Marcia A. Cohen
Objective
Students will name the difficulties encountered by people who are blind, learning disabled, deaf, or wheelchair bound.
Materials
Blindfold, mirror, wheelchair, ear plugs. (Wheelchair and assorted splints and braces may be borrowed from the physically handicapped classroom if your school has one, or from the Easter Seals Rehabilitation Center.)
Procedure
To simulate blindness students could wear a blindfold and try to negotiate an obstacle course. To simulate learning disabilities a student should try to copy a passage from a book by writing with their non-dominant hand and looking at the passage through a mirror’s reversed reflection. To simulate deafness have students wear ear plugs and try to watch T.V. To understand problems encountered by those confined to wheelchairs, have students try to get to the lav or around their school in a wheelchair. Ask them to think about how they could shop in a supermarket or go to church if they couldn’t walk. Brainstorm problems faced by the disabled with the group and have students discuss how people might have to compensate for each disability.