On the occasion of the Olympic and Paralympic week, a series of workshops were organized on Tuesday at the Saint-Etienne de Sens college in Yonne, so that students could experience situations of disability for themselves.
“It’s a sport they all know, but practiced in a para-sport version. Table tennis in a wheelchair, “we put them in a situation with very few instructions on how to manage and they will try to practice an activity they already know, but with a disability situation,” explains Corinne Nicolazo, a physical education teacher at Saint-Etienne College in Sens. And here are Aron’s first impressions: “It’s complicated to move with the wheelchair. It tends to go backwards when you don’t hold the wheels.”
The students also tried blind climbing and realized how difficult it is to climb without seeing the holds. It’s also complicated to assist your partner by clearly indicating how to position themselves.
An experience that the students were able to confront with that of real people with disabilities from Sens, during a conference with all kinds of questions like, “What does it feel like not to feel your legs?” Here are the responses from Geraldine and Laurent: “Well, you touch and you don’t feel your fingers on your own skin, that’s what it feels like.” “What it feels like is that the legs are a burden for getting into a wheelchair, a bed, the shower, and all that. It easily creates difficulties in daily transfers.”
Sport has been a solution for taking back control after a handicap, as Jean-Francois, a paraplegic and member of the Sensation Sports Association in Sens, explains: “At 39, I had a motorcycle accident. My back exploded. I couldn’t accept it. It was through sports that I was able to regain pride in myself.” A touching testimony for 13-year-old Emma: “Before, young people were not necessarily sensitized to this kind of stories. And it was interesting to discover that sports were a way for them to relive. It was really very touching.”
Changing perceptions of people with disabilities was the goal of the organizer of the event, Marion Sellier, a physical education teacher at Saint-Etienne College: “I wanted to organize this day because it’s important to change students’ perceptions of disability, to show that it’s not taboo, that they should not be afraid of these people. It takes work and if we can change perceptions to promote inclusion, it’s important.” Especially when 80% of disabilities are invisible.
