It might be misunderstood that A Touch of Understanding benefits only students with disabilities. Although students with disabilities do benefit, A Touch of Understanding is beneficial to all students.

Regarding students with disabilities:

• For students with disabilities it is helpful to have their peers begin to understand that a disability is only one of many characteristics of a person. It is not the defining characteristic. As we hear so often from general education students, “The most important thing I learned from A Touch of Understanding is that although someone with a disability might look different on the outside, we are all the same on the inside.”

• Students with disabilities also benefit from A Touch of Understanding by having their peers educated about the challenges brought on by many disabilities and the tools used to meet those challenges, such as wheelchairs, braces, artificial limbs, canes, Braille, etc. This not only reduces the fear of the assistive devices, it also helps students to understand the accommodations necessary to include a friend with disabilities in an activity.

• Students with disabilities benefit from meeting other individuals who have disabilities and who serve as positive role models. One fourth-grade boy told his mother that his heart felt so much better about having muscular dystrophy after meeting our volunteers who had disabilities.

Regarding the general education students:

• A Touch of Understanding is an empowering experience for students. Our volunteer speakers who share about their disabilities are positive role models sharing their enthusiasm for life, their determination to set and achieve their goals with humor and honesty. One sixth-grade boy wrote, “After A Touch of Understanding, I feel like I could do anything.”

• A Touch of Understanding is often the first time students are introduced to the concept of “Walking a Mile” in someone else’s shoes. This character-building training provides the foundation for developing the skill of empathy towards others who seem different for any reason, be it age, ability, appearance, gender, etc. As stated by one student, “The most important thing I learned from A Touch of Understanding is not to be prejudiced, not just to disabled people but to anybody.”

• Many general education students have siblings or other family members with disabilities, which may be a source of embarrassment for them. A Touch of Understanding helps them to see that their loved one is not the only one with challenges. We are careful to address their comments to be sure that they are given the opportunity to be proud of the knowledge and experience they have regarding disabilities.

• Students’ newfound acceptance and appreciation of differences in others leads to a new comfort, acceptance and appreciation of their own uniqueness. As one student said, “Now I know it’s okay to be different.”

• We’ve been told that A Touch of Understanding is more than an experience students remember. It is something they CARRY WITH THEM. It becomes part of who they are. One 23 year-old woman told us, “I went through A Touch of Understanding when I was in second grade and it changed my life.”

• Students with disabilities are always encouraged to share about their experiences, be it in the question and answer period or as an actual speaker joining our team of volunteer speakers. This provides an opportunity for a child with a disability to be seen as an expert by their peers. This has been a valuable aspect of our program. Parents, teachers, and administrators have encouraged these students to join our team and travel with us to other schools. Thus we created the ATOU Youth F.O.R.C.E. “Friends Offering Respect ~ Creating Empowerment.” Hope, who has cerebral palsy and is a member of our Youth F.O.R.C.E., said, “After A Touch of Understanding, I no longer feel invisible at school. Kids call me by name and come up and give me high fives. Even the older kids.”