Disability Awareness/Sensitivity for

Secondary Students

Developed by:

FDLRS/Gateway

4256 SW County Road 152

Jasper, FL

800-404-0205

Purpose….

To expand knowledge, understanding, and awareness of individuals with disabilities

Disability Awareness Quiz

Disability Awareness Quiz

Please answer True or False

____1. A person with a learning disability has a lower than average IQ . ____2. A person who can't hear can use the telephone.

____3. A disability could be contagious.

____4. A person who has cerebral palsy always has an intellectual disability.

____5. A person who uses a wheelchair can't play basketball.

____6. A person who is blind cannot read.

____7. A person who has an intellectual disability cannot get a job.

____8. A person who has a disability cannot live alone.

____9. A person who has a disability cannot vote.

There are many types of disabilities.

Some disabilities can be seen, others cannot.

Disabilities might include:

Vision, hearing, or speech Physical disabilities Mental disabilities Emotional disabilities Health disabilities

People with disabilities are like everyone else, they :

Share many of the same values, interests, hopes and dreams

They desire to: Be independent Earn a living Enjoy recreation and leisure activities Live their dreams

People First Language……

Put the person before the disability

“People-First” Language

Instead of …… The disabled;

handicapped; crippled; suffers from a disability

The blind

The deaf; deaf and dumb; suffers a hearing loss

Say… Person with a

disability

Person who is blind; person with a visual impairment

Person who is deaf; person with a hearing impairment

“People-First” Language

Instead of…. Crazy; psycho;

lunatic

Retarded; mentally defective

Confined or restricted to a wheelchair; wheelchair bound

Cripple; lame; handicapped; deformed

Say…… Person with mental

illness Person with an

intellectual disability Person who uses a

wheelchair

Person with a physical disability

The first activity is….

Paragraph Written by a Student with a Disability

I suspect that the child with a learning disability must

frequently experience an Alice in Wonderland existence.

Often we find that he must cope with an unstable world,

inconsistent adults and haphazard perceptions. He’s

confused by the crazy symbols we give him, pressured

by the length of time to do it and frustrated by his repeated

failures. He does not learn the traditional way and so we

must teach him differently.

Visual Perception Activities

These activities demonstrate that things are not always what they seem to be.

Our thoughts/opinions/feelings about things are influenced by our perception.

Visual Perception Activity #1

Visual Perception Activity # 2

The next Activity…..

A Drawing Challenge

A Drawing Challenge

The last activity is…………

Follow the Leader an activity designed to show what the school experience might be like for some students with disabilities

Closing Discussion

Other ideas on how to promote better communication with people with disabilities