"TOO MUCH! An Overwhelming Day" - Jolene Gutierrez

 

"TOO MUCH! An Overwhelming Day" - Jolene Gutierrez

                                                EDS 131 Student UCSD: Matthew D. Benny 

Summary:

The story follows the experiences of a neurodivergent student with sensory processing disorder as she goes to school. Throughout the book the author illustrates how sounds, textures, sights and tastes can be overstimulating for some. For example, the author writes " Sun is shining. Time to rise. The light is bright and hurts my eyes." As the school day goes on, we are shown how other things such as food, sounds in the classroom, and her peers touching her can be overwhelming. In the end, her mom picks her up and she takes her home so she's in a less overwhelming environment which is a nice ending. 

Anti Bias Elements:

Normalizes Conversations Around Disability: This book is a perfect example of how to normalize conversations around disability especially for younger students. Instead of being shown as a "disadvantage" the student's disability instead is just shown as a part of who they are and that's a wonderful thing. Students with disabilities face quite a bit of stigmatization within the education system and I feel this book does a wonderful job normalizing conversations around disability. Especially as a student with a disability myself (APD) I felt this book did a great job of representing experiences like my own. 

Depictions of people from all Backgrounds: Throughout the book the illustrator ensured to feature people in background from all racial and ethnic backgrounds which is important, as students should always have the opportunity to see themselves in what they read.

Depictions of students with a Variety of Disabilities:

Though the book focuses on the experiences of a student with an "invisible disability" which of course is wonderful. The illustrator made sure to include student with physical disabilities in the background, which is very important as it shows to the reader how disability identity is quite diverse and again gives young students an opportunity to see themselves and their experiences.