Program Teaches Educators About Kids With Disabilities

Teachers from several different schools spent the day today learning how it feels to have a physical handicap or a learning disability.

"When we got on the shuttle, she immediately said, to your right there is a seat. She told me where a seat was. I never thought about how valuable it would be for someone just to tell you where a seat was when you get on the bus," said Kim Fisher, the Principal of Black Fox Elementary School.

Kim spent the day wearing dark glasses to simulate being blind. She carried a walking stick and had a friend by her side to help her navigate the streets of downtown. It's part of the Kids Like you, Kids Like Me program, sponsored by Siskin Children's Institute.

"The idea is that they will see that everyone still likes to do the same things and can do the same things. People just do things differently," said Julie Mickel, the  Training and Outreach Specialist for Siskin Children's Institute.

Julie Mickel says this is the sixth year that teachers have been involved in three day workshop. In all, about 40 teachers and administrators are participating this year. Coupled with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, the push is to help better educate children with disabilities in the general school curriculum.

The program is meant to help teach educations how to better work with kids with disabilities. So, today every teacher involved has been given a physical, visual, or learning disability and sent out into downtown Chattanooga, to see how they deal with that disability

The teachers were sent out to do every day things like ride the shuttle, order coffee, and cross the streets. But with these added disabilities, even the easiest of tasks were made a bit more difficult. Julie Mickel says its an important tool to help teachers better understand their students.

"It's not only about teaching kids with disabilities. Its also how teach the children about the children with disabilities and how we include them in our schools," said Mickel.

Principal Fisher shared the same sentiment.

"It's so important that you recognize the different disabilities children have. Some of them might not even be identified by special education, but they still have special needs that have to be addressed in a regular education classroom," she said.

The Kids Like you, Kids Like Me program was created 11 years ago and has been helping educate teachers for the last six years. It will also show teachers how to teach children without disabilities how to better interact with kids who are disabled in some way.