Lakeside celebrates differences
Lakeside Intermediate School has planned activities this week for students to learn about the challenges other students face with physical and mental disabilities.
Sensory stations will be set up in the library media center for a full Understanding Differences week for students to experience the difficulties of living with disabilities that can affect dexterity, hearing, motor skills, visual acuity and other functions. The school hosted similar activities three years ago to observe World Autism Awareness Day and
National Autism Month.
“The children from the group really enjoyed these stations and their empathy went up a lot,” said Christy Campbell, speech language therapist at the school. “We want the children to understand that sometimes everybody has to overcome something to be able to perform and do well at school.
“Even though we all have differences, it is no big deal. We keep on going and do the best we can.”
The intermediate school includes students in grades 2-4. Enrollment of the school now includes new classes of students who did not attend the school during the autism awareness activities.
“The kids will get to experience different things that are very challenging for them,” Campbell.
The stations and activities will be overseen by Misti Bell, library media specialist; Nancy Bradbury, paraprofessional; volunteers from the parent teacher organization; Campbell; and the school’s teachers. The stations are designed to demonstrate how students with disabilities must overcome challenges to accomplish common tasks.
Students will be able to learn about dexterity disabilities by attempting to string beads with thick gardening gloves. A visual acuity station will require them to attempt to copy a page out of a book by reading with glasses covered with Vaseline.
A station about motor skills will require them to navigate an obstacle course while wearing a leg brace and moving a lunch tray on top of a walker. They will also be able to learn about hearing and language abilities in a listening station.
The school’s counselors and teachers have planned class activities, such as writing with a non-dominant hand to connect with the lessons. The activities are designed to teach students about empathy, compassion and respecting each other regardless of differences.
“We want our children to know it is OK to be the square peg in the round hole,” Campbell said. “We do not all have to be the same. It is OK to be different, accepting and love each other.”
Each day will include its own theme for students to dress up throughout the week. Two groups of students developed and performed their own readers’ theater shows, which were recorded by Lakeside High School students in Chris Slaton’s Broadcasting classes. The performances will be on display in the library, along with the sensory stations.