Thinking Globally Acting Locally: A Personal Journey

Abstract

Reviews the book, Thinking Globally Acting Locally: A Personal Journey by Peter Mittler (2010). Mittler's autobiography helps to provide some of the history of the enormous change that took place in learning disability in the latter part of the twentieth century. Seen through the prism of the knowledge of what subsequently happened to Jewish people, Peter’s reflections of being a child trying desperately to understand elements of the adult world around him is truly breathtaking. The book is designed to support inclusive storytelling. The section on recruiting students makes it clear that the program is not suitable for people who communicate mainly using face, vocalizations, body movement. However, based on our own experience the materials can be easily adapted for use with groups where there are mixed levels of support need. The DVD is particularly useful for highlighting the development of specific skills within games and activities. The resource helps people running interactive storytelling sessions to focus on enabling people with learning difficulties to generate and lead as well as respond. This authoritative and comprehensive resource will be of value to those interested in the development of storytelling groups across a range of settings. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)