Today we had a special class with all the grades from pre-K to 6th grade. Today we celebreated "Disability Day" by having three people come talk to us about what it is like to have a disability. We had three people come talk with us-- Martha Mendez, Kathy Mulvaney, and Joey Perez.  Before our speakers began, Malaya told us about a movie that she saw recently. It was about a dolphin who lost its tail fin in an accident with fishing nets. Dophins need their tails to swim, you know! Without its tail, the dophin, Winter, was in bad shape. An aquarium took in Winter and made him a prosthetic (plastic) tail that he can use to swim! The man who made the prosthetic tail usually makes prosthetic arms and legs for people. It took him a lot of time to figure out how to make a prosthetic tail! Malaya said that near the end of the movie, there was a girl who had to get a prosthetic leg. The girl felt kind of sad and shy because of her leg. The girl went to visit Winter the dolphin, and she felt more happy. I bet it was fun for her to see that a dolphin had a prosthetic, just like her. Sometimes when people are different, they can feel lonely, but when they meet another person or even a dolphin who is like them, it can help them feel happier and not alone! Click here to read more about Winter the dolphin! First, Martha told us about her life as a woman with cerebral palsy, or CP. You can click here to read more about CP. Did you know that Kathleen and Joey also have CP? Martha told us that she plans her day very carefully so she can do the things she needs to do. She lays out her clothes the night before. She keeps her apartment clean and doesn't keep stuff that would get in the way of her wheelchair, like a coffee table. She has a motorized wheelchair that she uses to get around, like to go to work or the store. She said she mostly takes the bus because the subways are not accessible for persons in wheelchairs. She said she rode the subway three times and got stuck every time, so she stopped trying to ride the subway. Here is a picture of Martha showing us the accessibility symbol. When you see the symbol of a person in a wheelchair, it means that a person in a wheelchair can get into the building! Martha also gave us stickers and booklets about how to treat persons with disabilities. If you want to read about how to interact with someone who has a disability, or more info about disabilities, click here.  Did you know our church is accessible? Here is a sign that tells people about our elevator. Did you know that our church is having a renovation, and in part of the construction they will build three brand new ramps?! Exciting, right? You can click here to read about the church renovations!  After Martha spoke, Kathy told us about her life. She can't see the same way most of us can. She has a dog, Cruiser, who helps her get around. She told us that guide dogs have to go to school for a long time to learn how to be guide dogs. Kathy has had three guide dogs over her life. Cruiser really enjoyed being with us today, too! I know he kept wanting me to give him donuts, but I didn't give him any.  Kathy was so nice, she brought each person a card with their name in Braille and a message inside! The message is in Braille! Braille is a special alphabet for people who can't see. Braille is a bunch of dots that you can feel on a paper, and different arrangements of dots mean different letters. She gave us all a Braille code card. We'll have to go home and try to figure out our Braille messages that Kathy gave us!! Next, Joey told us about himself. Joey, like Martha and Kathleen, has CP. He told us about how he likes his work and how he is writing a book-- he will bring us copies of the book! When we were talking about the subways with Martha, he also told us that he doesn't ride the subway because most of the stations don't have elevators. You can click here to read more about "Ability Xavier" the group at our church for persons with disabilities and people who care about persons with disabilities. Next Sunday at 5pm, we are having a Mass where people with disabilities will be lectors and Eucharistic Ministers. We hope you can be there, too! Go back to the Lesson Summary Home Page Go back to the Family Faith Second Grade Home Page |