But Tiffany Losekamp, a professor of nursing at Christ College, has teamed up with the Elda PTO to bring the program to Ross because she wanted her children and their classmates to have the learning experience.
“I remember Everybody Counts from when I was in elementary school” in the Lakota district, she said. “I vividly remember having that empathy and it was very important for me to learn that and is the reason why I became a nurse.”
The program is different for each grade level. Blindfolded first graders learned what it was like to be visually impaired by walking with a cane, being led around by a classmate or identifying parts of the world around them using other senses. Fourth graders attempted to cut paper with scissors or button a shirt with their non-dominant hand with the thumb and forefinger taped together.
The hour-long sessions ended with a discussion of their experience and their feelings about it. Many of the children shared stories of people they know with special needs and disabilities.
“I learned that you should never laugh at somebody just because they are having trouble,” said fourth-grader Kayla Marie Houpe Taylor.
In addition to the day of activities, each grade level also receives a visit by a guest speaker on a different day to talk about the specific areas of disability, Losekamp said.
Contact this reporter at (513) 820-2188 or rjones@coxohio.com.
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