Disability Awareness and Empathy Building Toolkit

The Centre for the Arts in Human Development at Concordia University is an organization that works with adults with developmental disabilities. We have recently developed a toolkit for teachers that we believe will raise awareness about people with disabilities promote pro-social skills and is a great starting point for discussions on bullying. Anne Marie de Silva, the Ethics and Religious Culture Consultant at the English Montreal School Board believes that this toolkit is a unique and excellent resource. The toolkit is well suited for both the Ethics and Religious Culture course and also for use within a school’s anti-bullying program. De Silva also stated that it could easily be used in other courses, as it has activities and assignments grouped by different subject areas. The DVD In Their Own Voices along with the discussion guide included in this toolkit has effective and direct messages on many themes including name-calling and stigma and dramatically advocates for better understanding of vulnerable populations. The toolkit has an extensive list of books and movies with descriptions making it very accessible. It is a non-linear resource that can be used at any time during the school year depending on the themes and class plans that are presented. As the Centre has a public education mandate, and we feel strongly that the toolkit’s message is relevant and timely. It is an easily shared resource with pages that can be photocopied and we have priced if very reasonably for schools to purchase. We would like to offer the opportunity, to a limited number of schools, to have some of our participants visit your school for a question and answer period after the DVD is shown. This dynamic opportunity will bring further insight and depth to any discussion. There would be an additional fee for this to cover our costs. Please visit our website at http://tinyurl.com/lhcl2nk for further information and to order the toolkit. We hope to hear from you soon.