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Ideas and Props for Disability Awareness

Almost 48.9 million Americans have a disability, according to the United States Census Bureau. Until the second half of the 20th century, exclusion for people with disabilities was typical. Federal legislation now prohibits discrimination of people with disabilities in the workplace. Other federal laws mandate that state boards of education educate children with disabilities in the natural environment. People with disabilities still struggle for acceptance and respect. Disability awareness programs help facilitate the inclusion of people with disabilities in the community.

  1. Puppets Promote Disability Awareness

    • The PACER Center Count Me In puppet program helps the preschool or elementary audience explore disabilities in a comforting and safe environment through puppet interaction. Trained puppeteers perform from scripts highlighting specific types of disabilities. Common disability scripts include deafness, cerebral palsy, blindness and Down syndrome. Arrange a 35-minute or one-hour show, depending on time constraints. Groups outside the Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota area can purchase puppets and scripts.

    People First Language

    • People First Language prohibits the use of outdated and negative terms, which refer to people with disabilities in a derogatory manner. For example, People First Language replaces "mental retardation" with "intellectual disability," "person with disability" becomes "disabled person," and the word "retard" in reference to a person or as a joke is eradicated. Consider creating a tri-fold prop to display in the common areas during the disability awareness program. Write People First Language terminology on the board along with the outdated terms. Provide a paper hand out for program participants to take home.

    Community for All Tool Kit

    • The Human Policy Council of Syracuse University offers Community for All tool kit. Download the tool kit free or order the 403-page manual. The tool kit provides facts and information about disability history, community options, issues, trends and policies. Consider creating data charts, policy suggestions, and challenge questions using information from the manual.

    Disability History Wall Exhibit

    • Advocating Change Together, a non-profit self-advocacy group, developed the Disability History exhibit which pictorially documents the change in disability perception for the past 3000 years. Twenty-two laminated panels of full color images and historical facts compose the exhibit. Consider using the display to promote conversation of societal values, employment opportunities and community living for people with disabilities. Position the panels in accordion fashion on a row of tabletops. Assign a person familiar with the historical wall images to be available during the presentation to answer questions or provoke conversation.

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