By Silvana Veinberg | Institutional development
Bridging the gap: 21 years of making literature accessible to deaf children
Bringing literature to deaf children is no small challenge. For over two decades, Canales has been pioneering innovative strategies to ensure that deaf children have the same opportunities as their hearing peers. Through sign language videobooks (www.videolibros.org), storytelling contests, literary festivals, teacher guides, and student textbooks, we’ve been breaking down barriers and opening doors to the world of words.
At Canales, we are a diverse team of deaf and hearing professionals—including deaf advocates, sign language interpreters, teachers, linguists, child literature specialists, and families of deaf children—working together to create meaningful access to literacy. Our projects are designed by and for the deaf community, ensuring authenticity and impact.
Today, we’re scaling our efforts to empower even more key players: teachers and librarians. In partnership with Argentina’s Ministry of Culture, we launched: "Other Ways of Reading" (Otras Formas de Leer), “Accessible libraries”(Bibliotecas Accesibles) and“The Reader's Path in Argentine Sign Language” (El camino del lector en Lengua de Señas Argentina)three virtual training programs that had already reached 882 participants nationwide.
This initiative equips educators with tools to understand the unique challenges deaf children face in accessing literature. We encourage them to develop strategies to engage deaf readers through Argentine Sign Language (LSA), their first language in order to create inclusive, visually rich reading experiences that foster a lifelong love of books.
The more people who champion accessible literature, the more deaf children can discover the worlds hidden within books.
Why this matters?
Without access to literature in their native language, deaf children are excluded from the stories that shape imagination, knowledge, and connection. By promoting bilingual literacy (LSA and written Spanish), we’re not just teaching children to read—we’re giving them the keys to culture, identity, and opportunity.
Together, we can rewrite the narrative ensuring no child is left out of the story.
Join us on this journey!
Links:
Project reports on GlobalGiving are posted directly to globalgiving.org by Project Leaders as they are completed, generally every 3-4 months. To protect the integrity of these documents, GlobalGiving does not alter them; therefore you may find some language or formatting issues.
If you donate to this project or have donated to this project, you can receive an email when this project posts a report. You can also subscribe for reports without donating.
Support this important cause by creating a personalized fundraising page.
Start a Fundraiser
