Question:

I teach a high school special day class and am focusing on developing self-advocacy skills. As a part of this process, I would like to introduce the subject of disability awareness. Could you give me some tips on how to proceed?

Answer:

Thank you for asking about this area. I have had up close and personal experiences engaging students and teachers on this topic and will gladly share what I know with you.

I like to begin by asking students to respond to different questions about the term “disability.” Brainstorming is an effective way to help students share what they know without worrying about being right or wrong. Make sure to establish a few ground rules for the brainstorming activity, e.g., comments must be focused on topic, no laughing at others, etc. I usually ask a series of questions to start the brainstorming process. NOTE: Always capture those instructional moments, such as use of unfamiliar vocabulary. After the brainstorming, ask someone to read the definition of the word disability from the dictionary for more clarification.

The following questions have generated interactive discussions, but you can definitely add others:

1. How would you describe the word disability?
2. Do you know anyone with a disability?
3. Do you have a disability? What is it called?
4. Can you name other types of disabilities? (responses could be used in the activity below)
5. What are accommodations? Do you have any and what are they?
6. How do they help you in succeed in class, at work, and in other environments?

You will find that your students will offer very profound comments. For example, one student shared with his classmates that “He did not like the word disability and if he had to describe himself, would use a more positive word like ABILITY”. This certainly provided a teachable moment for me as the class expanded on this statement.

After your discussion, you might want to have your students complete the following activity: Good disability vs. bad disability. This is an exercise where your students are encouraged to ”choose” which disability they would most prefer, and which they would least prefer. A general discussion (vocabulary, directions, etc.) should occur prior to your students completing this activity. After the activity, discuss student responses.

A chart could include (you could change):

Once you completed various activities on disability awareness, have the students write a short essay about their own disability. Hopefully, your students will now have the “facts” for this writing task. You could use this as a writing assignment in which you address your Language Arts standards and the area Transition simultaneously.

Just remember during your activities that, if you take the role of “facilitator” rather than “teacher”, your students will be more comfortable and open during the discussion on disability. I have included a few disability resources for you to explore.

• http://www.nichcy.org/disabinf.asp
• http://www.ldpride.net/selfadvocacy.htm
• http://disabilityresources.org/