Disability awareness activities for group nights

Introduction

Encouraging inclusion is not just about physical access, but also about the attitudes of group members and leaders. Awareness raising is the first step along the way to developing inclusive attitudes.

The activities below are just designed to be a bit of fun and to get groups to consider the experiences of people with disabilities and how Woodcraft Folk could be more inclusive.

As for making other Woodcraft Folk games and activities accessible, it takes a little thought, some planning and often just talking about the issues within your group.

Silent Chinese Whispers

What to do

  1. Divide the group into small teams of 5 or 6
  2. Ask each team to line up one behind the other
  3. Tell the person first in line a short statement ( e.g. ‘I like football’ or ‘I don’t like ketchup’) that they must repeat without using any words to the person behind them in the line
  4. Each team member in turn relays the message they think they ‘heard’ until the last person in the line shouts it out

Hint: Encourage the teams to test different non-verbal methods of communication e.g. hand signals, lip-reading

Discuss

  • What did it feel like trying to get your message understood?
  • What non-verbal methods worked well? Which ones didn’t?
  • How would it feel to be deaf or partially deaf within a group?

Follow up activities could include finger spelling.

Using one hand

What to do

  1. Have students try different activities using only one hand e.g.
  • Tying their shoes
  • Opening a jar that has a screw-on lid
  • Playing a game e.g. catch
  • Holding a stack of papers and handing out one at a time
  • Painting
  • Eating a banana

Discuss

  • What problems did the group experience?
  • What if they couldn’t use either hand?

Party hats

You need

Paper

Ear plugs/headphones

Blindfolds

Chairs

What to do

  1. Split your group into teams of 3
  2. Explain to the group that they have all been invited to a party and must each make a party hat, however………
  3. In each team of 3 ask individuals to take on one of 3 roles e.g. Blind person, deaf person and wheelchair user
  4. Once the group have decided who is taking on which role give them up to 10 minutes to make their party hats and get to the party (e.g. the other side of the room)
  5. Give out refreshments or have a party 

Discuss

  • How did the groups work together to make the hats?
  • How did the groups work together to get to the party?
  • How did each person in the group feel?

Blindness

You need

A good blindfold

A room with chairs and possible obstacles e.g. table

What to do

  1. Ask for 2 group members to volunteer to be a “guide” and a “blind person.”
  2. The guide’s job is to help the blind person come into the room and go to the chair without running into anything. They can tell them how to do it and can also touch them to help guide their way.
  3. Make sure the blindfold is on and foolproof.
  4. Send the 2 volunteers into the hall and ask other group members to re-arrange the room, placing the chairs and obstacles around the available space. The vacant chair should not be too easy to get to.
  5. Ask the remaining group to either stand or sit around the room.
  6. Invite the volunteers back into the room and the guide can begin to guide the blind person to their chair

Hint:Most “guides” grab the blind person and push them around. This usually results in the “blind” person running into things. “Guides” usually don’t describe the path, and say “look out” instead of “stop” at major obstacles. When the chair is reached, “guides” usually spin the “blind” person around and push them into the seat, then leave without explanation. If you get an exceptional “guide” who does it well, use that as a way to talk about why their method was successful.

Discuss

  • Did the guide do a good job?
  • How would it feel to be the blind person being dragged or pushed?
  • What would be more helpful than saying “look out”?
  • How did the 2 volunteers feel?

In a wheelchair

You need

Borrow a wheelchair from a disability agency, local surgery or see if the school nurse has one.

What to do

  1. Have each student take a turn sitting in the chair. Have them try different activities:
  • Going from one part of the building to another, pushing the wheelchair with their hands
  • Getting a book/box off the top shelf
  • Playing a game
  • Going to the toilet
  • Going through an outside door

Discuss

  • How did it feel to be in a wheelchair?
  • What would have made things better?
  • Students in wheelchairs are often left out of games or PE or given the job of keeping score. Discuss how this would feel. What if you hate keeping score?

Follow up activities could include taking a trip around the area you live and making notes about different access issues, or joining a local access campaign. Things have improved with the introduction of the Disability Discrimination Act, but often access routes are still not ideal.

The ‘Open and Accessible to All’ working group would welcome your feedback and suggestions on how they might better support local groups to be more inclusive.

Please email your thoughts, suggestions and questions to or call 020 7703 4173.