[tri-med] Re: Disability Awareness

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Jennifer Vanderbeek" <Phil46@xxxxxxxxxxxx>

> I don't know if you know what ABC's Ultimate Makeover Home Edition is, but
> they redid a house for a family with a son who is autistic and blind
awhile
> ago.  To help the designers understand what it feels like to be autistic,
> they sat the head guy in a chair with rocks on it (to show how it feels to
> be sore and uncomfortable due to lack of repositioning or just
sensitivity),
> put lime juice in his mouth (for bad tastes from lunch or just in
general),
> taped his mouth shut (not being able to communicate), shined flashlights
in
> his eyes (overstimulation and light sensitivity), had someone sit close to
> him and whisper (distractions caused by other people in the room that were
> hard to tune out), waved a cologne-soaked cloth in his face (smells that
> were overpowering), and had two people giving him directions (making it
hard
> for him to keep up and decipher what it was for him to do).  It was a
really
> enlightening experience.


We saw this program as well. Jim and both the kids commented on that segment
of the show and it was a 'wow, can you imagine' type of thing.

Anyhow, this family lives approx. 1.5 hrs from me here in Michigan. The
'experts' who helped Ty design this boys room and play/stimulation/sensory
room were from his 'special school'. His teacher and therapists helped. They
were the ones who helped simulate for Ty what it's like to be autistic and
gave advice on how to set things up and what to include.

They live in Oak Park Michigan. Do any of the other Michiganders, nearer
Detroit than I, know what school this was? Perhaps they (the school) could
share and/or send Karen some info on how to share that type of info with an
impact.
Also, perhaps the tv network ABC could point you in the right direction.

Also Karen, 7 yrs or so ago a  friend with a son dx'ed with dyslexia shared
a video tape that she'd purchased. It 'showed' what it was like to have a
brain that didn't work quite the same as the general population. There were
exercises in which adult educators participated in to get the feel for what
some of their students experience. I've contacted Dawn for the name of the
tape and where she got it (at the time I would have liked to purchase one
but they were something like $80). Dawn actually shared this tape with the
teachers in our son's school (Alex is the same grade as Drew).
If/when she gets back with me I'll send the info on re: the video tape.

I know there used to be a puppet troupe that traveled around. Their
'program' was a play that had cores of tolerence, differences, disabilities
etc. and many of the puppets were disabled, ethnically diverse, had hidden
disabilities.
 Again I'm not a huge help because I can't remember their name but perhaps
it will ring a bell for someone else?????

Maybe The Children's Television Workshop (producers of Sesame Street) could
be a resourse? They've done topics on those issues.

Michelle mom to Alex (17, partial trisomy 14 mosaic) and Molly (13)
MichiganUSA


                  Building ___ooOOoo__ Rainbows
                       www.trisomyonline.org
                  Families Helping Families On-line

Other related posts: