Title: disAbility Awareness Activities
Exhibitor: Ande Haymore
Description: Having a child with a disability as part of our family has
been a great blessing to us. He has brought a spirit of love, patience, and acceptance that wouldn’t have been there without him. With that great love and acceptance came a clearer understanding of all of God’s children and their importance. I know that many other families have had similar experiences when a child with a disability has become a member of their family. Often these families feel inspired to work in their community schools and at church to share their understanding of the joy and love that come from serving and being served by their “special” children. I have spoken to many parents who have done Sharing Time lessons in Primary, workshops in Relief Society, and various teaching activities in their local schools. All of these endeavors are geared toward encouraging understanding and acceptance of those who are different through disability.
How To’s:
Bulletin Board
Workbook Template & Jelly Bean Handout
During March, National Disability Month, I like to put up a bulletin board at my local school. I think a bulletin board is appropriate at any level, elementary through high school. Ask your principal for permission to do so. The title of the bulletin board I use is “If you have a disability… You’re in Good Company!” The title is in the middle of the bulletin board and is surrounded by short, one-page biographies of famous people with disabilities. (Use about a 50-point font so that the bulleting board is readable from a distance.) There is a picture of the celebrity that accompanies each biography Each biography and associated picture are mounted on a piece of colored paper which extends beyond the biography and picture to give the grouping a colorful border. You could use a different color for each biography to add interest to the display.
Here is an example of a bulletin board biography: Steven Hawking
Probably one of the greatest astronomical physicists of modern times, Hawking has developed several theories about the nature and origins of our universe and written the best-selling book Black Holes and Baby Universes. He also uses a wheelchair to get around and a voice synthesizer to speak.
I found that if I used a 49-point font with line spacing at 0.8 and margins of 0.5 inches on all sides, that I could fit this biography on one 8 ½” x 11” sheet of paper.
All of the biographies that I use were extracted from books
that I checked out from the library. Most
came from a series of books called Great Achievers: Lives of the Physically Challenged. The pictures that I use are photocopies of
pictures from the books.
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Many activities designed to encourage acceptance and inclusion of people with disabilities involve trying out a disability. Trying out a disability, when accompanied by a class discussion of the experience, can be a terrific way to encourage positive feelings for people with disabilities. I have used a sculpting activity to try out a disability because it is so fun and allows some time for artistic expression. This activity will take about 45-60 minutes.
Materials needed: 1 fist size ball of salt dough (recipe included)
1 paper plate
sculpting tools (Popsicle sticks, toothpicks, etc.)
Blindfolds for half the students
Begin by discussing with the students how to sculpt. Demonstrate how they could use the various implements to crate desired effects. After the discussion tell them that they will now have the opportunity to sculpt ( I like to ask the students to sculpt a person’s face—older students could be asked to add expression to the face). As they sculpt, they will need to follow some rules. Half of them will sculpt with their eyes closed. The other half will sculpt using only one hand. Divide the class and blindfold half of them. Have the other half sit on one of their hands or put one hand in their pocket. Give them the materials and let them begin! Allow 10-20 minutes for sculpting depending on interest and how much time you have.
When you are done, have the students stay in character (retain their disabilities) for some questions.
“What do you think of your sculpture?
Did you feel bad about not being able to see/use one of your hands?
How did your feelings change as you sculpted?
Now, allow them to return to themselves and ask additional questions.
What was our experience with sculpting like?
Did you surprise yourself?
Were you able to do something that you didn’t think you were able to do?
What did you accomplish? Be sure to point out that all of the sculptures are
different—yet wonderful.
Stress with the class that they were presented with a problem
– a disability – and they had to use their creativity to discover new ways
to sculpt. People with permanent disabilities
can do lots of things – just in different ways than people without a similar
disability. They have used their
own creativity to find new ways to do everyday activities. There are lots of ways to do the same things.
All ways are okay.
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2 cups water
2 Tbsp. Oil
2 cups flour
1 cup salt
1 Tbsp. Cream of tartar
food coloring or 2 pkgs unsweetened drink mix (such as Kool-Aid)
Combine all ingredients in a large skillet. Cook and stir on medium heat until the dough
forms a ball of clay consistency. Transfer
cooked dough to a clean cutting board or counter top. Allow to cool for a few minutes, and then
knead. If you use the drink mix instead
of food coloring, the dough has a great smell, as well as a great color. Makes enough for 8-9 students to use for sculpting.
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The symbol for Disability Awareness is the silver ribbon. During March, I like to give the students at my local school a silver ribbon to wear. You can buy silver ribbon at any craft store. (I like to plan far in advance for this activity and use coupons to get the ribbon more cheaply.) For each student I plan on six inches of ribbon, and I use either tape or a small safety pin to attach it.
This activity can be done on a school-wide basis for not too much money. To help pay for the ribbon and pins/tape, you may want to talk to your school’s parent association. I have found that they will generally like the idea of encouraging the acceptance of others and will be willing to help fund this activity.
To go along with this activity, I have a workbook that I designed to broaden the experience. Templates for the workbook are found at this web site. It uses two pieces of paper and has materials printed on both sides of each piece of paper. To make the workbook, the two pages are folded in half and stapled to make a book. The front of the manual has the title. The inside cover has the State Family Council contact information. Opposite the contact information are suggested activities for each school day. The middle of the book are the Braille and Sign Language activities. Next is the “When You Meet an Individual With a Disability” page, followed by the salt dough recipe. On the back cover is the friendship pledge. I use the silver ribbon as the prize for signing the pledge.
Your local school’s parent association may be willing to copy
the workbook for you. Ask them at
the beginning of the school year if you would like to them to do so, so they
can plan to fund it.
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Many schools where students with disabilities are in cluster
groups or are generally mainstreamed already and have peer tutoring groups.
If your school doesn’t, I highly recommend that you work with your
teacher and principal to start such a program.
Peer tutors are students of about the same age who spend a portion
of their school day, perhaps once or twice a week for an hour, helping students
with disabilities with their school work.
When students with and without disabilities interact, both are blessed.
Some schools use their top students as tutors, while others encourage
students who may be struggling either socially or academically, to tutor those
students with even greater needs. The
experience can be so positive!
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My primary asked me to present a Sharing Time to help transition our child with a disability into Primary. There are many materials to be found at the Church’s website (www.lds.org) and by looking for “disability” in past issues of The Friend magazine. The following is an outline of what I presented. Following the outline is a template for a hand out to go along with the lesson. The handout is double-sided. On the side with the scripture, I added a picture of Jesus. I then put the handout in a “snack size” Ziplock back with about 20 jelly beans.
Disability Awareness Sharing Time
Book Demo – put a nondescript book cover on a book of interest to children. Write a “boring” topic on the cover. Ask the kids if they would like to read this book now. When they don’t show much interest, show them the interior. As them if the book looks interesting now. When they say yes, talk about how people ban be like books – not so interesting on the outside, but really fun on the inside – once you get to know them. (Or you could make “dirt” out of crushed Oreos and ask if anyone would like to eat some of your “dirt,” adapting the rest of the discussion to fit.
Define “disability” – something that someone can’t do. Kinds: physical, behavioral, intellectual, emotional. Talk about the various kinds of disabilities people have (about 12-15% of church members of disabilities). Lots of people have them. I n fact, everyone has things that are hard for them to do.
Jesus spent a lot of time blessing people with disabilities. Ask the children to tell you about some of the times that Jesus helped someone with a disability. Blind (John 8:3-7), deaf (Mark 7:32-36), physical (Luke 5:17-225), mentally ill (this is my own personal opinion and NOT church doctrine (Mark 5:1-6 and Mark 9:14-29), long-term illness (Mark 5:25-34 and Luke 17:12-19). There are other stories.
Tell the children that you are now going to tell them a story about Jesus. They will get to try out a disability while you tell the story. Divide the kids into three groups and have them try a disability during the story and during the questions following the story. (This is an activity from the August 1992 Friend.) One group will cover their eyes and be blind. One group will cover their ears and be deaf. The third group will cover their mouths showing that they are non-verbal.
Tell the story of when Jesus heals the blind man (Mark 9:3-7). You could actually read the story from the scriptures with older children, or use pictures from the church library or gospel art kit to illustrate the story for any age group). Of course, the group that is blind will not be able to read and the non-verbal group will not be able to speak. Those are some of the ideas that we are exploring through this activity, so be sure to ask kids from these groups to read, if you decide to read the scriptures, or to describe the pictures, if you decide to tell the story with pictures. Use a quiet voice so that it is difficult for the “deaf” children to hear.
Ask the children questions about the story and pictures that will be difficult for them to answer. You could ask the “blind” group to describe the picture. You could whisper your questions for the “deaf” group. Questions for the “non-verbal” group should be ones that would be difficult to answer with just a gesture or shake of the head.
Tell the children that they can return to being themselves. Ask them:
“How did you feel while you had a disability?”
“Were you frustrated when you couldn’t hear the story or participate through
reading or answering questions?”
“Did you use your creativity to find new ways to learn or express yourself?”
“Why did Jesus do so much for people with disabilities?” LOVE
Tell the children that Jesus encouraged us throughout his ministry to love others too. Tell the story about the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-34). Ask the children, “Who loved the sick man?” Discuss with the children how the good Samaritan showed his love.
Tell the children that friendship with a person with a disability is a special opportunity to help/love others. Discuss ways to show love.
1. Help people feel loved and accepted through friendship. What can keep us from loving? Let the children think about this question a little bit. They may not want to answer, but they will have ideas in their own minds about what keeps them personally from loving and accepting others. Point out that it is often fear of the person because the person is different from themselves. Tell them that they need not fear people with disabilities. They are sons and daughters of God – just like themselves.
Ask the children what they like to do with their friends. Give them time to
suggest many things. Now ask them what activities could they enjoy with a friend who is deaf?. What about a friend who was blind? What activities would still be fun with a friend who was non-verbal? This discussion opens up an opportunity for you to discuss ways they could be a friend to YOUR child. Help them see how they can be a friend to a child with your child’s disability in a generic way first. Later in the lesson discuss ways to be a friend to your child specifically.
The children will discover that they are more alike than different and can enjoy lots of activities with children with disabilities. Ask the children how they can help a child with a disability at church.
2. Recognize talents. Everyone has talents – mentioned in the scriptures that everyone has a talent. Stress that it is our job to recognize talents in the people around us and help them to use them.
In our primary some people have disabilities. Show a picture of your child with a disability or ask them to join you at the front of the room. Tell the primary about your child’s disability, or have your child describe his own disability. Answer any questions the children may have.
Tell how the disability makes the child different from the rest of the primary.
Tell about how your child is the same as the rest of the primary.
Tell about how the child still needs a friend. Ask the group how they can be a friend to
your child every day and at church. Suggest ways that are important to you.
Tell them about your child’s talents. Introduce the jelly bean handout and discuss it briefly.
I gave the kids some Jelly Belly jelly beans with the handout (about 20 each), and I talked about the recipes for jelly beans (eat a cream soda jelly bean with a rootbeer one for a rootbeer float) that come in the packages. Then I related those recipes to Families and Wards. Heavenly Father knows the best recipes for putting people together into families so that they could help each other the most. He knows about Ward Families too. It is our job to help one another. Jesus knows that we can and expects us to do so.