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Are you happy being who you
are?
Developed over the course of years of
speaking to classes, the Beyond Diversity
Workshop is a workshop designed for elementary
and middle school students. Kevin Chong has
Cerebral Palsy, a condition which impacts the
motor skills. Cerebral Palsy affects the ability
to speak, to walk straight, to hold utensils and
in severe cases can result in the person
remaining wheelchair bound. Kevin himself walks
with a gait, has limited motion of his left
side, and talks with slight impairment. Kevin
begins by involving the children in a discussion
about disabilities, asking questions such as
"What is a disability?" "Is it okay to ask
someone about their disability?"
Workshop Topics:
- Respect: “What is respect?”
- Disabilities: “What is a Disability?”
- Empathy
- Perseverance
- Self-respect
- Patience
- Showing respect
- Cerebral Palsy
- Overcoming Obstacles
Activities include:
- Pole Writing – How would your signature
look if you had CP?
- Sticking Tape to Respect - When you
don't quite blend into the crowd!
Once the children have become more comfortable
with asking questions, Kevin engages the
children in a few exercises to re-create the
experience of having a disability. One exercise
involves the children writing their name using a
marker pen taped to the end of a stick. This
exercise gives the experience of impairment of
fine-tuned motor control. Kevin reassures the
children, "This is what it's like for me to try
to write my name." Another exercise has the
children trying to button up their coats and
shirts when their hands are wrapped in tape.
This exercise re-creates the experience of
completing tasks when individual fingers don't
respond to mental commands.
With this experience fresh in their minds, Kevin
turns the class back to the topic of
disabilities, prompting the children to ask him
questions about life with a disability. "What
activities do you think I can't do?" "What
activities do you think I can do?" He then talks
about the activities he's participated in that
the children wouldn't expect a person with a
disability to be able to do. While letting the
children steer much of the conversation, Kevin
brings the topic gradually around to respect.
Children are asked, "Is it OK to look at someone
with a difference?" "What is respect?" "How do
you show respect for another?"
Kevin wraps up his workshop by bringing all the
experience and discussion down to one central
issue: "Are you happy being who you are?"
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