It isn`t easy being different. But dealing with disabilities isn`t easy even for ”normal” children.
Now, thanks to a program at the Kohl Children`s Museum, 165 Green Bay Rd., Wilmette, children are getting a chance to feel more comfortable with disabled people by ”celebrating” what they can do rather than what they cannot.
”Like Me, Like You” is a hands-on program that, suggests Kohl assistant director Jolene Gersdorf, ”teaches children-and adults-that just because part of someone`s body doesn`t work so well, it doesn`t mean their feelings are broken.”
The program evolved from a 1987 exhibit on the handicapped brought to Kohl from Denver Children`s Museum.
The year-long exhibit stimulated so much interest that ”Like Me, Like You” was developed to give children the opportunity to role-play and explore the feelings of the physically and mentally disabled (Kohl prefers the less-negative term ”mentally and physically challenged”).
The program is divided into four areas of disabilities: auditory, visual, mental and physical. A brief introduction precedes the sessions, followed by activities in all four categories including an explanation of the disability, hands-on activity and role-playing of appropriate behavior towards the handicapped. The program ends with a wrap-up discussion.
The sessions last for 45 minutes to an hour, depending on the age group. Children also get a half hour to 45 minutes to tour the museum. Volunteers from the Woman`s Club of Evanston lead the programs.
Children of the same age groups-from kindergarten through 6th grade-meet in groups of 10 to 25 to participate in learning basic sign language, attempting a simple task that has been modified to make it a challenge, discovering what it is like to maneuver a wheelchair, talking on the phone using TTY (a teletype communications system for the deaf) and learning the Braille alphabet. By this experience, children learn what it`s like to have a handicap.
For larger groups, the museum will even take the program to a school.
On a recent visit to the museum, eleven 8-year-old girls from the Cheder Lubavitch Day School took part in ”Like Me, Like You.” Hindel Moscowitz was determined to express her name in sign language, while Nechama Katz wanted to know how a mentally challenged person would go roller skating. A discussion ensued, concluding that mentally challenged people can and do learn but on a slower basis-and with patience and understanding from others, they can accomplish many different skills.
”Helping our children develop a healthy appreciation for and acceptance of individual differences is very important,” notes Gersdorf. ”For disabled people, being seen as `different` becomes a major barrier in everyday life. There is a great need to open the lines of communication for our children in order to change negative feelings and dispel fear towards the handicapped.”
Advance registration is required for ”Like Me, Like You,” which can be arranged from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays. The charge is $3.50 for kindergartners through 2nd graders and $4 for 3rd through 6th graders. Call 708-256-6056.
As an offshoot of this program, Kohl is presenting a two-part workshop designed to inform and support parents of children with special needs.
It will be held from 7 to 9 p.m. April 24 and May 1. The fee is $16 for members, $20 for non-members.
