Disability Awareness Week
May 9-13
What is Disability Awareness Week?
Disability Awareness Week is a unique opportunity for students to learn about various disabilities and develop empathy and understanding. Our hope is for students to understand that there are many types of disabilities, some that are easy to recognize and others that are not visible to everyone. We want students to know that disabilities can present many challenges and require individuals to have patience and perseverance. Finally, we want students to understand the important role they play in offering support, using the Other People Matter Mindset, and NEVER teasing or making fun of those that are different from us, but rather celebrating our diversity!
* Please note that some activities may be completed independently by older students while other activities may require a partner. ALL activities and topics would be further supported through a discussion with adults. THANK YOU to our parents and guardians for your support engaging students in these very important discussions.
Mr. Peace Kicks-Off Disability Awareness Week
Kevin Szawala (aka 'Mr. Peace') is a Youth Motivational Speaker from Metro Detroit, who travels across the country to share his heart with thousands of students. He has visited many Walled Lake Schools the past few years and does an amazing job connecting with kids and teaching them to see the heart first.
We had the opportunity to have Mr. Peace came to our school in April teaching us to use the Other People Matter Mindset, be a leader, and to be kind always! A great way to kick off Disability Awareness Week is to share the video clips below with your learners!
MONDAY FOCUS: Hearing Impairment & Visual Impairment
Talking Points:
Hearing Impairment
-There are different levels of hearing loss. Some people are able to enhance their hearing by using hearing aids or cochlear implants while some people may have complete hearing loss.
-Sign language is often used to help those with a hearing impairment communicate.
-The shape, placement, and movement of the hands, as well as facial expressions and body movements, all play important parts in conveying information.
Watch: Click on the buttons below to learn the alphabet, day's of the week, colors, and names of family members in American Sign Language.
Activities: Have your child sign their name (first and last) in ASL. Challenge - have students try signing some of the day's of the week, colors or family signs.
Visual Impairment
-When a part of the eye doesn’t work right or communicate well with the brain, vision is impaired.
-A Visual Impairment involves various degrees of blindness, from partial to full blindness.
-Vision is one of our 5 senses that helps us learn about the world around us. When someone has a visual impairment, they have to use their other senses like touching, listening, smelling, and tasting.
Watch: Click on the button below and watch a video about what it is like to be visually impaired.
Activity 1: Partner or group activity! Set up an obstacle course, either in the house or backyard, blindfold one person, then the other person needs to give good directions to help the blindfolded person to get them through the obstacle course safely. (eg. Take 3 steps. Stop. Turn your body to the right. Take 2 steps. Stop. etc.)
Discussion points to accompany activities:
-Discuss the challenges that a person who is visually impaired might have and how they can overcome them. i.e.- finding items within the home/not tripping over items (have a place for everything and everything in its place), transportation, etc.
-Discuss what senses and character strengths were used to complete the obstacle course (i.e.-teamwork, perseverance, communication, listening, etc.)
TUESDAY FOCUS: Physical Impairments
Talking Points:
-A Physical Impairment is a disability that limits a person's physical capacity to move, coordinate actions, or perform physical activities.
-People with physical disabilities may struggle to perform some tasks that the rest of the world find easy.
- Assistive technologies make life easier for people with physical disabilities. Some forms of assistive technology include: wheelchairs, walkers, scooters, crutches, canes, orthotic devices, prosthetics, and adaptive tools, like utensils, keyboards or switches.
Watch: Click on the button below to watch an inspirational video of a 9 year old young man who does not let his physical impairment stop him from doing the things he loves!
Activity 1: (Need winter gloves) Fine Motor Simulation - have your child put on gloves and try to do the following: button/unbutton a shirt, pick up individual coins and place in a bowl, tie/untie shoes, call or text someone on phone
Activity 2: (Need 1 set of tongs) Artificial Arm/Hands Simulation - using tongs, have student try to do the following: tie/untie shoes, pick up a pencil and write name, and pick up individual coins and place in a bowl.
WEDNESDAY FOCUS: Learning Disabilities
Talking Points:
- A learning disability is associated with the brain (neurological disorder). A learning disability can make learning certain things more challenging (i.e.-reading, writing, spelling, and recalling and/or organizing information).
-People with learning disabilities are still very smart. Their brain simply works differently.
-Dyslexia is a type of learning disability that can make reading challenging because the brain may not see letters or numbers correctly.
-There are lots of ways to support people with learning disabilities.
Watch: Click on the button below to watch a short video that explains Dyslexia.
Activities: Below you will find 3 PDF attachments. If you have a printer, it would be best to complete this activity after printing the attachments. Encourage your child to try complete the dot-to-dot, math problems, and/or read the story.
* Tips and discussion items that accompany the activity pages:
-Do not tell your child that this is a story of Little Red Riding Hood written out with letters reversed, words crooked, etc. so it is difficult to read.
-Discuss how it felt to read this story. Point out that not all individuals with dyslexia actually see words that look different but the frustration and pace of being asked to read something this challenging is a common experience for many.
-Talk about how someone might act in class if this is what a written page looked like every time they open a book. Discuss how a student may joke or otherwise purposely draw attention away from the fact that reading is challenging.
-Discuss how visual processing disorders could go beyond school and can affect participation in sports (depth perception and ball sports, etc.) and can also affect socialization because it can sometimes make it difficult for people to interpret visual cues.
THURSDAY FOCUS: Cerebral Palsy
Talking Points:
-Cerebral Palsy is a neurological disorder (occurs in the brain) that affects muscle coordination and movement.
-When you have cerebral palsy, your brain and body have a hard time communicating with each other which can make every day tasks challenging.
-Assistive technologies make life easier for people with cerebral palsy.
Watch: Click on the button below to watch a 2 minute clip about a boy from Michigan who carried his brother who has CP on his back for a 40 mile awareness walk.
Activity 1: (Need 2 beanbags or small balls) Have child place beanbag or ball between knees and between an elbow and hip, then have child try to walk to various locations without dropping the beanbag or ball.
Activity 2: (Need lg. marshmallows) Have child read a sentence on an index card. Now have child stick several marshmallows in their mouth and try to read the sentence again. Have them keep trying until they are understood.
Discussion points that accompany Activity 2:
-Discuss that this simulates an articulation disorder. The person knew clearly what they wanted to say but brain doesn't communicate correctly with muscles in the mouth to form the words. Imagine if you couldn't take the marshmallows out of your mouth.
- Discuss that we sometimes want to pretend that we understand what a person is saying to make things more comfortable. We may say "oh that's great". But what if the person is saying "I feel sick and I want to go to the nurse? Remind children that the person generally knows that their speech is difficult to understand and they just want to hear the message that you are going to take the time to listen and try to understand.
-Talk about strategies to communicate - asking yes or no questions, asking if they can write it down, asking another person to come over and see if they can understand, etc.
FRIDAY FOCUS: Autism
Talking Points:
-Autism is a developmental disability that affects how we experience the world around us.
-Routines are important for many people with autism. It can be hard to deal with surprises or unexpected changes. When overwhelmed, they might not be able to process their thoughts, feelings, and surroundings, which can make them lose control of our body.
-They might be extra sensitive to things like bright lights or loud sounds. They might have trouble understanding what they hear or what their senses tell them.
-Some might not understand or follow social rules. They might be more direct than other people. Eye contact might make them uncomfortable. They might have a hard time controlling their body language or facial expressions, which can confuse non-autistic people or make it hard to socialize.
-People with autism may think differently. They are often great problem-solvers, or pay close attention to detail. It might take them longer to think about things.
Watch: Click on the buttons below to watch Max's story about having autism.
Activity 1: Make a list of ways you can be a good friend to someone with autism. Consider what makes them overwhelmed and what you can do to make activities more comfortable for them.
Activity 2: Watch the video below "What Autism Feels Like" and imagine how it feels to have all sounds heightened all day long.
Discussion questions to accompany activity 2:
-How did the video make you feel? (overwhelmed, frustrated, upset, angry)
-Were you able to focus on the lady's voice while all the noises were happening?
-What would help you if you heard sounds heightened like in the video? (noise canceling headphones, calming corner, stuffed animal, turn lights down)