Absurdities and Realities of Special Education
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Absurdities and Realities of Special Education: The University of Vermont Center for Digital Initiatives Collection is a complete set of all of the cartoons created by Michael Giangreco with the assistance of the artist Kevin Ruelle. This includes...
Show moreAbsurdities and Realities of Special Education: The University of Vermont Center for Digital Initiatives Collection is a complete set of all of the cartoons created by Michael Giangreco with the assistance of the artist Kevin Ruelle. This includes a total of 335 cartoons from four previously published books and searchable CD that went "out of print" in 2019 and a few newer cartoons. Michael Giangreco created the original ideas, text, and sketches for each cartoon and Kevin Ruelle redrew the sketches.
The cartoons in the first three books all were originally in black and white. That was a conscious decision, both for aesthetic and practical reasons. The cartoons were designed to be easily copied on to overhead transparencies for display in classes, workshops, and other learning environments. A group called Alliance for Inclusive Education (ALLFIE) requested permission to use one of the cartoons on the cover of their magazine and subsequently colorized it. Prompted by Giangreco’s colleagues associated with ALLFIE, Giangreco and Ruelle began to colorize the rest of the images. In this complete digital collection, we have included a total of 335 different digital images; including the 315 different cartoons from the four earlier books, 12 cartoons that were on the CD only, and eight that were not included in any of the previously published books or CD.
Cartoons from the early books have found their way on to the pages of many newsletters disseminated by schools, parent groups, disability advocacy organizations, and professional associations. They have appeared in books, manuals, and journals; a few were even published in a law journal. The cartoons have been used extensively as projected slides or within learning activities in college classes, at conferences, in workshops, and at other meetings. Parents have framed cartoons that closely reflected their own experiences and hung them in their homes or offices. Other parents have used them in meetings with professionals to help get their points across. They have been given as gifts to people who "get it" and handed out as door prizes. The Vermont Coalition for Disability Rights used them as part of "Disability Awareness Day" at the Vermont legislature. The cartoons can be used in innumerable creative ways.
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- Title
- Crystal Ball
- Date Created
- 1999
- Description
-
The cartoon shows a Gypsy wearing a turban looking into a crystal ball. The Gypsy says "I see two sessions of PT, OT, and Speech Therapy weekly." The tag line reads, "The district's experimental method for determining related services works just as well as making those decisions before knowing...
Show moreThe cartoon shows a Gypsy wearing a turban looking into a crystal ball. The Gypsy says "I see two sessions of PT, OT, and Speech Therapy weekly." The tag line reads, "The district's experimental method for determining related services works just as well as making those decisions before knowing student's IEP goals and other learning outcomes."
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- Title
- Dart Board
- Date Created
- 1999
- Description
-
The cartoon shows two men in front of a dart board. On the dart board there are 6 sections, there are pieces of paper tacked in each section. The papers say in clockwise order, River Rd, Central High, West Middle, Grand Ave, Main Street, and East Middle The Man in the lower left corner of the...
Show moreThe cartoon shows two men in front of a dart board. On the dart board there are 6 sections, there are pieces of paper tacked in each section. The papers say in clockwise order, River Rd, Central High, West Middle, Grand Ave, Main Street, and East Middle The Man in the lower left corner of the panel reads from a list in his hand and says, "Next is April Baker, occupational therapist. Where will we assign her next year?" The man in the lower right corner has a blindfold on and is holding a dart in his right hand ready to throw it at the dart board. He says, "Let's find out!" The tag line reads "Parents finally discover why their children seem to have new support staff every year."
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- Title
- Dieting
- Date Created
- 1999
- Description
-
The cartoon shows a man in a wheelchair and a woman with crutches talking on a corner at an intersection next to a street sign. One sign says "Diet Lane" and the other sign says "Rehab Way." The woman says to the man, "I tell all my friends with disabilities, "Never get therapy from a P.T. on a...
Show moreThe cartoon shows a man in a wheelchair and a woman with crutches talking on a corner at an intersection next to a street sign. One sign says "Diet Lane" and the other sign says "Rehab Way." The woman says to the man, "I tell all my friends with disabilities, "Never get therapy from a P.T. on a diet." The man replies, "You're right! If she doesn't like her own body, she sure won't like ours!" The tag lines reads "The intersection where dieting and rehabilitation meet."
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- Title
- Difference Between Disciplines
- Date Created
- 1999
- Description
-
The cartoon shows a room with two men playing with balls. One man is playing with large balls and one man is looking at smaller balls. In the foreground of the panel are two educators, a woman and a man. The woman says to the man, "Tell me again, what is the difference between P.T.s and O.T.s?...
Show moreThe cartoon shows a room with two men playing with balls. One man is playing with large balls and one man is looking at smaller balls. In the foreground of the panel are two educators, a woman and a man. The woman says to the man, "Tell me again, what is the difference between P.T.s and O.T.s? The man says "P.T.s have bigger balls." The tag line reads "Sylvia continually struggles to understand the differences between the disciplines."
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- Title
- I Wanna Be a Psychologist
- Date Created
- 1999
- Description
-
This cartoon is two panels. In the top panel the teacher is facing a boy sitting at a desk with his hand up. The teacher says, "So Jimmy, what do you want to be when you grow up?" Jimmy says, "I wanna be a Psychologist." In the bottom panel the teacher is looking confused and says, "That is...
Show moreThis cartoon is two panels. In the top panel the teacher is facing a boy sitting at a desk with his hand up. The teacher says, "So Jimmy, what do you want to be when you grow up?" Jimmy says, "I wanna be a Psychologist." In the bottom panel the teacher is looking confused and says, "That is interesting. Can you tell me what a Psychologist does?" Jimmy is sitting at the desk with a thought bubble above his head with a dinosaur skeleton in it and says, "Sure! They put dinosaur bones together!" The tag line reads "Confusion regarding "ists" and ologists" starts at an early age."
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- Title
- Making you Talk
- Date Created
- 1999
- Description
-
The cartoon shows a yellow door with a sign on it that reads "Speech/Language Pathology Office." Through the window in the door you can see three people. One man sitting at a desk across from a boy, who looks scared, and a woman, who looks angry, standing shining a light on the boy. The tag line...
Show moreThe cartoon shows a yellow door with a sign on it that reads "Speech/Language Pathology Office." Through the window in the door you can see three people. One man sitting at a desk across from a boy, who looks scared, and a woman, who looks angry, standing shining a light on the boy. The tag line reads "We have ways of making you talk!"
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- Title
- Remodeling
- Date Created
- 1999
- Description
-
The cartoon shows six men all doing different tasks trying to remodel a bathroom and all of them are getting in each others way and making a mess of things. The tag line reads, "If we remodeled bathrooms the way we delivered support services using a specialist-reliant model..."
- Title
- School Psychologists
- Date Created
- 1999
- Description
-
The cartoon shows a table with testing kits and fire extinguishers. Two women are in the panel and one person outside the panel says, "Hurry up! We've got a problem!" One woman rushes toward the voice carrying a fire extinguisher and testing kit saying, "I'm coming!" The women near the table...
Show moreThe cartoon shows a table with testing kits and fire extinguishers. Two women are in the panel and one person outside the panel says, "Hurry up! We've got a problem!" One woman rushes toward the voice carrying a fire extinguisher and testing kit saying, "I'm coming!" The women near the table calls out, "Next!" The tag line reads "All of the district's school psychologists are supplied with equipment to carry out their two most common functions."
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- Title
- Sex Therapy
- Date Created
- 2007
- Description
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This cartoon has two panels stacked vertically. The top panel shows a man a woman talking to each other and the woman hold a phallic shaped object in her hand. The man asks, "What is that thing?" The woman replies, "This is a battery operated vibrator. I use it in therapy to provide sensory...
Show moreThis cartoon has two panels stacked vertically. The top panel shows a man a woman talking to each other and the woman hold a phallic shaped object in her hand. The man asks, "What is that thing?" The woman replies, "This is a battery operated vibrator. I use it in therapy to provide sensory stimulation." In the second panel with the same images the man says, "I didn't know sex therapy was a related service." The woman replies, "It's not. I'm talking about occupational therapy." The tag line under the cartoon reads, "Fred continually struggles to understand the relevance of some therapeutic methods."
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- Title
- Shoe Fetish
- Date Created
- 1999
- Description
-
The cartoon shows a woman lying on a reclining chair with a wheelchair next to her. In the thought bubble above her head is an image of her as a child laying on a wedge pillow on the floor looking at four peoples legs with different types of shoes on. The tag line reads, "After months of...
Show moreThe cartoon shows a woman lying on a reclining chair with a wheelchair next to her. In the thought bubble above her head is an image of her as a child laying on a wedge pillow on the floor looking at four peoples legs with different types of shoes on. The tag line reads, "After months of psychotherapy, Sylvia retrieves repressed childhood memories of therapeutic positioning that explain her shoe fetish in adulthood."
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- Title
- Shopping Around
- Date Created
- 2000
- Description
-
The cartoon shows a woman and a man shopping . There is a banner at the top of the panel that reads, "New Cures and Therapies for Fun and Profit (ours)." There are two shelves of boxes. On the top shelf the boxes , form left to right, are labeled: "Subliminal Message Therapy," "Hydro Pudding...
Show moreThe cartoon shows a woman and a man shopping . There is a banner at the top of the panel that reads, "New Cures and Therapies for Fun and Profit (ours)." There are two shelves of boxes. On the top shelf the boxes , form left to right, are labeled: "Subliminal Message Therapy," "Hydro Pudding Therapy," "Swedish Meatball Therapy," and "Kitchen Utensil Therapy." On the lower shelf, from left to right, the boxes are labeled: "Bungy Jumping Therapy," "Invisible Energy Therapy," and "Bladder Release Therapy." The woman says to the man, "WOW! Cool! Let's try 'em all!" and the man replies, "Do you think the school will pay for all of these?" The tag line reads, "Shopping Around: Do you know these people? They never met a therapy they didn't like."
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- Title
- Three Bears
- Date Created
- 1999
- Description
-
The cartoon shows a Mama bear, a Papa bear, and a Baby bear sitting on Papa bear's lap. Mama bear is sitting on a stump knitting listening to Papa bear who is sitting in a chair reading to Baby bear. Papa bear reads out loud "When Goldilocks went to school, they gave her support services. The...
Show moreThe cartoon shows a Mama bear, a Papa bear, and a Baby bear sitting on Papa bear's lap. Mama bear is sitting on a stump knitting listening to Papa bear who is sitting in a chair reading to Baby bear. Papa bear reads out loud "When Goldilocks went to school, they gave her support services. The first set was too small and it didn't fit...the next set was too big and didn't fit...the next set was just right and it fit!" The tag line reads, "Support services that are 'only as special as necessary' fit just right!"
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