WeCanAccess Youth
August 9 2021
August 9 2021Making classrooms and clubs more accessible and inclusive!
We are inviting your school or club to take part in our WeCanAccess Youth activity to make your classrooms and playgrounds more inclusive and accessible for everyone!
You know someone with a disability!
Did you know that around 1 billion people, (15% of the world’s population) have a recognised disability?
That means that you will have children with disabilities in your school or club. They might be visible or they might be hidden!
A disability happens when something creates a challenge for you. It might be that you have a physical impairment or you might have a learning difficulty, or you might experience the world in a different way to everyone else.
You can also be disabled by the world or people around you! For example, when something is out of reach, or a grownup says ‘no’ because they do not think you can do something.
It can be hard for children with disabilities to keep up with their peers. By not including them properly, their confidence and the way they see themselves might be damaged. By not getting to know them, you might be missing out on a good friend!
Siblings
The brothers and sisters of children with disabilities and additional needs can also need a bit of extra help and understanding. They may have extra worries about their sibling’s health and help look after them. They might miss out on activities as their parents are always at medical or therapy appointments. They might be angry or embarrassed about the attention their brother or sister gets. They might worry about bullies. There is often a lot going on for these kids, and the best thing you can do is offer a friendly ear and a bit of understanding.
See the world differently
This activity has three challenges:
1: To come up with ideas on how to get to know and include your disabled and differently abled peers/ sibling.
2: To tell people what life is like for you living with disabilities, learning difficulties or other needs, and what they can do to get to know and include you better.
3. To tell people what life is like living with a sibling with disabilities, learning difficulties or other needs, and what they can do to get to know and include you better.
Work by some of the kids
The activity pack includes descriptions of children with additional needs to help you think of ways to include them in your class and in your games.
The work below is by Arieana and Avri, age 6, from the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
They are talking about Nik. Nik has a sight impairment that affects his peripheral vision, so he can only see what is directly in front of him. Nik can’t see to the left or right. He can’t see above him or where his feet are.
They both describe how they could help Nik by:
- helping him with directions and guiding him
- rearranging the classroom for him
- telling him where things are
- protecting him from bullies
All very simple and doable actions.
The children in this class in the UAE had no idea that children with disabilities went to their school at all. They were all very keen to find out more and support their peers by the end of the session. In a class in London, UK, children with additional needs made friends for the first time after doing these activities! We would love to hear about the difference it makes to you and your class!
Now it is your turn
Below we have included our WeCanAccess Youth activity.
You can download it as a PowerPoint presentation or a PDF file.
The packs include information about disability, some descriptions of kids with disabilities and some activities to help you understand and guide you in coming up with ideas on how to be more inclusive at school or in your clubs. It also includes information and activities around the siblings of children with additional needs.
Use the resources to:
- find out more about disability and why people with additional needs can feel excluded and lonely.
- come up with ways to include and support people with disabilities and additional needs.
- explain to your peers how to treat and include you and your siblings.
- tell us and other people about your experiences and ideas
Any questions? Want to send us your work? Email us at challenge@wecanaccess.com or contact us here.
Download the WeCanAccess Youth Project below as a PDF and a Powerpoint presentation in English, Portuguese or Spanish:
PowerPoint Presentation to download
PDF file to download
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