For April, our Character Education theme is: Communities Support Change

During the month of April we recognize a type of disability called Autism. Last month, during March, we recognized all disabilities during Disability Awareness Month.

 What is a disability?

A disability is a physical, mental, or emotional condition that limits how a person can move or sense the world or do daily activities. Some disabilities are obvious, like stuttering, needing a wheelchair or a guide dog. Other disabilities, like autism, hearing loss or social anxiety, are not as visible but can be just as life changing.

 In this month’s book, All the Way to the Top we are going to meet Jennifer Keelan-Chaffins. Jennifer was born with cerebral palsy and uses a wheelchair to get around.

Cerebral palsy or CP is damage to the part of the brain that controls movement. The damage from CP happens either before a baby is born or during birth. So you can’t catch CP like you would catch a cold!  Not everyone with CP has the same disability. Some people with CP can’t move at all while others may have barely noticeable disabilities, like weakness on one side of their body. Jennifer is not only an author but an activist. Jennifer never wanted her wheelchair to slow her down, but the world around her was built in a way that made it hard for people with disabilities to do even simple things like go to school or eat lunch in the cafeteria. When the Americans with Disabilities Act was proposed to Congress to make public spaces accessible to everyone, Jennifer joined activists in Washington DC for what became known as the Capital Crawl. At the steps of the Capitol Building, without her wheelchair, she climbed all the way to the top! Here is a read aloud of the book:

For this month’s Character Education Project students will have an opportunity to draw and write about a time they stuck up for someone. 

Our song of the month, Fight Song by Rachel Platten: