Simulations used to teach middle schoolers about disability

From in NBC29 Charlottesville, Va. It should be noted that many people in the disability community do not think simulations are helpful in understanding the life experiences of people with disabilities.

"Walk a mile in someone else's shoes." It's a phrase most of us have used, but few of us have actually lived. Students at one Augusta County school did just that to understand life with a disability.

The Wilson Rehabilitation Center in Fishersville treats and strengthens thousands of people every year. Dec. 2, a series of simulations gave eighth grade students at Stewart Middle School a crash course in living with permanent effects of an injury or illness.

"Students with disabilities really are included a whole lot more than they used to be when you and I were school. So I think there is a greater understanding and acceptance for what goes on... Not necessarily an understanding of what life is really like," SMS Special Education Teacher Tina Capuano told NBC29's Ken Slack.

To help them gain that understanding, students simulated walking and shooting hoops, after cerebral palsy robbed them of their balance. They went up and down stairs with one disabled leg, and tried to open and enjoy a peanut butter cup without control of their fingers.

After the experience, SMS student Abby Armstrong shared, "It was really difficult. I never imagined it being so hard just to eat a piece of candy."

She continued, "Everyone else that actually has disabilities are less fortunate. They have to go through this every day, and I cannot imagine doing it every day."

But it's those everyday tasks that students found the most frustrating. "We worked in a wheelchair like we had a stroke. We could only use one side of our body. We had to put a sweatshirt on. That was hard," said SMS student Cody Fitzgerald.

SMS student Phillip Fitzgerald added, "On the gym, they locked my legs around for people who lose half of their body, down below. And we had to try to shoot basketball...and it was really hard because you couldn't bend like you wanted to, and a bunch of us fell."

Teachers and volunteers say students already interact with disabled classmates, but there's a difference between knowing the challenges and living them. Fitzgerald said, "I'm lucky... I really am. Because I was born healthy."

The Wilson Rehab Center helped arrange the school's Disability Awareness Day. We talked to several students who say they gained a new level of understanding and count themselves blessed that Tuesday's activities were only a simulation.