Disability Awareness Session

On Tuesday, March 10, 2026, Rhonda Allan, Project Officer of the Mallee Sports Assembly, Wycheproof, conducted a Disability Awareness session for the Grade 2/3/4 students of the Wycheproof P-12 College.

This program is an initiative of the “Access for All Abilities” program (funded by the State Government, under the Sport & Recreation of Victoria “umbrella”) which focuses on inclusive sport and recreation for all levels of abilities.

The program which is designed to help able-bodied children understand how others with a disability manage and feel. The sessions are very interactive and involve fun and challenging activities.

Rhonda commenced the session with a quick discussion on what is a disability and how someone may acquire one. There are several reasons why people may have a disability, such as being born with one, through disease or maybe a car accident, to name a few.

Following the class discussion the students were paired up and one had to be the “buddy” of the other who was given mock disabilities. A lot of trust was involved, especially if the person was given the mock disability of loss of sight.

The mock disabilities included things such as their arms put in slings, wearing a sock on your arm/leg to pretend it was missing, putting cotton wool in their ears, being blind folded/wearing vision impaired goggles and riding around in a wheelchair. Just moving from one place to another can be a barrier that one would face if they had a disability, but luckily the Wycheproof P-12 College is very accessible.

A passing the ball exercise was conducted where the able-bodied students had to assist their friend with a “disability” to participate. The game was modified which allowed all, no matter what their disability was, to be included and participate.

Good communication amongst the participants is also valuable for this activity.

This was followed by using a “bell-ball” which is specifically ideal for the visually impaired so they can hear when the ball was coming. Following the ball activities, the students returned to the classroom for open discussions in relation to the difficulties and barriers one would face having a disability.

Rhonda informed the children about some of the facilities and aids available to assist people with their independency such as raised footpaths for the blind, braille on ATM buttons, ramps for easy access and modified sport (such as the paralympics) for increased participation and inclusion. She also told real life stories of the achievements of people with a disability. Rhonda reminded the students that you always look at what a person “can do” not what they “can’t do”. This was a fun session with a very meaningful message.

Thank you to staff Britt Allan and Wendy Pollard and students from the Wycheproof P-12 College students for their participation and co-operation during the “awareness” session.