Since 2013, UA Wayne College has hosted an annual Disability Awareness Week event in early March at the Orrville campus. Students and staff are invited to participate in activities that challenge them to learn what it’s like to have a disability that interferes with learning and everyday functioning. Julie Hartzler, Disability Specialist & Service Coordinator at UA Wayne, says, “All of us need to know that we will run into someone who is differently-abled than ourselves sometime in our personal and work lives.” That’s why the Disability & Mental Health Awareness event was created - to provide an opportunity to learn and develop empathy in a fun and relaxed environment.
Two activities that are highlighted each year are “Mindstorm”, a video that simulates what it’s like to experience visual hallucinations, and an audio experience that simulates auditory hallucinations. The challenge is to work on another task at the same time such as filling out a job application or following directions on how to make origami while listening to “voices in your head”.
Other activities include a wheelchair obstacle course and another in which you ambulate blindfolded using a white cane to simulate what it’s like to be blind. The “unable to grasp” station is designed to show how difficult tasks are when you have reduced fine motor skills. The dyslexia challenge simulates the difficulty people with dyslexia encounter when reading and decoding letters and numbers.
Each year Julie Hartzler invites disability and mental health-related agencies from the community to partner with UA Wayne at the event. This year, UA Wayne welcomed NAMI of Wayne and Holmes Counties, One-Eighty, Adaptive Sports of Ohio, Anazao Community Services, Bureau of Services for the Visually Impaired and Bureau of Vocational Rehabilitation (branches of Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities), Caring Therapy Canines and Catholic Charities Wayne County.
During the planning and promotion stages, Julie also informs instructors about the event in advance. “I strongly recommend instructors encourage their students to participate by bringing their classes to the event and offering extra credit for participating.” This year’s event was well attended, and participants gained a new appreciation for those with disabilities and the perceptions, attitudes and struggles they encounter in everyday life.
The Office of Counseling & Accessibility is located in the Smucker Learning Center at the Wayne College campus. Our goal is to provide reasonable accommodations, counseling resources and supports, and a well-resourced environment to students in order to promote student success. We strive to provide students with disabilities equal access to learning opportunities and services that level the academic playing field but does not provide unfair advantage at UA Wayne College. For more information, visit our webpage.
