After introducing Mom, Dad, and Ammon to the troop, I spoke a few words about spina bifida in general. Then I showed the video I made for his fireside a few years ago (linked here). After the 6 minute video, I turned the time over to Mom to lead a discussion about the struggles and triumphs they've had in Scouts and Young Men's. I think it was very useful for my Scouts to hear those things because we take so much of it for granted. Mom talked about "person first" nomenclature, which is the idea that we should focus on the person rather than the disability in our conversations.
Then we had Ammon take us to a few places in our church building so we could see what kind of obstacles he'd face. We had him try to go to the pulpit to give a talk (nope, steps in the chapel and two doors to get through if he goes around); we had him try to go out to his car (nope, two doors without automatic openers -- in fact, our church doesn't have any...); we had him take us into the bathroom to see if he could wash his hands (could turn water on and reach soap, but couldn't get his own paper towels); and finally we had him try to get a drink from the drinking fountain (nope, he couldn't get his wheelchair close enough to get his mouth close enough to actually get a drink).
It was a very informative exercise and I'm so glad Mom, Dad, and Ammon came up to participate. Thanks again!
4 comments:
Our deacon's have been working on that merit badge. It helps that my secretary runs a not-for profit group that focuses on disability awareness and how to help individuals with disabilities find work.
I'm glad they were able to come up and help out. Hopefully it made a strong impression your scouts.
I think it is really ironic that the church talks so much about being open and acceptable to those with disabilities but even the church in Elk Ridge doesn't have automatic door openers. This needs to be changed in most of the buildings. I just went through a list of buildings on campus and it took me a long time to find where the wheelchair ramps/automatic doors are for the buildings. Not all of the buildings are accessible. It just was a thought. "Isn't ironic? Don't you think?" (name the song and artist) haha
A little too ironic, miss Alanis Morrisette. Yes, I really do think. It's like rain... -Jess
I was shocked to read that the churches don't have the necessary things to make life easier for those who have disabilities. I hope that gets attention soon and fixed.
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