Students experience living with a disability
Sickles School event continues 20-year tradition
BY JENNA O'DONNELL Staff Writer

Top to bottom:Michael Friedman tries to identify fake money while wearing a mask to simulate the experience of a person who is blind during the visual impairment session during Understanding Disabilities Day at Viola Sickles School in Fair Haven on April 10. Derek Pheler tries his hand at sign language as he spells his name with the last letter, K. Barbara Lehman, who is deaf, communicates with third-graders using sign language as they learn what it is like to live with a disability.

FAIR HAVEN - Third-graders at the Viola Sickles School experienced firsthand what it's like to have a disability duringUnderstanding Disabilities Day onApril 10.

"We further enhanced their learning by making this a part of their reading unit," explained Principal Jamie Turner. "So the questions that the children ask aremore sophisticated because we have integrated this with our reading program."

Understanding Disabilities Day addressed five areas during the daylong program: vision impairments, developmental disabilities, hearing impairments, learning disabilities and physical disabilities.

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"We get to learn about all the disabilities and get to see what it's like to have them," said 9-year-old Alec Walsack, who thought that the program was fun and one that he would remember for a while.

The approximately 100 third-graderswho participated in the event listened to presentations fromguestswith disabilities andwere able to interactwith themand ask questions.

The children also participated in various activities during the five, 45- minute sessions that gave them insight into what living with a disability is like.

Debi Thompson, of Toms River, a guest from The Motion Center for Independent Living, spoke to students aboutwhat it's like to be in a wheelchair.

Thompson explained how, as a mother of two sons, shehad to teachthemto come toher because she wasn't able to chase after them.

Sometimes her boyswould speculate that she couldn't do what other mothers could, but Thompson would tell them that there were many things that they could do together instead, such as arts and crafts and reading stories.

The students related well to Thompson and asked her questions about her day-today experiences as a person who uses a wheelchair.

"I want them to know that it's OK to ask for help," Thompson said. "I never wanted any help, but as I got older I've found that I'm not afraid to ask for help, and 99.9 percent of the people I meet are just wonderful and it's a blessing."

Thompson was glad to have the opportunity to talk and work with the children.

"People are generally afraid of what they don't understand," Thompson said.

To further develop an understanding and empathy for people with disabilities, the third-graders are continuing a program that has become a tradition at the Sickles School, which has been running Disabilities Day in some formfor about 20 years, according to incoming PTA President CarrieMarxen.

Children traveled between five rooms during the day, experiencing a different disability in each one. In the Hearing Room, students wore earplugs and were asked to write down three sentences spoken by their teacher in a regular voice, a whisper andwith her back turned to them.

"Huh?" responded a few of the boys, while one wrote a series of question marks on his response sheet.

SarahMaris, a parent of a childwith special needs, was another guest who spoke to students about developmental impairments.

"We try to help the children understand what itmight be like and help themto really experience it for themselves,"Maris said.

A few methods employed were to have children try to talk to each other with their speech obstructed by lollipops, to play a gamewith a secret rule that some of the children weren't aware of, and to have students try to read an "impossible paragraph" taken from a medical textbook, Maris explained.

Students also had to perform tasks such as counting money while wearing blindfolds to experience visual disability andwere asked to play cards and eatwith socks covering their hands to learn about the challenges of physical disability.

"It's very hands on,"Marxen said. "And it's fun, but it's also a day of learning."

The children reconvene at the end of the day to talk about their experiences and what they learned, according toMarxen.

The third-graders will also be going on a class trip to visit SPUR (Special People United toRide), an equestrian programfor people with disabilities run by the Monmouth County Park System.

"We're expecting anotherwonderful, eyeopening day for our students," saidMarxen in a release sent prior to the Thursday program. "We hope our children and parents will leave with a better understanding of those with disabilities and will take that knowledge out into the community."