Doing it is the BEST way to learn!

As a future Special Education teacher I find myself always searching for new ways to better understand what my students are going through. I feel that I cannot properly help or educate them if I myself don't fully grasp what they are going though. I believe that this is something that all people, no matter what walk of life they come from, should attempt to do. One of the opportunities that I was fortunate to encounter this semester was an activity that took you thought different disabilities. In this activity you had to maneuver yourself though a building when sitting in a wheelchair. The requirements were that you went in and out of the front doors, went into the restroom, attempted to wash your hands, and just partake in day to day activities to see what it would really be like to be in a wheelchair. We did the same things while being blindfolded to represent what it would be like to be blind. Other activities that we did was attempt to write and draw simple lines while looking in a mirror to represent what it would be like to be dyslexic, piling about five very thick socks on our hand while attempting to pick up different items such as a pencil or a paperclip to represent the lack of fine motor skills. At one point we were not allowed to move any part of our body and had to attempt to type and write our names buy using tools with our mouths to signify what paralysis would be like. These really are just a few of the outstanding activities that we got to partake in. After this exercise I was so overwhelmed with so many emotions that I wasn't sure to laugh or cry, but after having a little time to reflect this activity is something that I would love to start in schools all over the world in attempts to better educate others on what it is like to be disabled. My hope is that if others can experience this even for a short amount of time they might have a better understanding and be able to help make accommodations for their students. Although most of us will never fully understand what its like to be disabled in one way or another, maybe by participating in an activity such as this, it will help eliminate a lot of the bias' put on those with disabilities and create a more accepting world.