A week in a seat with Luca at Pres school
LUCA Pezzillo from Boghall Road in Bray gave teachers and his fellow pupils at Pres an insight into what life is like when using a wheelchair.
Luca (15), who is a past pupil of St Cronan’s, is in transition year, and he came up with the idea for ‘Week in a Seat’, and organised the event which took place all through last week.
Each day, three teachers, and on Friday three students, spent their school day using a wheelchair and found out what challenges Luca faces every day.
They include, negotiating around the tables in a classroom, reaching for things at a height or using the top of the whiteboard.
They realised that if the lift is in use, you just have to wait, and everything takes that bit longer.
The teachers who took on the challenge said that the experience was deeply humbling, and that you don’t realise until you are using a wheelchair, how the world is from that perspective.
Luca said that in his own experience, he would like people to be more aware of, for example, not standing in the way in the corridor as he is worried about perhaps running over a foot!
‘I hope to raise awareness of mobility issues and set an example to other schools and organisations to take up the challenge themselves,’ he said.
‘I feel this would be important to help people have a better understanding of what it’s like to be disabled in a school or public environment.’
Everything from making a cup of tea, to speaking to people at a different height, can present challenges.
Yet Luca tackles these challenges with determination, and a willingness to ask for help when he needs it.
He hopes to make a presentation on his project at the end of the year with the work being done throughout transition year.
The teachers and principal Pat Gregory said that the whole project was managed by Luca, from the genesis of the idea, to creating posters, to selecting people to take part. There was certainly no shortage of volunteers for the job.