get access to these accessible video books, our podcasts, our audio versions. We actually do three different versions of every book. One with sign language, one without, and then the audio version. And this is the way we're hoping to reach many, many more parents and children. We have an option that's interesting on our website. We are loading up the text of the stories where you can translate it into 100 different languages. Just by clicking on a button, you will get the Spanish version, the French version, the Chinese, Russian you name it, Ukrainian version of, of the stories with audio description, the text of it. So that is something else we're offering in this storybooks club.
Diana Pastora Carson:
Wow, that's extraordinary. Richard Rieman, thank you so much for the work that you do. Thank you for being with us today.
Richard Rieman:
Thank you so much, Diana, and thank you for all that you do.
Diana Pastora Carson:
Thank you for tuning in to this episode of Beyond Awareness Disability Awareness That Matters. Be sure to subscribe, rate and review this show on Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, or Spotify. You can also follow me, Diana, on Instagram at Diana Pastora Carson and at facebook.com/go Beyond Awareness. Or go to my website for more information at www.dianapastoracarson.com. Links to my books and resources can be found at dianapastoracarson.com/store. For your free Beyond awareness resource called How to Talk About Disability With Kids, simply go to gobeyondawareness.com/talk. Podcast transcription and podcast guest information can be found in the show notes. Intro and outro music provided courtesy of my son, Emmanuel Castro. Thank you again. Be well, be a lifelong learner and let's be inclusive. See you next time.
