Mission Avenue spreads disability awareness through 'A Touch of Understanding’

Fourth-grade students from Mission Avenue Open Elementary School gathered around their carpet on Feb. 13 for a special day introducing them to an empowering workshop.

Mission Avenue has partnered with A Touch of Understanding for fifteen years to bring their disability-awareness workshop to the fourth-grade classrooms and provide students with an understanding of the challenges associated with disabilities. As students learn from the guest speakers and through hands-on activities, they increase their acceptance and respect for all individuals.

Volunteers from A Touch of Understanding described their lives with disabilities through an interactive presentation with the students including a question and answer session. Students raised their hands and asked questions to gather an understanding of the volunteers’ disabilities as well as to get to know them.  

“The students get the opportunity to experience what it might be like to live with a disability,” said fourth-grade teacher Samantha Sidebotham. “A Touch of Understanding is giving the students specific things they can take from today and practice when they’re out in the real world.”

Classes were divided into smaller groups to join activity stations led by A Touch of Understanding volunteers. Students experienced the handling of wheelchairs, artificial limbs and mobility canes, learned and practiced how to write in Braille and immersed themselves in an audio recording to understand the challenges of individuals with autism.

“If you put yourself in their shoes, you can see how they face life every day,” said fourth grader, Vivian Skinner.

San Juan Unified School District is proud to partner with community organizations to provide students with real-world experiences and cultivate a welcoming environment for all.