We use five sensitivity exercises and provide them under the guise of a lottery to express the notion that life can be thought of as a lottery and a child can be born with a disability or any person can survive a life-changing accident at any moment.
- When a group of children arives for a visit to our farm, we begin with a sort of lottery at the front gate. Each child receives a ticket, which may bear one of the following words: “wheelchair,” “amputee,” “blind” or “vision loss,” “deaf” or “hearing loss,” “mute,” or which may be blank.
Children who receive a ticket with the word “wheelchair” are seated in a wheelchair and then complete the entire tour of the farm with this new disability. They are not permitted to get up from the wheelchair, even if there are some spaces that are not accessible.
- Children who receive a ticket with the word “amputee” have an arm or leg bound and then complete the entire tour of the farm with this new disability. They are not permitted to use the affected limb; if it is a leg, they are given crutches.
- Children who receive a ticket with the word “blind” or “vision loss” are blindfolded or given a pair of occluding spectacles to replicate varieties of vision loss. They are not permitted to remove this device and see as they normally would for the entire duration of the tour. As this is a petting zoo, nearly all of the animals may be touched, and the children are encouraged to experience through touch, smell, and sound.
- Children who receive a ticket with the word “deaf” or “hearing loss” are given earplugs or iPods with white noise to replicate varieties of hearing loss. They are not permitted to remove this device and hear as they normally would for the entire duration of the tour. As this is a petting zoo, nearly all of the animals may be touched, and the children are encouraged to experience through sight, touch, and smell.
- Children who receive a ticket with the word “mute” have their mouths gently bound and are not permitted to speak for the entire duration of the tour. As children are encouraged to ask questions, the children are experience how difficult it is to not be able to communicate or express oneself fully, whether with people or animals.
Explanation
The Discussion:
After the tour of the zoo, we have a talk lead by Hugo or another volunteer who has a disability. During this discussion, a couple of the teachers are seated in wheelchairs and asked to wheel themselves through an obstacle course (they never are able to get to where they want to go when there such simple obstacles as a two by four laying across the path). We also cover the eyes of a teacher and have her walk across a large open space to a table with a pitcher of water and a glass. She must find the table and props and fill the glass with water. These exercises help demonstrate how frustrating it is to have to always ask someone for help and how difficult life can be for a person who uses a wheelchair or is blind to go about town alone.
We also teach the children how they can help a person with a disability they may meet on the street. We go over each of the five areas of disability, and explain how every person has different needs.
Some of the issues/questions we get the kids thinking about: How did it feel to experience the sensation of having a disability? How did it feel to see their teacher in a frustrating position? Are there any children with disabilities at their school or in their neighborhoods? Do they know any children with disabilities in their families or neighborhoods? Would they like to have a friend with a disability? How does one help a person with a disability who is met on the street? In what ways can people with disabilities become a productive part of society? Etc.
After the discussion, the children are given a chance to explore the grounds without their disability and have a chance to ask more questions.