Students Gain Insight on Disabilities

With cotton in their ears, third- and fourth-grade students deciphered their parents' muffled voices. Others strained to read muddled words and backward letters through the eyes of someone with dyslexia.

Yerba Buena Elementary School held an Abilities and Awareness Workshop under the direction of special education teacher Julie Van Note on Thursday. The assembly was designed to teach children empathy for people with disabilities.

"My hope is that the kids walked away with a sense of feeling, like they walked in the shoes of someone with a disability," said Van Note. "I think this really did help them see the world through someone else's eyes."

Each class was given seven minutes to spend at the six centers: reasoning, vision, fine motor, communication, mobility and diabetes--the "hidden disability."

Ben Brook, a 13-year-old Lindero Canyon Middle School student who was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at the age of 6, ran the diabetes table. 

"Diabetes is called a hidden disability, because it is a disability that you cannot see," he told students, directing them to snap rubber bands around their wrists to stimulate the feeling of a pin prick used to test blood sugar levels. "Pricking your finger hurts at least 10 times more than that rubber band."

At the vision table, the students were given Braille alphabet cards to experience how it felt to be visually impaired. With blindfolds obstructing their sight, classmates worked together to reconstruct wooden puzzles, using only their fingers to guide them.

The fine motor station showed students how difficult basic things can be when muscles do not work. After putting on large rubber gloves, the students were instructed to open the wrapper of Starburst candies, and then string Fruit Loops onto thick shoe laces. Those who were successful received their handmade treats to eat. 

Yerba Buena Principal Christina Desiderio said the workshop was a big success. 

"I think this is fantastic," she said. "I'd like to do an event like this every year."