LEILA CHACKER CAPSTONE

For my capstone, I wanted to mix my love for animals, specifically cats, with my love for the arts. I originally decided to do a fundraising type project that would be raising awareness and helping the stray cat situation in Philadelphia. However, knew that I wanted to do something that made a bigger impact when it came to disability. I have bilateral hearing loss due to a genetic disorder and a tumor in my ear when I was a baby. Before highschool, I felt very normal. I went to a small private school that met my needs for my hearing loss. The classes were small and the teachers understood and adapted to my disability. When I came to high school though, things were not as easy. Despite sending in necessary paperwork, my accommodations were not always met, or straight denied. I did not get an IEP for hearing loss until I was in my last month of junior year, three years into high school. Knowing these things, I knew I wanted to do something related to accessibility for my capstone. I took a one-eighty from my original project and came up with the idea of an education conference type event to help spread awareness about DHH learning. I worked on this idea for a while, but I was still having a really hard time creating a project I was proud of. I eventually realized it was because I lost the creative aspect of my capstone which was a huge driving factor behind being able to create a capstone I loved. Finally, Leila’s Library came to fruition. My final capstone is a website called Leila’s Library. Leila’s Library is a model of what an accessible library for kids could look like. It focuses on making content easily available and accessible. The library’s accessibility is not just for DHH kids, but for all kids. It offers literature for young readers in different formats, as well other resources for young children.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1HjV-qKj2PCB5prl7fqORa_XWmlnKw5QjDGVlzJ4Fz60/view

https://sites.google.com/view/leilaslibrary/home