On a rainy Wednesday morning, about 90 Irvine students felt their name in Braille, read a passage to discover what a person having dyslexia might see and used picture symbols to communicate just like a person with autism would.
To instill empathy and foster compassion, the Irvine Unified School District Virtual Academy organized an Abilities Awareness Fair for its elementary students to experience visual impairments, reading challenges, fine motor challenges, emotional dysregulation and more.
Fourth graders at IUSD Irvine Virtual Academy get a look at what it’s like to be visually impaired with simulation googles on Wednesday, March 29, 2023. The district is holding Ability Awareness Month with the hopes of teaching students to “embrace empathy,” Virtual Learning Coordinator Serena McKinney said on Wednesday, March 29, 2023. Kindergarten through sixth-grade-students took part both virtually and in person. They learned about reading difficulties, autism, Down syndrome and other struggles kids may have both physically and mentally. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Lauren Park, 10, left, and Grace Park, 11, fifth-grade students at IUSD Irvine Virtual Academy, take part in the Ability Awareness Fair in Irvine on Wednesday, March 29, 2023. Students learned about both physical and mental challenges and then recorded their observations. “Glasses can’t help sometimes,” Lauren Park wrote. “You can get mixed between a square and a parallelogram.” (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Ebenezer Kim, 11, a sixth-grade student at IUSD Irvine Virtual Academy, shows his normal hand writing, top, and his impaired hand writing, below, during the school’s Ability Awareness Fair on Wednesday, March 29, 2023. He used his left hand while wearing a sock to see what it’s like for someone who lacks fine motor skills. “It sucks,” Kim said, of the difficulty, adding that he is learning about these struggles more and more.(Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)
IUSD Irvine Virtual Academy students write their names while wearing a sock to simulate what it’s like for children who lack fine motor skills during the school’s Ability Awareness Fair on Wednesday, March 29, 2023. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)
IUSD Irvine Virtual Academy kindergarten student Benjamin Salgado, 6, center, wears a sock on his hand while writing his name to understand what someone who lacks fine motor skills may experience, during the school’s Ability Awareness Fair on Wednesday, March 29, 2023.
(Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)
IUSD Irvine Virtual Academy students in kindergarten through sixth grade learn about physical and emotional challenges, like autism, during the school’s Ability Awareness Fair on Wednesday, March 29, 2023. School Psychologist, Roxanne Dibel, said she hopes the students learn to “recognize different abilities and show empathy.” (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)
IUSD Irvine Virtual Academy students learn about blindness and visually impaired children during the school’s Ability Awareness Fair on Wednesday, March 29, 2023. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Shuffling through seven stations, children at Irvine Virtual Academy’s Ability Awareness Fair, learn about both physical and mental struggles, including those who have trouble regulating their emotions. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Fourth graders at IUSD Irvine Virtual Academy get a look at what it’s like to be visually impaired with simulation googles on Wednesday, March 29, 2023. The district is holding Ability Awareness Month with the hopes of teaching students to “embrace empathy,” Virtual Learning Coordinator Serena McKinney said on Wednesday, March 29, 2023. Kindergarten through sixth-grade-students took part both virtually and in person. They learned about reading difficulties, autism, Down syndrome and other struggles kids may have both physically and mentally. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Students also made silly socks. Since chromosomes look like paired socks, and people with Down syndrome have an extra chromosome, the socks were symbolic of celebrating differences.
Students also took home a self-care calm kit to make their own rain stick to use during the school day for some “auditory chill,” said Serena McKinney, the coordinator of virtual learning at IUSD Virtual Academy.
The Virtual Academy, a permanent fixture following the COVID-19 pandemic, has around 190 students enrolled. While classes are online, the school organizes various events such as the Abilities Awareness Fair for students to interact with their peers and teachers.
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