understanding disability

Lesson: Disability

Aims: To give an insight into how people may become disabled
To explore through drama how disabled people are treated by society

Objectives: To examine a "loaded" issue with sensitivity

Strategies: Teacher in role
Small group work
Whole group
Small groups
Thought tracking

Lesson: Discussion about disability and how people can come to be disabled and the sorts of disability there are. The lesson is about someone who was rendered disabled by an accident.

The teacher makes the point that in some ways this is rather a lottery. Run a lottery to decide who will play the part of the disabled person. Make your students pull small pieces of paper are pulled from a bag. One is marked with a cross.

Ask the class to open their papers together. What are their feelings before they open the paper? After finding out whether it is them or not, how do they feel? The class (or the person who has been 'chosen') decide on the name of the character. Make the point that when we read about things like this in the papers the person was often well-liked. This person, too, was well-liked.

Small groups: In small groups devise and show a scene before the accident happened to show why the person was liked and popular. They can show these to the class.

I often use the strategy of giving a 'history' to the character, as this allows the students to relate better to the character and the situation and fixes the character much better in their minds.

Whole class: The teacher asks the class to gather together as if they are in assembly and speaks to them about their friend and what has happened. They won't be able to go and see her yet as s/he is in hospital and will be for some time. You could 'freeze' this and get some thought tracks from the class.

Small groups: "President Kennedy Moment", "Princess Diana Moment" or "World Trade Centre Moment". What were people doing when they heard the news of the accident? How did they feel? Show small moments - freeze - then interview/thought track in role.

I take the point at which the person has to act disabled very slowly, to build commitment and to get over any embarrassment. What I generally do is begin myself by saying: "I would have her sitting in a wheel chair, unable to speak properly because she has suffered a severe head injury and with her legs now in a rather odd position to show that she can no longer use them."

Then I would show this and give an example of her speech. I then go around each member of the class and they give their versions of how the accident has left her.

Whole class: The person's friends want to visit now that s/he has returned home. How will they organise this?

I normally play the role of the parent who lets them in to the house. I often 'freeze' them at the door after they have knocked so that they can 'thought track' what the kids are thinking just before they go in. Then I allow them in and apologise that they will have to sit on the floor as there aren't enough chairs for them all.

How do they feel before they knock on the front door? How does the disabled person feel before their friends arrive? There may be awkward silences once they are seated, this could be a good learning situation.

You may even want to get them out of role for a moment to find out what they are feeling as themselves before continuing. At this point I often make the point that I don't always know what to say in some circumstances and that plenty of adults also feel like this.

Whole class: They decide to take their friend out as a treat. Where to? When they arrive someone in authority is unhelpful and rude about their friend. How do they react? How do they feel?

Classes often choose places as diverse as burger bars or football games, cinemas or zoos. I generally get them to congregate at the entrance to the place and I take on the role of someone who works at the place and behave in an obnoxious manner saying things like "We can't have THAT in here, people have come to enjoy themselves, they don't want to look at THAT." Naturally, the friends of the disabled person are very supportive to their friend especially when I use terms such as "spaz."

Whole class: Now has to decide what they are going to do: complain to the management, go home or maybe even write to the local TV company who may want to do a feature on the incident.

If they decide to do a TV feature they could devise these and show them to the whole group. Letters should be written and presented well and perhaps used in a follow-on of the drama. If they decide to complain to the management you can decide whether to play the role yourself or give the role to a member of the group.

Reflection: What have we learned? How would we cope if it was us? How would we want to be treated if it was us who became disabled?

Related activities

Write a letter of complaint to the boss of the person who was being so rude and unhelpful. Set it out properly so that it looks serious and important.
List all the places (and activities) that a disabled person might find difficult to use and participate in.
Think of your school and list all the ways in which a disabled person would have difficulties using it.
Assessment possibilities
Write a diary of the person who has become disabled and include some of the feelings about their life now and the difficulties they experience.

Cross-curricular links
PSE and English - Roger McGough's poem Disabled is a good resources to use with this unit.

Resources
Lottery papers (one with cross will be the one who is playing the disabled person).

Thought-tracking
You will probably have noticed that I use thought-tracking a great deal in this drama. I find it a great way to focus the students' minds on the work. If not challenged they tend to regard the subject as either funny or embarrassing and thought-tracking helps them to take it more seriously.

It is a good way to deepen any drama for the students and involves asking the question "What is going through this character's mind now?". I say, "this character" and not "your mind" as this tends to distance the student from any potential embarrassment.

Gill Chesney-Green is head of drama at Mill HIll School in Ripley, Derbyshire