Burlingame elementary teacher authors book about disability awareness

“When I was growing up, it made me sad to not see myself represented authentically,” Stein said. “To have something to look at and feel like ‘this is me’ would be helpful for kids now, so they don’t feel like they’re alone.” 

When Stein did find books about people with disabilities, it was often told from the perspective of the friend or another person. 

“It’ll be like, ‘My friend has a disability, and we’re kind to them because they’re different,’” Stein said. “I love that message, but that’s not necessarily about the person with the disability.” 

Stein, who began teaching transitional kindergarten at Lincoln Elementary this school year, initially wrote the book for a grad-school final project with an accompanying lesson plan for educators. 

Designed for classroom use, “Winnie’s Way” has bold key words, definitions and guided discussion questions to help teachers and students talk about disability awareness, inclusive education and the importance of embracing one another’s differences. 

The book is self-published, edited by Stein’s sister and the illustrations of Winnie, who wears a splint on her arm, has round glasses and Velcro shoes, are AI-generated. 

After Stein shared the book with a colleague at Lincoln, it was quickly shared with Principal Shirley Clem and Burlingame School District Superintendent Marla Silversmith — who said she had to buy 500 copies immediately to share across districts. 

“It’s amazing to see how much love it’s gotten,” Stein said. “I’m really grateful for the amount of support it’s gotten. The amount of support really shows me the value of it.” 

“I always imagined having a book written in this point of view, or wishing to have a book in this point of view,” Stein said. “I don’t know whether I ever dreamed of writing one.” 

In her own classroom, Stein said she likely won’t read the book to her students because of their young age, but the core lessons of inclusive curriculum are something she implements throughout her day to day. 

For the 4-year-olds, Stein often describes her disability in largely abstract concepts. They often argue with one another who gets to hold Stein’s right hand — which was coined the “cookie hand” after Stein’s parents forced her to use it as a child by sticking cookies in her hand. One of the symptoms of hemiplegic cerebral palsy is that one side of the body has paralysis or weakness.

“They come at it with more curiosity than judgment,” Stein said. 

Writing the book as someone with hemiplegic cerebral palsy provides even stronger representation, Stein said. 

“Someone can represent so many different people, but it doesn’t have the same depth if it’s coming from a person that’s not living that experience,” Stein said. 

With the book, Stein hopes to avoid a common misconception — “That we need more help than we need,” she said. 

“There is a line between how much help I tell people I need, versus what they think I need,” Stein said. “Nobody really wants to be a pet where you’re constantly taken care of.” 

“You want to be treated as an actual human with your own perspective and feelings,” Stein said. “That’s the point of the book.”