Simmulation

You will select at least one of these scenarios. You don’t need to do all of them. 

1.  Deaf/ Hearing Impairment:  For this simulation you will need to find wax, cotton or other noise cancelling headphones.  You will need to sit down for a meal with at least 2 others and then watch a movie, muted and with closed captioning only.

2.  You will need to find a dark colored scarf to use as a blind fold.  You will need to spend two hours completing the following tasks while blindfolded:  one complete load of laundry, make a sandwich or other simple meal, select clothing and get dressed.  Be sure you don’t cheat.  You can’t pre-sort laundry or pre-select your clothes.  You must do each task from start to finish while blindfolded.

3.  Marshmallow activity (meant to simulate articulation disorders that might go along with cerebral palsy). (You will need a partner/roommate/family member friend

Today you will read Billy Goats Gruff Billy Goats stroy that  is linked here https://www.oundleceprimary.org/numbersquash/wp-content/uploads/The-Billy-Goats-Gruff-Story-Powerpoint-pdf.pdfLinks to an external site.

First you will fill your mouth with marshmallows (or other food) until your tongue is immobilized. Please read to your partner from the Billy Goats Gruff PDF above.

Repeat it until you are understood. Discuss that this simulates an articulation disorder. The person knew clearly what they wanted to say but the brain doesn’t communicate correctly with muscles in the mouth to form the words. Imagine if you couldn’t take the marshmallows out of your mouth. All too often, people will say  “oh that’s great”. But what if the person is saying “I feel sick and I want to go to the nurse” Remind the group that the person generally knows that their speech is difficult to understand and they just want to hear the message that you are going to take the time to listen and try to understand. Talk about strategies – asking yes or no questions, asking if they can write it down, asking another person to come over and see if they can understand, etc.

4.  (optional) Physical impairment:  During this two-hour window you will need to go shopping.  You may select the store.  You will need to locate a wheelchair and then locate the following items:  paper towels, paper plates, yeast, chicken breasts, Tombstone frozen pizza, and watermelon.  For final task will be to use the restroom while you are at the store, using the handicapped stall and the handrails to assist you. You will need a shopping cart for your items.  You are not allowed to used a power scooter or stand up to reach things.  

After you have completed your tasks you will need to write a reflection paper that includes:

1. A summary of your experiences of the 3 or 4 simulations. 

2.  What portion of each experience was the most frustrating and why?

3.  Emotionally, how did you feel during each activity?  Do you feel people perceived you differently?

1. 4.  What accommodations (supports) would have helped you be more independent?
2. After you complete your reflections 

Read the article below:

https://autistichoya.files.wordpress.com/2013/02/a-critique-of-disability-impairment-simulations.pdfLinks to an external site.

What points do you agree or disagree with?

After completing the simulations and reading the Autistic Hoya article how did you feel about your initial reflections?

Do you feel that these activities are one or multidimensional?

Based on the article and your experiences why do you think some people disagree with these types of simulations?