Cartoons about disability will educate children

The Northeast ADA Center, in collaboration with the ILR School’s Yang-Tang Institute, is developing a 10-episode cartoon series that teaches children, their families and educators about disability issues such as assistive technology, transportation, communication and service animals.

“That age range is a good place to help children understand how their peers do things differently,” said Joe Zesski, program manager at the Northeast ADA and a project leader.

Zesski and Peter Quinn, Yang-Tan Institute multimedia editor, said they were inspired by the importance of integrating people with disabilities into community life and by the popularity of service animals. One in four U.S. households includes one or more persons with a disability, according to the 2019 American Community Survey.

As part of a five-year, $5.5 million grant from the National Institute on Independent Living and Rehabilitation Research to operate the Northeast ADA Center, the two hope to develop multiple video series and curricula over several years. They plan to release the first 10 videos by the end of August and a series of 10 videos per year for the following three years.