Fun and DisAbility Friendly Christmas Present Suggestion

It can be difficult choosing the right present for anyone. So try choosing a present that can be enjoyed by a person who can’t see, so can’t watch TV or movies, and has to have books read to them because they can’t use their hands. The obvious answer would be music, right? That’s what I first thought of when considering a birthday present for a severely DisAbled friend.

Then my mum suggested an audiobook. An ordinary book, that’s also available on paper, read out, often word-for-word, on CD. Now, we’ve all heard of short story tapes for children, or those tapes that come with books of times tables or spellings. Reader’s Digest does a ‘talking book’ edition for those who can’t see to read it on paper. But I’ve never seen audiobooks in a bookshop before, so I had no idea that all kinds of paper books have now been recorded and are available to buy! What a great idea! I thought. Now, at last, my friend and all others in similar situations can access any book in the shops, without anyone having to read to them for hours at a time, and without feeling guilty that they are taking up other people’s time. For people who can’t access a book on paper for any reason, the audiobook has opened up worlds they might never have had access to without it. Hours of guilt-free, stress-free fun for those who really don’t get enough of it. A brilliant, DisAbility friendly invention. Personally, I wish audiobooks had been invented with the audio cassette, so that my friends could have accessed books all their lives. My Christmas present problems are solved forever…

But I do have one final thing to say, before anyone gets  the wrong idea. I realise that audiobooks won’t work for everyone, especially those who can’t hear.  And for myself, I can hear, but I prefer to read books on paper, since it’s possible. But everything can’t help everyone. After all, if we could and did all use audiobooks, who would ever read the good old-fashioned paperback any more? And if no one read printed books, writers couldn’t rightly be called writers any more, could they? But that  just opens up a whole new  can of worms!