Stories of Disability

• Novels and stories are simple, effective ways to introduce disability awareness into the curriculum. Choose non-fiction or fiction stories about individuals to whom the students can relate, such as children of a similar age. Discuss the books as a class, focusing particularly on the feelings of the characters when faced with different challenges.
  
  Although books that specifically address a character's disability are an indispensable tool in opening the dialogue about physical and mental impairments, you may also choose curriculum materials that incorporate disabled characters into normal instruction.
  
  

Guest Speakers

• Invite a member of the disabled community into the classroom to talk with the students and share his experiences. For instance, a deaf or hearing-impaired speaker could teach some simple phrases in American Sign Language or discuss how to behave courteously when talking to a lip-reader. Before your guest visits, brief the students on how to ask questions respectfully, but don't repress their natural curiosity. Open dialogue will help the children grow more comfortable with their own feelings.
  
  

Emulating Disabilities

• One way to help students think compassionately about disability is to assign a task that mimics the experience of a disability. Use this exercise to develop empathy in young children, who may lack the imagination to put themselves in a disabled person's shoes. Even well-informed adults can gain new insights about living with disabilities through an exploratory activity.
  
  To emulate a physical disorder, instruct a student to complete a simple task, such as opening a jar, with only one hand. Students can explore a learning disability by attempting to read scrambled text quickly or copy words seen through a mirror. Be creative and respectful, reminding the students that the activity is only meant to approximate one aspect of disability. Follow up the experience with an open discussion of how it felt to attempt the tasks.
  
  

Respecting Differences

• All people are unique and have different skills and abilities. To provide an analogy for disability, highlight the differences between your students while remembering their underlying similarities. For example, discuss whether left-handedness is a disability, since it impairs your ability to use scissors or write without smudging ink. Have students take a test to discover their learning styles and show that not all people learn or think in the same way.