Lesson 3.2: Disability and Inclusion

Overview

This lesson focuses what disabilities are, how they influence the health of individuals and communities, and the steps we can take to provide health equity for those with disabilities.

Learning Targets

  • LO5: Compare and contrast disabilities and impairments.
  • LO6: Describe what reasonable accommodations are and explain why they are important.
  • LO7: Analyze how universal design improves environments, products, and services.

Preparation

For the Warm-Up Activity: Write the Journal Question on the board or identify (and copy as needed) the worksheets you plan to use:

For the Content Focus: Open the Lesson 3.2 PowerPoint slides or make copies of the Lesson 3.2 Note-Taking Guide.

For the Lesson Focus: Copy the Skill-Building Challenge Worksheet: Accessing Reliable Information.

Warm-Up Activity

Select a warm-up activity to help get your class focused and on task.

  • Journal Question: When was the last time you interacted with a person who had a visible disability? Did you feel confident and comfortable in your ability to communicate effectively? Describe the situation.
    • Option: Write or project the question and have students respond in their journal or on their “bell ringer” sheet as they enter class.
    • Option: Have students discuss the question with a partner or in a small group.
  • Vocabulary Review: Have students work individually, in pairs, or in small groups to complete the Lesson 3.2 Vocabulary Review Worksheet
  • Quiz: Have students complete the Lesson 3.2 Quiz to assess their prior knowledge.
    • Option: Collect the quiz and use it alongside a posttest to demonstrate student learning.
    • Option: Have students share their answers with a partner and then go over the answers together as a class.

Lesson Content

Review the content from the textbook lesson.

Lesson Focus: Accessing Reliable Information

  1. Provide each student with one copy of the Lesson 3.2 Skill-Building Challenge Worksheet: Accessing Reliable Information.
  2. Ask students to complete the main portion of the worksheet by themselves or with a partner.
  3. Once students have finished, and as time allows, have students read their report in small groups or to the class. Use the Accessing Valid Information skill cue to informally evaluate student work.

Challenge Activity

Have students needing an additional challenge work on the following Thinking Critically task.

Analyze your environment from the perspective of someone who uses a wheelchair, someone who is blind, and someone who has limited use of their hands (cannot do small movements easily). Make a list of activities that would prove to be challenging for each person and propose as many reasonable accommodations as possible to assist them.

Reflection and Summary

Review the critical content from today’s lesson. Review the learning targets and ask students to answer each question posed.

Can you...

  • Compare and contrast disabilities and impairments?

    A disability is unlike a disease or an illness. A person with a disability has some loss of function somewhere in their body. Impairments, which are losses in function that occur with a disability, can be visual, audial, mobility, cognitive, or emotional.

  • Describe what reasonable accommodations are and explain why they are important?

    Reasonable accommodations are changes, exceptions, or adjustments made to a rule, policy, practice, or service that provide equal access and opportunity for people who have a disability. They are important to ensuring that all individuals with disabilities are fully included in society and have opportunities to attain good health and well-being.

  • Analyze how universal design improves environments, products, and services?

    Universal design is the process of creating and designing an environment (or the products, services, or spaces within) so that all people can access, understand, and use it to the greatest possible degree. When we apply universal design, we make the environment accessible to all and provide reasonable accommodations to all in the process.

Assessment

Complete one or more of the following assessment tasks for this lesson.

Take It Home

Search your home to find a product (e.g., a remote control) or design element (e.g., a doorknob or lock) that would be difficult for some segments of the population to use. Come up with a new design for the product, or create a new product, that is more universally accessible. Review the seven principles of universal design when creating your design. Explain your design in writing and include diagrams or images as needed.