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ST. AENGUS’ NATIONAL SCHOOL LEARNING ABOUT DISABILITY
BY; DCIL MANAGER ROSALEEN BRADLEY
Third and forth class pupils at St. Aengus’ National School in Bridgend have been learning about disability during the last four weeks, with the help of a Donegal Centre For Independent Living (DCIL) created program that encourages children to think positively about disability. DCIL believe a person’s perception of disability is something that occurs at a young age and often lasts a lifetime, therefore, it’s important we ensure children can learn about disability in a positive manner within a forum that nurtures and allows for their many questions and experiences.
The children were asked to discuss the barriers and challenges people with disabilities might face, and how these can be overcome. They also learned how people with disabilities can live independently with the aid of personal Assistants (PAS), mobility aids, and assistive technology. They also took part in a competition in which they had to write an essay entitled “What I have learned about disability.” On reading these it’s very obvious the children gained a greater understanding of disability over the past few weeks, and their perception of disability is extremely positive. This will impact greatly on the experiences of pupils with disabilities during their time in school.
Jennifer Doherty and myself are from Inishowen, and are the DCIL Staff Members responsible for bringing this programme to St. Anegus’ School. Jennifer brought along O.J. her guide dog, which was a big hit with the kids. We hope we can offer this training to other schools throughout Donegal over the next year but this depends very much on the availability of funding.
We commend the commitment of the 3rd & 4th class teachers at St. Aengus’ National School, and also acknowledge the guidance of Paul Fagan of TRACS for his support in developing a suitable programme.
We are interested in hearing from schools that would like to avail of the opportunity to have this programme delivered within their school in the future. Please contact me at: 074 9128945 / rosaleendcil@eircom.net