ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, February 22, 1997 TAG: 9702240042
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER STAFF WRITER
MASON'S COVE Elementary's fifth-graders watched a video about people with disabilities talking about the challenges they face.
It was a different kind of lesson for the fifth-graders at Mason's Cove Elementary School.
It was about people and their feelings - not reading, writing or arithmetic.
This week, the students learned what it's like to have a physical or mental disability.
Dustin Lovelace said he didn't know that men and women in wheelchairs participate in the Boston Marathon and other races.
Tony Trail didn't know that people in a wheelchair could drive a car. "I didn't know they could get a driver's license," he said.
And many of their classmates at the Roanoke County school had never seen a person with cerebral palsy.
Some didn't know that people with disabilities can have jobs and careers.
They also learned about the challenges that people with disabilities face daily in schools and workplaces.
The fifth-graders viewed a 20-minute video, titled "Small Differences," that was designed to help them better understand the needs and problems of people with disabilities.
It was part of the county schools' observance of Exceptional Children's Week to help students become more sensitive to classmates with disabilities.
Guidance counselor Sallie Spiller showed the video to every class at Mason's Cove, and it has been shown at some other schools in the county this week, too.
"Basically, we want to help children understand that people with disabilities have many of the same needs and feelings that they do," Spiller said. "People have the same feelings even though they may look differently."
Spiller said the county schools want to help students get along better with those who have disabilities.
"The children need to know how to react to those with handicaps," she said. "We want them to see that they can share activities and feelings."
The video was made by disabled students - including several in wheelchairs - in Pittsburgh and Allegheny County, Pa.
The students used cameras and tape recorders to interview others with disabilities about their experiences and feelings. They also wrote the script.
The students interviewed children and adults with a variety of disabilities, including blindness, brain damage, cerebral palsy and deafness.
After watching the video, the children in most classes at Mason's Cove discussed it and shared their reactions.
In one class, they compared the needs of children with and without disabilities. They concluded that both groups share many feelings and needs.
"They're a lot like us," said one girl. "You should treat them as ordinary people."
Another said: "It doesn't matter what you look like on the outside. You have the same feelings inside."
Still another said: "You should never make fun of someone because they look different or are in a wheelchair."
Spiller said the children seemed to like the video because it was upbeat and positive.
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