Fayetteville-Manlius School District students recently gained insight on what it’s like to navigate a world that wasn’t built for them.
Fourth grade students at Fayetteville Elementary School and third grade students at Enders Elementary School took part in the “We All Learn Differently Olympics” (WALDO). This awareness program aims to give students a glimpse into the lives of others who have a disability or learn or experience things differently than themselves.
As part of WALDO, students rotated through stations that provided them with a variety of hands-on experiences:
- Completed an orally-delivered spelling test while covering their ears to simulate hearing loss
- Practiced buttoning clothes, typing and opening containers with gloves on to simulate what it’s like to have difficulty with fine motor skills
- Used adaptive devices that are used to assist individuals who have difficulty with fine motor skills
- Used assistive technology devices, such as a tablet with words and symbols on it, to demonstrate different modes of communication
- Introduced to and EpiPen auto injector training device during a lesson about food allergies and dietary restrictions
The stations were led by the schools’ nurses, occupational therapists, physical therapists, speech language pathologists, and special education teachers.
A student practices using a typing aid.
Students also attended panel discussions with guest speakers who live with disabilities. Guest speakers included F-M High School senior Aleia Kavisic, F-M alumni Joe Pagano, Jessica Charboneau, and Ryan Charboneau (SRC), and F-M parent Cheryl Prior.
The speakers emphasized that they do the same things other people do, but sometimes differently. Aleia shared information about her robotic prosthetic leg, which she controls with an app on her phone, and how she loves horseback riding. Joe shared via video how technology can help with communication. Ryan and Jessica, who use wheelchairs, shared videos of their recreational activities, and Cheryl spoke about muscular dystrophy and advocacy.
In addition to the panel discussions and hands-on activities, students participated in a library unit.
“Through books and discussions, students took away one main idea – everyone has differences and having differences is normal,” said Enders Road school counselor Kathryn Haley.
All three of F-M’s elementary schools participate in WALDO and Mott Road Elementary School is planning to host this year’s program in the spring.