"The Disability is Not a Limitation"

  I want to start out by saying that I believe this video would not only be useful in educating today's children and youth, but can also be used to send a message to our entire society that Down syndrome is a disability NOT a limitation.

Included is a short video of a young man, Eli and his father, Justin, sharing their experience climbing to the first base camp of Mount Everest.

How many of you have done that???

In this video Justin (Eli's father) talks about how there is nothing out of the realm of possibility when an individual has Down syndrome. In fact, while they were climbing, Eli's health was often better than all the others who were with them. Justin says, "that [they] were the ones feeling [their] own sense of disability" and Justin was often times leading the group on the climb.

Here is Justin's message:

"For anyone who has a child with a disability...or for the rest of the culture...to understand the disability is NOT a limitation and is not outside of the scope of God's goodness...the lives of those with disabilities have infinite worth and they can attempt great things...they can be used powerfully to impact their culture and impact the world"

God's goodness indeed!!! Well said!!!

Watch the video. Show it to your students and children. Help Justin share his message with everyone.

If you are having trouble viewing, click here. 

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Lesson Idea:

Again just a thought, teachers feel free to share ideas with us about how you incorporated this video into your lesson and/or classroom. I would love to hear!!!

Teachers could use Eli's story as a model for students in the classroom. His story could be used to provide students with a example of something exceptional that a person with a disability has accomplished.

Ages: 13 & up (Grade 8 to grade 12)

Introduction:

• Have a short mini lesson on some common (but accurate) characteristics of individuals with Down syndrome. For accurate information click here, here and here. Show the students what is expected of them for the assignment.

• Show Eli's video to the class

• Have the students in groups or individually go out and research other people that have accomplished unthinkable or exceptional goals who have a disability of any kind.

• The assignment could include a written portion

• The students could do a class presentation about the individual and their disability. This way the rest of the class would have the opportunity to be exposed to and learn about other individuals with disabilities and what each disability highlighted might entail.

Conclusion:

Students could do a self reflection of what they learned. How this assignment may have helped them to be empathetic toward individuals with disabilities? What was the most important lesson they gained from the assignment? Whether or not this assignment helped them to view individuals with disabilities differently?

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I hope this helps even so much as to provide you with just a few helpful links and a video to show your students.

Please let me know if you found this helpful or feel free to share your ideas with us!!!

Melissa Riggio Shares Her Thoughts

 

Here is an excerpt from an article from the National Geographic Kids website. Melissa Riggio is sharing her thoughts about what it is like to have Down syndrome. She is very honest and mature in the way that she describes what her life is like and what her dreams are. She says,

"I can’t change that I have Down syndrome, but one thing I would change is how people think of me. I’d tell them: Judge me as a whole person, not just the person you see. Treat me with respect, and accept me for who I am. Most important, just be my friend.

After all, I would do the same for you."

Please read the the rest of the article here.

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Lesson:

This article could be incorporated into a lesson in so many ways. I will leave it to you to decide how you will use this. It could be as simple as...

1. Reading the article independently and doing a journal reflection

2. The teacher could read the article and have a class discussion

3. Could be used in center work or even as guided reading material

I am sure you all will come up with more innovative ideas than that but I thought I would put it out there. And as always....

Please feel free to share how you used this resource in your classrooms and/or homes and also tell us how your students reacted to Melissa's story.

Charlie and Isabelle

I'm so excited to be able to post this and start this series on the blog!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

In honour of a new school year, here is my first attempt at ideas to help to educate our kids. I sincerely hope parents and teachers out there find it useful!!!

Educating Our Kids - Resource #1

 

Watch this video of Charlie and Isabelle with your children or your classes to try and start a healthy conversation about what it means to have Down syndrome. I think it would be utilized best with younger children, ages 4-7.

If you are in a classroom setting, this video might be a great way to bring up the topic without having to center anybody out.

Click here if you are having trouble viewing the video 

Please don't assume that because your kids go to school with a person that has Down syndrome, or are friends with a person who has it, that they have an accurate understanding of what it means. Actually, I find that it is the opposite. Just because students are all in the same room together doesn't mean that they pay attention to one another.

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Suggestions for a lesson plan:

*Teachers out there...you are the professionals. This is just what I have come up with. Hope it helps!

Ages: Primary grades (K-2) or ages 4-7

Major Learning Goal: All children are unique creations and have something different to share. Children with Down syndrome achieve all the same goals that other children achieve but at different times. For example, it might take them a little longer to learn how to read, but they will learn how.

Introduction to lesson:

Have a group discussion with your children or students to assess what their prior knowledge of the subject might be. For example, try to find out if they have ever heard of Down Syndrome (or other special needs) and/or what their experience with it might be (this might be difficult with the really young ones, who may not even realize that other kids are different - which is a beautiful thing - you know them best, you be the judge).

Core Lesson:

Show the video to the students and have another brief discussion about things they noticed about Charlie and Isabelle in the video. What was the same about them? What was different? Did they have fun together?

Activity:

Kindergarten (ages 4-5)

Have the students choose a previously selected colouring picture of an activity they would like to do with Isabelle and Charlie. I have added some printable colouring pics here, here and here, but feel free to use which ever pics suit your students or children best.

Grades 1-2 (ages 6-7)

1. Have the students do a brief journal entry of your choice and an accompanying picture.

2. Have the students pretend a new student has come into their class. This student has Down syndrome. Have them role play healthy ways to welcome this student into the class. Have them come up with activities that they think would make ANY new student feel comfortable.

Conclusion:

Close up the discussion by revisiting the major learning goal. All children are unique and should be treated with respect no matter what. I believe children with Down syndrome (or other special needs) should be included in all activities that the others are included in. This way the teacher is providing solid modeling for the children to imitate.

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Anyway...that's just an idea!

I am writing this both as a mom and a teacher. I am by no means an expert at either and have not had the opportunity to try this in a classroom. I am open to feedback or ideas about how you incorporated this video into your teaching about DS.

Please feel free to share your ideas and experiences in the comments of this post!!!

I think it is important to provide opportunities for all children to be empathic towards each other. We need to try to teach our kids that everyone is different and capable of different things.