Youth aDAPT
Disability Awareness Program & Training for Youth
I have been delivering a disability awareness program to youth in Greater Victoria schools, grades Kindergarten through 8, since 2019. As of February 2023, I have proudly presented to over 100 classes! I teach based on my 30 years of lived experience with disabilities as I promote dignity, respect, equality, understanding, and kindness. I provide a safe, comfortable, and non-judgmental environment for students to express their curiosity, have a positive experience and ask any question they may have. Youth in attendance learn valuable and helpful lessons on disabilities that they will be able to use for the rest of their lives when communicating with, interacting with, and assisting people living with disabilities. This includes learning practical ways to be supportive of their classmates who have a disability.
This introduction to disability awareness teaches youth what a disability is, and how the diagnosis affects each individual person differently. They learn what the word disability means, but most of all, they learn what it does not mean. We discuss that disability can affect any person through an accident, an illness. or the natural process of aging.
I present material about disabilities to the students in an age-appropriate manner that fosters empathy, compassion, and 
understanding toward people living with disabilities. Students get to experiment with accomplishing tasks as a person with a disability would need to. It’s an experience that demonstrates how difficult some daily tasks are for people whose body or brain works differently from the mainstream. From this experience and the questions I ask following the experience, we have meaningful discussions on how they felt while doing the task. We then have a discussion of things they could have done that would make that task easier, and how they could help someone who is unable to do tasks the same way as most. Students are shown some tools and devices that people with disabilities may use to assist themselves to accomplish everyday activities. This demonstrates to the students that people living with disabilities can do things the able-bodied community can do, only we adapt and do them a bit differently.
Language is one of the most powerful tools we have. We can lift each other up with our words or knock each other down. Youth in attendance learn to be mindful of the words they choose to use when speaking about themselves or others. Additionally, aDAPT for Youth teaches attendees the preferred language to use and the language to avoid. This use of language promotes respect, dignity, and kindness toward all. I emphasize that it is not difficult to be nice, so just be kind.
Most disabilities are non-apparent. Students learn how to recognize this and how to be supportive of their classmates and others who may have either a non-apparent or an apparent disability, and need to do things differently to accomplish a task. Students learn new ways to problem solve and how to be more inclusive of people with disabilities.
Accessibility is more than a parking spot, ramp, or a bathroom. They learn that accessibility applies to websites and everyday use products, and the reality of people being excluded from buying or using a product because it lacks necessary accessible features. Students have brilliant minds and some may put this information to use in the future to develop products and tools with accessibility in mind!
Every person is deserving of dignity and respect, and every student deserves to have their best experience in school. The feedback I’ve received from teachers and students who have attended my class demonstrates that learning directly from people with lived experiences around disability is an impactful experience. It also demonstrates the wonderful ability of children to grasp and embrace new information, to want very much to understand the world around them, and to have a positive impact on others.
This is not a funded program, at this time.