For 15 years, Options for Independence has sponsored Disability Awareness Day (DAD). Participants in DAD assume a disability for a morning and then take part in a roundtable to discuss their experiences.

This column highlights the experiences of educators from Owasco Elementary School and community members who participated.

Cheryl Miskell

Fourth-grade teacher

When it came time for Miskell to discuss her experiences, she called on her students, who accompanied her to the discussion. Her morning was spent with an aging disability. She used a walker, earplugs and special goggles to impede her vision.

Miskell's students weren't shy about sharing their experiences. Children explained how they had to help their teacher carry her coffee cup to the class, speak loudly to be heard, and even move chairs out of her way so that she could navigate the classroom.

Miskell said she learned a lot about what people with disabilities go through, and so did her students.

Helen Day

Teacher

For the morning, Day wore a neck brace to simulate having a spinal injury. While wearing the brace she was unable to look down. This presents a problem when dealing with her students.

“I would be talking to students, but I just couldn't see them,” she explained.

Day found the experience very enlightening.

Meg Narvy

Physical education teacher

For the morning, Narvy assumed the disability of partial paralysis due to a stroke. She walked with a walker and had leg weights to restrict her mobility. The students' reactions to her condition were a real eye-opener. While some students were very compassionate to her condition, others seemed intimidated by it.

“Some students wouldn't even look at me,” Narvy said.

Kim Dunster

First-grade teacher

For the morning, Dunster assumed a mobility disability due to a sprained ankle.

As a first-grade teacher, Dunster is used to getting down on the floor in the classroom to be on the same level as her students. With cast in place, this became almost impossible. DAD gave her a new perspective on what people with mobility disabilities deal with every day.

Gilda Brower

City councilor

Brower was to spend the morning with one arm bound to simulate an arm amputation. However, the previous night she broke her wrist, making her physical difficulties for the day real.

“I had (to) type up a notice that had to go out, and I am not used to typing with only one hand, so I struggled,” Brower said. “When I go home today, I will have to struggle to get that done.

“I didn't expect to be so impacted,” she added.

Sheila Mikkelso

Seymour Library executive director

Mikkelso spent the morning with her hand bound to simulate a hand amputation. In addition to the expected difficulties, a surprise challenge greeted her when she arrived at work.

The library is home to two cats. The daily routine for Mikkelso is to pet them when she arrives. They get jealous over perceived favoritism, so she has to be careful to pet them at the same time. With only one hand, she couldn't interact with her pets the way she was accustomed.

She learned that a disability can affect you in ways you can't imagine.

Collin M. Sullivan is ADA/access advocate for Options for Independence.