Number of Participants: 100
Hours Donated: 1
Value of Time Served: $845
Event Type: Children & Youth
Sport: Team
Date: May 3, 2017
Location:
450 Half Hollow Road Deer Park
New York 11729, United States
About:
More than 200 students from Deer Park’s Robert Frost Middle School participated in the Band-Aid Project on April 6 as part of the school’s celebration of Autism and Disability Acceptance Month.
The Band-Aid Project, a movement to increase not just awareness but acceptance of people with autism and developmental disabilities, provides students with first-hand experience of the daily struggles of people with disabilities. This lesson and insight is the first step towards acceptance.
Clad in blue, each participating student applied a Band-Aid across their mouth to render them unable to speak, and communicated during classes only via non-electronic means. At the conclusion of the day, the students designed mock Instagram posts reflecting their experiences, results that were both informative and inspired.
“My experience today was eye-opening” said student Jonathan DeJesus. “It really makes you realize that once you can’t talk, you face a whole new set of challenges. With the loss of communication, I felt a gain in respect for everyone who has autism and their day-to-day challenges.”
“The development of acceptance begins with education” said speech teacher Stephanie O’Connell. “On that day, these students had a glimpse of what having a disability is like. Carrying the message of love and acceptance for all people in our community is the mission of this project, and I know we achieved that. I am proud of our students and to be a part of the Robert Frost community.”
DSC_0016, DSC_0025: More than 200 students from Deer Park’s Robert Frost Middle School participated in the Band-Aid Project to increase acceptance of people with autism and developmental disabilities.
Photos courtesy of the Deer Park School District
