Posted: 7/5/2008 at 09:20 AM
member(s) liked this post.
Email this to a Friend
While sipping my morning orange juice, I scanned through the articles covering disability topics that I had piled up in my email box. I came across this:
Puppet Show Raises Disability Awareness for Kids
From the article:
Children at the Boys and Girls Club received a first hand look Tuesday at what it really means to live with a disability.The Journey of Hope cycling team made a two-day stop in Casper to raise awareness about people with disabilities. They performed three skits from their puppet show, "Kids on the Block," which demonstrate that people with disabilities can do anything a normal person can. The show featured Sesame Street-style characters that had Downs Syndrome, cerebral palsy and blindness.
The Journey of Hope Cycling Team is composed of fraternity members who raise funds through various bike trips. While I applaud their efforts and the funds they raise for local programs, I want to share some thoughts about the "Kids on the Block" progam that I viewed through a local school.
The "Kids on the Block" program was run by several able-bodied women. For a few years, a deaf woman was part of their program. After she left, the program continued to run without a person with a disability involved in it. The short movies that they showed did not have open captions on them, so I couldn't access what was said on the movies. My daughter sat through the "Kids on the Block" movies without understanding them when they were at her school.
While the "Kids on the Block" program has good intentions of teaching kids across the country about people with disabilities, it is often run by people who have no disabilities. Think about how much more profound and interactive this program could be if people with disabilities were running it.
One of the ways that the Cycle of Hope could involve people with disabilities into their presentations is to call ahead at each location and find local people with disabilities to join them whenever they present their program in different towns. I'd like to see the fraternity and "Kids on the Block" make more of an effort to truly be "nothing about us, without us."
Your comment may take up to 15 minutes to appear.
Wow! I remember Kids on The Block performances when I was a kid! That's got to be almost 30 years ago now! As a kid, I of course didn't think anything of the politics behind the show. But I think you're right - they were always run by non disabled adults. I do remember liking the shows, though. :)
I also remember Kids on the Block from 15 or 20 years ago (that makes me sound older then I am). I remember the drugs & alcohol one and the disability one, and maybe something about safety around powerlines...
I wish I remember what I thought about the disability one at 5.
It could be interesting if a puppeteer had CP. The puppet might be a bit jerky and have a slight slur. Hmmmm... Wonder why the thought intrigues me?
Well.....I think You're right. The shows would have alot more validity.......if kids with disabilities were included in the production of them.........depending on the subject.......the disabled kids could contribute REAl stuff to be absorbed by the audience. Good point to bring up. I hope they continue. ..........Peace and love........Norma
Absolutely a valid opinion, and I don't necessarily disagree. Certainly programs that include the clients they serve, should be informed by those clients. This is true for disability services, homeless, programs for substance abusers and teen mothers. The list goes on and on. And, that is a basic tenet of good advocacy/educational programming. With that being said here are a few other points to ponder:
We don't always know if a person does or does not have a disability.
We also don't always know a person's motivation and/or personal connection to disability (family member, sibling, caregiver, professional).
Finally, I would just like to point out that people who don't personally have a disability, and weren't pre-selected to be a parent or sibling or other family member of a person with a disability, and still choose to advocate for person's with disability are special people in my book. Sure in a perfect world everyone would care, but let's face it not everyone does. These people though, for whatever reason advocate for person's with disabilities when plenty of others don't or won't.
As a kid with a disability I hated Kids on the Block-it just gave me an icky feeling.
I don't believe in disability awareness for kids, I believe in teaching em to be kind and thinking individuals! If you do that disability awareness isn't needed, JMO.
i didn't really care for the kids on the block. agreeing with bmwgirl, they made me feel squirmy and uncomfortable.
disability awareness is needed, but preferably in an updated format.
Sign In | Join Disaboom Today!
Popular Blog Posts
