Shooting Beauty, Chalking Challenge and New Games!

This past Thursday was kind of a combination of presentations and activities. First of all, we were privileged enough to have Courtney Bent (http://www.bentphoto.com/) come in and talk to our class about the photography program she does for people with disabilities. They've also created a short film called Shooting Beauty (http://shootingbeauty.org/) that is basically a documentary on the people she works with. I think it displays their work and their relationships with Courtney. It was really awesome to see how that work was transforming not only the lives of her participants, but also her life. She shared that she appreciated their different perspectives. This is something that I want to remember: everyone sees something a little different and I can learn from different points of views, if my heart is soft and ready to learn.

Next, my group presented our chalking challenge, which was a very directed chalk drawing/art project that was focused towards people with HIV/AIDS. We had each person kind of have their own space, so it could be a more reflective time, processing their days and their thoughts. We had maybe 10 prompts, with different things along the lines of "What was your first thought of the day?" or "Draw a symbol/picture of how you think people see you?" or "Write a note to someone you haven't seen in a long time." This activity could be adapted for a number of populations, including people with MS or muscular dystrophy, kids with autism, at-risk youth, and people with intellectual disabilities. It could be done with almost any group of people, because the questions can be so easily adapted. We thought that if we did it for kids with autism, we would probably throw more games in the mix, so they would have the chance to interact with others and be more active. For people with MS or muscular dystrophy, we would probably adapt the chalk and attach it to the end of a stick, so they could draw from a wheelchair. We also thought that they could possibly draw on the side of a building, since they couldn't reach the ground. For each group of people, the questions would have to be molded and changed to fit the people.

Next we were able to play New Games, which are cooperative games that aren't competitive. They are meant to encourage teamwork and positive attitudes during play. We played people to people, a caboose game, cat and mouse, and a game where we had to work together to keep the ball up off the ground. In a few of the games we were blindfolded and in others we weren't allowed to use our arms or our dominant hand. So, these games can be used for people with visual impairments, amputations, or people with intellectual disabilities. I think another population that would benefit from New Games would be youth with behavioral problems. You could adapt the games so they are more of a challenge for the youth, but still have the game run so there isn't a winner. For the game with keeping the ball in the air, you might allow them to run around and move with the ball and for the game with the cat and mouse, you could find different objects to pass around the circle that would make it more difficult. Something I'm always learning is that thinking on your feet is crucial in this field. Also, adaptations don't have to be super involved, but the littlest change might help in a big way. When in doubt, just TRY something and it's okay to fail.