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How can you
help create disability awareness?
There are many ways for you to help
create disability awareness in your community, your school,
organization or maybe just in your circle of friends and
family!
Here are some ideas to help you
get started in helping to raise awareness and understanding of
people with disabilities.
Disability in the media
Provide the group with a newspaper or magazine article about
someone with a disability, then ask each person to complete
the following exercise:
Read the article. Does the way it is written (including
editorial content, adjectives and tone) convey a positive
image of the person with a disability as a "normal"
human being, focusing on the person or does it portray the
person as "different", focusing on the person's
disability? How could the article be re-written to be more
positive. (Hint: imagine you are the person being talked about
in the article - how do you feel about the way the article
describes you?)
Find a similar article about a person without a disability
and compare the two (for example, a profile on a Paralympian
and a piece on an Olympian).
**The following activities are not designed to show
people how hard it is to have a disability. The activities are
meant to demonstrate that, even though a person with
disability may need to do things differently, he/she has the
ability to adapt to the situation and accomplish the task(s)
at hand.
Drinking Straws Galore
Disabilities Addressed
--Blindness, speech impairments (muteness), amputations
(missing limbs and fingers)
Desired Outcome
This activity is designed to emphasize the interactions that
occur between youth with and without disabilities as they work
to accomplish a specific goal--in this case the construction
of a structure using drinking straws and masking tape.
Materials Needed
--Drinking Straws- (40 straws per group) Spaghetti noodles may
be used instead of drinking straws, but can be more
challenging as they will break during the construction
process.
--Masking Tape
--Scotch Tape (one roll per group)
--Blind Folds (one per group)
What To Do
1. Divide the large group into smaller groups of 4 to 5.
2. Distribute a handful of drinking straws to each group.
3. Provide each group with a roll of Scotch tape.
4. Assign different disabilities to the members of the groups.
Do this by asking one person, at a time, in each group to hold
up their hand. In succession notify these individuals
that they have one of the following disabilities:
--No use of their thumbs (You might wish to tape their thumbs
to their hands using masking tape)
--No use of their dominant hand and arm (they must place it
behind their back)
--Unable to talk
--Blind (Distribute blind folds)
The remaining member(s) of each group will be a
“TAB” (temporary able bodied), meaning they will not
possess a disability. (Note: If you have only four
members per group, it is still a good idea to leave one person
in each group a “TAB”.)
5. After each group is ready, inform them that the object of
this activity is to construct the tallest free standing
structure possible using only drinking straws and Scotch tape.
The structure may NOT be anchored to the floor or any other
structure, such as a table or chair. It must be free
standing.
6. Give them approximately 20 minutes to construct their straw
structure. This part is very flexible. Additional
time can be allotted for this segment.
Variation
If working with a group of adults or if a member of the
audience is in a wheelchair, this activity can be adapted by
building the longest structure off the end of a table,
anchoring (taping) the structure only to any part of the
table.
Questions To Ask
Following completion of the activity, ask and discuss
the following questions:
--What did the blind person in your group do?
(Sometimes, especially in youth groups, they do not
participate.:
--Did members of the group assume that since someone possessed
a disability that they wee not capable of being an active
member of the group or they would only be able to do certain
tasks?
--Did any group ask their members with a disability what they
felt they could do to contribute to the group activity?
(This is a good chance to mention that one of the greatest
barriers to individuals with a disability is people’s
perceptions or beliefs in what the person with a disability
can or cannot do.)
--If you possessed a disability in real life, how would you
want people to treat you when doing something such as what you
did here?
Peanut Butter Sandwiches
Disabilities Addressed
--Blindness, arm amputation
Desired Outcome
--Participants will develop an awareness of the barriers that
challenge people who have major sight limitations or arm
amputations.
Materials Needed
--Plates and Table Knives (The number of plates and knives
needed depends on the number of youth that try this activity.
You may wish to have tow to four youth demonstrate the
activity in front of the entire group.
--Jar of Peanut Butter
--Loaf of Bread
--Blind Folds
What To Do
Part 1
1. Place the plates, knives, jar of peanut
butter (with lid tightly screwed on) and loaf of bread
(wrapped, tied) on a table.
2. Ask for two volunteers.
3. Blindfold the two volunteers.
4. Instruct them that they will, blindfolded, make a peanut
butter sandwich.
5. Prior to letting them start, quietly move the jar of peanut
butter and loaf of bread. (This is in effect the same thing
that a person without a disability might do, unintentionally,
when visiting the home of a person who is blind.
Questions to Ask
Following completion of the activity, ask and discuss
the following questions:
--What were some of the problems encountered?
--What were your thoughts when you couldn’t find the peanut
butter or loaf of bread?
--How do you think a blind person would feel if you moved
items in their home?
Part 2
1. Place the plates, knives, jar of peanut
butter (with lid tightly screwed on) and loaf of bread
(wrapped, tied) on a table.
2. Ask for two new volunteers.
3. Ask them to place one hand and arm behind their back.
4. Instruct them to make a peanut butter sandwich using only
one hand and arm. (NOTE: You might require them to use their
non-dominant hand and arm.)
Questions to Ask
Following completion of the activity, ask and discuss
the following questions:
-What were some of the problems encountered?
--What were your thoughts when you couldn’t spread the
peanut butter like you wanted to?
--What might be done to make it easier to make a peanut butter
sandwich for a person with only one hand and arm?
--What should you do if you are unsure if a person with a
disability needs help or not?
Answer: Ask them if they would like some help.
Don’t be pushy, simply ask. If they say no, leave it
at that.
Socks, Socks, and More Socks
Disabilities Addressed
--Muscular dystrophy, multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy
Desired Outcome
--This activity is designed to make people aware of the
challenges faced by people who have a muscular mobility
disability.
Materials Needed
--Two Heavy Pairs of Socks (It is important that heavy winter
type socks be used.)
--Small (Snack-Size) Box of Raisins and/or Several Pieces of
Tightly Wrapped Candy.
What To Do
1. Select a volunteer from the audience.
2. Ask them to place tow socks on each hand.
3. Instruct them to either remove ONE raisin at a time from
the box and eat it or unwrap a piece of candy and eat it. (You
may wish to have one person do the raisin activity and another
person do the candy activity.
Variation
Select a volunteer shoe is wearing shoes with laces or a
button down shirt. Ask the volunteer to place tow socks
on each hand. Instruct them to tie their shoes or button
a shirt.
Questions to Ask
Following completion of the activity, ask and discuss
the following questions:
--What were some of the problems encountered?
--What was the most difficult part of trying to eat a raisin
or a piece of candy?
--What are some other tasks that would be difficult for you to
do on a daily basis?
Ruler Legs
Disabilities Addressed
--Muscular dystrophy, multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy
Desired Outcome
--Participants will develop an awareness of the barriers that
challenge people who have a fairly severe muscular control
limitation.
Materials Needed
--Ruler
--Masking Tape
--String
What To Do
1. Select a volunteer from the audience.
2. Tape and/or tie the ruler between the person’s legs such
that their legs are far apart from each other.
3. Ask the person to walk away from and then return to the
group.
Questions to Ask
Following completion of the activity, ask and discuss
the following questions:
--Did you feel awkward as you walked?
--What do you think people would say or do if you walked like
this all the time?
--What would be some other limitations or problems if you had
to walk like this all the time?
What’s in the Bag?
Disabilities Addressed
--Blindness, glaucoma, other sight limitations
Desired Outcome
--Participants will develop an awareness of the barriers that
challenge people who have major sight limitations.
Materials Needed
--Paper Bag
--Misc. Items, Select Items that might Require the Use of
Different Senses (Smell, touch, hearing)
--Blindfold
What To Do
1. Prior to the program place approximately 15 small items in
a paper bag.
2. Select a volunteer from the audience.
3. Blindfold them.
4. Instruct them to identify the items in the paper bag using
their senses. (i.e., feeling, smelling, listening)
Questions to Ask
Following completion of the activity, ask and discuss the
following questions:
--What were some of the problems the blind person encountered?
--What was the most difficult item for the blind person to
identify?
--In addition to listening, feeling, and smelling; how else
might a person with sight impairment identify different items
and objects?
Computer Mania
Disabilities Addressed
--Spinal cord injury that limits use of hands and legs.
(quadriplegic)
Desired Outcome
--Participants will develop an awareness of the barriers that
challenge people who have little to no use of their upper body
including arms and hands.
Materials Needed
--Computer with Word Processing Software
--Tall Cup
--Unsharpened Pencils
--Tall Table
--Large 3-ring Binder
What To Do
1. Place the computer with the word processing software
running on a table tall enough so that the participants do not
have to bend their trunk in order to press keyboard buttons
with a mouth stick. (NOTE: The keyboard should be tilted
slightly forward. This can be accomplished by placing
the keyboard on a large 3-ring binder notebook.)
2. Place a new pencil (mouth stick) in a tall cup with the
eraser toward the bottom next to the computer.
3. Ask the participant to sit in a chair close enough to the
table such that they will be able to type their name with the
mouth stick using only their head, neck, and mouth. (NOTE:
They should not move their trunk.)
4. Have them try to access the print menu using the mouse or
function keys.
Questions to Ask
Following completion of the activity, ask and discuss the
following questions:
--What is the most difficult part of typing your name?
--What would it be like if you had to type a 10-page school
report this way?
--What might be done to make it easier to type?
Source: "A Perfect Fit, 4-H
Involvement for Youth with Disabilities." 1996.
Breaking New Ground/National AgrAbility Project, Purdue
University Cooperative Extension Service.
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