Welcome back to our adapted novel series, where we have been taking a closer look and how we can make great works of literature more accessible to all students while also creating new opportunities for interpretation and engagement. 

In part 1 we talked about some of the basics of what defines a graphic novel while in part 2 we looks at some examples of common types of adapted novels. In part 3 we looked at some benefits of adapted novels and opportunities for goal setting with an adapted novel in the curriculum. 

For the last (for now!) part of this series we wanted to highlight a few resources related to adapted novels. 

If there is an adapted novel topic you’d like to see us cover in the future, feel free to drop us a line at hello@autismgrownup.com and in the meantime we will dig into some resources!

Click here to access: Adapted Literature and Lesson Library - Paul V. Sherlock Center

A huge selection of hundreds of adapted stories including adapted novels for students that use augmentative and alternative communication (AAC), this archive is particularly helpful in that it uses symbol designations that will help you get a better idea of exactly how a particular work is adapted without having to go through the whole thing. A great way to both explore lots of options and narrow down to ones that are most likely to fit your needs.

Click here to access: How To: Make Your Own Adapted Books - TechACCESS of Rhode Island 

One challenge of adapted novels is that it might not always be easy to find an adaptation of the specific story you want with the specific accommodations your student needs. This resource offers a quick overview of showing how you can make your own adapted books for a specific student’s needs. 

It is a more open ended and brief guide that you will likely have to adjust to the specific needs of your student but it can be a helpful guidepost! It is worth noting that while our focus is adapted novels, these instructions apply to any book!

Click here to access: A Guide to Prepping Adapted Books - Adapted Book Club

A more comprehensive guide on creating adapted books, this page links to a number of different articles that go through the process of putting an adapted book together. Whether you want to adapt a novel or a book, these instructions along with your specific knowledge of the topic you want to cover and your student’s needs can make the process of putting together an adaptation that much easier!

Click here to access: Modern English “Translations” of Shakespeare

A great example of a resource that is full of adaptations but can also supplement your work in making custom adaptations. Modern English translations of Shakespeare might be all some students need to more easily engage with the text, while if you are doing the work of adapting you may find it easier working from the modern English version than feeling responsible for inserting your interpretation of Shakespearean English as the core text.

Click here to access: Three Adapted Novels Featuring Picture Symbols - UNC Charlotte

While this is a smaller compilation and a very specific type of adaptation, we wanted to include it as it covers some novels that fall outside the typical collection of US literature staples and can make for a curriculum choice that differs from your standard Scarlet Letter or Catcher in the Rye. As a bonus they focus on novels that support learning complex vocabulary in a special education setting.

Click here to access: Another Compilation of Adapted Book Archives - Prairie Lakes Area Education Agency

If you liked the compilation of adapted literature from the Paul V. Sherlock Center, then you can find even more archives on this helpful compilation page from the Prairie Lakes Area Education Agency. Due to the variety of archives they may not be as neatly organized, but you should expect to find a huge variety of resources, and hopefully some that are a close fit for your students’ needs! The compilation includes archives from the Tar Heel Reader, Baltimore City Schools, and the NYC Department of Education among others!

Additionally, if you are looking for ready-made adapted novels with plenty of opportunities to show comprehension, we will take this space for a brief shameless plug of our own adapted novel collection, which is specifically created with an eye toward embedding these stories into your or your student’s curriculum.

We hope that this series has shown both the value that adapted novels can bring to an educational experience and the importance of making great works of literature accessible to everyone the same way we want to make all of our society accessible to the people who live in it. 

If you have experiences related to creating, using, or studying adapted novels you’d like to share then we’d love to hear from you at hello@autismgrownup.com . In the meantime we wish you the best of luck in finding that perfect adapted novel for your student’s needs and all the resources for creating a custom version when you need it.