Disability Awareness in the Classroom: Our Last Visit for This School Year
by Beth
Luna and I had a great day at school.
Last Thursday, two neighborhood friends drove my Seeing Eye dog Luna and me to a Chicago suburb 30 miles away to visit third graders there. We went as part of the Educating Outside the Lines Disability Awareness program. Every day that week someone with a disability came to the school to talk with students about their disability and the “helper tools” that let us do the things we like — or need — to do.
Black Lab Luna guided me to two presentations for third graders Thursday morning. At each one, I talked with the kids about being blind, what service dogs do, and how I use a talking computer to do my job moderating this blog for Easterseals.
As I readied myself for the question-and-answer part at one of the presentations , the teacher there gushed over Luna. “She’s sooooo pretty!” I took my cue, turned to the third-graders and told them I hear that a lot. “I just pretend they’re talking about me!” I laughed. After that, the questions started pouring in:
- Do you cook your own food?
- How do you, like make your breakfast and your cereal and stuff?
- How can you eat, then?
- How do you know where someone is if you can’t see them?
- Did you ever get robbed because you are blind?
- How do you know what earrings or necklace to wear when you’re getting dressed?
- Have you ever lost your dog when you were walking?
- Can you see in your dreams?
- Can you swim?
- What was the last thing you ever saw?
- How does your dog know where you are when you go on a walk?
- This is not a question, it’s a comment. You’re very pretty. And I mean you, not the dog.
- How old is your dog in people years?
- How can you ride a bike?
- Did your dog ever run away and you didn’t know where it went?
- Is it hard to know which way to go when your dog goes around a tree?
- How do you swim?
- How do you drive?
- When you call someone, are the numbers in Braille?
- Have you ever lost your dog when you were walking?
- How do you get on your bed?
- How does your dog know where you are when you go on a walk?
And with that, I picked up Luna’s harness, commanded, “Luna, Outside!” and the children cheered as my Seeing Eye dog guided me out of the classroom for our last visit for this school year. “Good dog, Luna!”