Our Mission
The Next Chapter Book Club is committed to providing adolescents and adults with intellectual disabilities literacy and social interaction experiences that encourage friendship and lifelong learning within a community-based setting.
Our Model
History of The Next Chapter Book Club
The NCBC is a program of The Ohio State University Nisonger Center, a research and training center on developmental disabilities. The program was founded in 2002 and has grown from two groups in Columbus, Ohio, to over 100 groups in the United States, Canada and Germany. And we continue to grow!
A group of parents, professionals, students, and persons with disabilities founded the NCBC after a discussion about the prevailing assumption that people with intellectual disabilities are not readers, nor are they interested in lifelong learning. The group also discussed the isolation and segregation experienced by so many adults with disabilities who are living in, but not a part of, their communities.
The NCBC model promotes social connectedness, literacy learning, and community inclusion. The premise is simple. A group of 5 to 8 people with intellectual disabilities and a wide range of reading skills gather with two trained volunteer facilitators in a local bookstore or café to read aloud and discuss a book for one hour a week. Much like members of any other book club, NCBC members choose the book they want to read and how they would like to structure their club. Members are learning and making friends and having a lot of fun doing it.
