Skip to content
Menu
  • English Selected
  • Français

 

Header secondary

  • Sign up for eNews
  • Donate

Header

  • About Us
    • About Us
    • Our Programs
    • Leadership Team
    • Board Members and Committees
    • Donors
    • Annual Reports
    • 2021-23 Strategic Plan
    • FAQ
    • Work With Us
    • Contact Us
    • Champion's Circle
    Hero
    Passionate about accessibility? We need your help
    Get Involved
  • About Rick
    • About Rick
    • Rick's Story
    • Man In Motion World Tour
      • Man In Motion World Tour
      • The Dream
      • Tour Timeline
      • Tour Gallery
      • Tour Team
      • 35th Anniversary
    • Rick’s Work and Vision
    • A Conversation with Rick
    • Awards & Honours
    Hero
    Passionate about accessibility? We need your help
    Get Involved
  • Get Involved
    • Get Involved
    • Donate
    • Legacy Giving
    • Fundraise
    • Help make Canada accessible
    • Everyone Everywhere
    • National AccessAbility Week
    Hero
    Passionate about accessibility? We need your help
    Get Involved
  • Become Accessible
    • Become Accessible
    • Rating & Certification 
      • Rating & Certification 
      • Rating Request Form
      • RHFAC FAQ
      • RHFAC v3.0
    • Accessibility Training and Education
      • Professional Training
      • Accessibility Training and Education
      • Tuition Grants
    • APN 2023 Conference
    • Accessibility Resources
    • Accessibility Professional Network
      • Accessibility Professional Network
      • FAQ: Accessibility Professional Network
      • Login
      • RHFAC Professional Directory
    • Post an Accessibility Job
    • Accessibility Advisory Services
    • Buildings Without Barriers Challenge
    • Leaders in Accessibility
    • B.C. Accessibility Grants
    Hero
    Passionate about accessibility? We need your help
    Get Involved
  • Schools & Communities
    • Schools and Communities
    • Create an Inclusive School Year
      • Start with Awareness
      • Concentrate on Kindness 
      • Boldly Take Action
    • Resource Library
    • Ambassador Presentations
      • Ambassador Presentations
      • Book a Presentation
      • About Our Ambassadors
    • Difference Maker Awards
      • Difference Maker Awards
      • Difference Maker Winners
    • Supplementary Resources
    • Our Partners
    Hero
    Passionate about accessibility? We need your help
    Get Involved
  • News & Stories
    • News & Stories
    • Blog
    • Media Centre
    • Newsletter
    • Disability Reports
    Hero
    Passionate about accessibility? We need your help
    Get Involved
  • Search

Breadcrumb

  1. Rick Hansen Foundation
  2. News & Stories
  3. Blog
  4. Currently selected 5 Tips for Teaching High School Students about Disability Inclusion
Teacher with long brown hair wearing a green shirt speaking in the front of a classroom

5 Tips for Teaching High School Students about Disability Inclusion

Rebecca Blissett By Rebecca Blissett On February 15, 2023 Access & Inclusion

Being a teenager isn’t easy.

Youth between the ages of 13 and 19 experience some overwhelming external and internal struggles. Top this off with coping with hormonal changes, puberty, social and family expectations, and school and social pressures – to name a few. When a youth has an additional challenge that they feel sets them apart from their peers, life can seem extra isolating.

This is why the Rick Hansen Foundation School Program (RHFSP) believes it’s crucial to teach youth about the importance of disability and inclusion. Giving young people the opportunity to understand the value of feeling accepted and appreciated from all perspectives opens the door to positive life experiences.

Even if youth didn’t experience meaningful disability inclusion education during their elementary school years, there’s no better time than the present to start.

Here are five tips for teaching middle and secondary school students about disability inclusion:

1. Youth Conversing with Youth

When youth without disabilities have the opportunity to interact with youth with disabilities, it can be a life-changing experience for both parties. An easy way to get this conversation started is signing up to attend our upcoming webinar where previous RHFSP Difference Maker of the Year award recipients share their stories about how kindness and inclusion make a big difference to people with disabilities. These engaging youth will help show the benefits of being a difference maker through this hour-long interactive webinar for Grade 6 to 12 students.

Youth Exchange: Be a Difference Maker Thursday, Feb. 23, 2023, 10 a.m. PT/ 1 p.m. ET

Register Today

Two young people hugging on a path that is surrounded by trees. One person has short brown hair, is wearing jeans and is using a wheelchair. The other person has long hair, is wearing a skirt and is not using a wheelchair.

2. Make a Difference

Now, more than ever, youth leadership is crucial to the development of a healthy society. Without them, there will be no one to pass on the torch of community leaders. This is why RHFSP is doubling down in its efforts to help youth develop empathy, creative problem-solving and leadership skills through its Difference Maker of the Year awards. This is the first year the awards are solely for children, youth, and classrooms/youth groups who have a chance of winning $500 for individual projects or $1000 for group projects.

The awards are open to youth up to the age of 18 whose social leadership projects go above and beyond with a focus on creating more awareness and removing barriers for people with disabilities in their schools and communities. Nominations are open until April 30, 2023, with award recipients being announced during NationalAccessibility Week held from May 28 to June 3, 2023.

Learn more about the Difference Maker of the Year awards by downloading our toolkit.

3. No Expiry Date for Learning

The RHFSP online library features a wealth of activities, lessons, videos, and more for youth of all ages including secondary students. There are creative activities around science, such as having students analyze an assistive device or design a method of transportation suited to a specific disability (Science Ready-Made Challenges and Projects).Or how about a group project where youth brainstorm peer advocacy solutions for situations that might arise in school situations (Peer Advocacy)? Be sure to check out our wonderful short film called Just Like U, where youth speak from their experiences of living with a disability.

There is so much value in learning from others with experience. This is why our virtual RHF Ambassador presentations are such a popular teaching tool. Ambassadors create connections and challenge stereotypes about disability while sharing themes of kindness, perseverance, and resilience. We invite you to learn about our amazing team of Ambassadors and book a presentation.

An RHF Ambassador wearing a blue RHF t-shirt giving a presentation. A person with long black hair is holding a microphone up to the Ambassador,

4. Getting Creative with Connections

Youth remember educators who inspired and empowered them to make a difference. One such educator is Stephen Fowler, who teaches Grade 9 at Rick Hansen School of Science and Business in Abbotsford, B.C.

Stephen was so inspired by RHFSP’s resources that he came up with an idea to teach his students the importance of diversity and inclusion. During his two-week-long bootcamp that focusses on creating a barrier-free world, Stephen designed a media project where his students put their imaginations to work to recreate well-known advertisements – but with inclusion in mind.

The students put their spin on print ads for famous fashion houses featuring models with disabilities. They placed athletes with disabilities into ads for slick sport apparel companies. Even some of the biggest tech companies were schooled on inclusion through the class’s mock-up ads.

The most important thing to me is getting my students to think about this topic…” said Stephen. “Why isn’t including people with disabilities normal? Why is this the way the world works? The kids discuss their ideas with each other. They’re thinking about it, talking about it. And that’s all I really want.”

Two young people signing to each other. One person has long dark hair that is braided, the other person has short curly hair. They are both wearing black t-shirts.

5. Using the Media for Good

There are so many great books and films available that feature disability. While teaching children about disability inclusion is about humanizing others around them with a balance of curiosity and respectfulness, youth tend to seek an understanding of what disability inclusion looks like in practice. RHF regularly publishes a reading list on its blog featuring books by authors with disabilities.

There are also many great films about disability, such as CODA, about a girl who is the only hearing person in her Deaf family and the Sound of Metal, about a punk-metal drummer who loses his hearing. There is also Crutch, a film that documents the life of artist Bill Shannon, an internationally-renowned breakdancer and skateboarder who uses crutches and Going Blind, a documentary that takes audiences along a journey of sight loss – and portrays it as not the end of someone’s life, but a new beginning.

Thank you, educators and youth leaders, for inspiring and empowering the next generation of individuals who will change the world so everyone can go everywhere.

Related articles

The Art of Fighting Back
Three people who are using wheelchairs having a conversation at a conference.
More than a Conference: 4 Takeaways from #APN2023
Building on the water lit up at night with boats in the foreground
River Rock Casino Resort Achieves RHF Accessibility Certification
Introducing Lui Greco, upcoming panel member at #APN2023: Building Together Presented by Royal Bank of Canada

About the Author

Rebecca Blissett is the writer for the Rick Hansen Foundation. She has been a storyteller through using the written word and photographs her entire adult life. Her experience in journalism gave her a deep appreciation for telling untold stories, particularly when it comes to people with disabilities. She is happy to be part of the movement to make Canada more accessible and inclusive.

Back to top

Next Story

Introducing Canada’s First Chief Accessibility Officer, Stephanie Cadieux
Rebecca Blissett By Rebecca Blissett
Read More

Stay in Touch

Receive Foundation emails to stay up-to-date on our impact and programs.

Contact Us

1-800-213-2131
info@rickhansen.com

Rick Hansen Foundation
300-3820 Cessna Drive
Richmond, BC
Canada V7B 0A2

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Linkedin
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
Imagine Canada

The Standards Program Trustmark is a mark of Imagine Canada used under license by the Rick Hansen Foundation.

About Us - EN

  • About Us
  • Our Programs
  • Leadership Team
  • Board Members and Committees
  • Donors
  • Annual Reports
  • 2021-23 Strategic Plan
  • FAQ
  • Work With Us
  • Contact Us
  • Champion's Circle

About Rick - EN

  • About Rick
  • Rick's Story
  • Man In Motion World Tour
    • Man In Motion World Tour
    • The Dream
    • Tour Timeline
    • Tour Gallery
    • Tour Team
    • 35th Anniversary
  • Rick’s Work and Vision
  • A Conversation with Rick
  • Awards & Honours

Get Involved - EN

  • Get Involved
  • Donate
  • Legacy Giving
  • Fundraise
  • Help make Canada accessible
  • Everyone Everywhere
  • National AccessAbility Week

Become Accessible - EN

  • Become Accessible
  • Rating & Certification 
    • Rating & Certification 
    • Rating Request Form
    • RHFAC FAQ
    • RHFAC v3.0
  • Accessibility Training and Education
    • Professional Training
    • Accessibility Training and Education
    • Tuition Grants
  • APN 2023 Conference
  • Accessibility Resources
  • Accessibility Professional Network
    • Accessibility Professional Network
    • FAQ: Accessibility Professional Network
    • Login
    • RHFAC Professional Directory
  • Post an Accessibility Job
  • Accessibility Advisory Services
  • Buildings Without Barriers Challenge
  • Leaders in Accessibility
  • B.C. Accessibility Grants

Schools & Communities - EN

  • Schools and Communities
  • Create an Inclusive School Year
    • Start with Awareness
    • Concentrate on Kindness 
    • Boldly Take Action
  • Resource Library
  • Ambassador Presentations
    • Ambassador Presentations
    • Book a Presentation
    • About Our Ambassadors
  • Difference Maker Awards
    • Difference Maker Awards
    • Difference Maker Winners
  • Supplementary Resources
  • Our Partners

News & Stories - EN

  • News & Stories
  • Blog
  • Media Centre
  • Newsletter
  • Disability Reports

Legal

  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Policy
  • Ethical Reporting Policy
  • Complaints Policy
  • Imagine Canada Certification
  • Accessibility Commitment
  • Diversity and Inclusion
Imagine Canada

The Standards Program Trustmark is a mark of Imagine Canada used under license by the Rick Hansen Foundation.

Charitable Registration Number: 10765 9427 RR 0001 © 2023 Rick Hansen Foundation. All Rights Reserved.

Back to Top
Hero

Our programs and initiatives work to create an accessible and inclusive world where people with disabilities can live to their full potential. 

Learn more
Hero

When Rick set out to wheel around the world in 1985, he had three missions: to raise awareness about the potential of people with disabilities, create accessible and inclusive communities, and find a cure.

Read more
Hero

Receive updates from RHF on the impact we’re making for people with disabilities across Canada.

Subscribe
Hero

Have your site rated and certified for meaningful access for people with physical disabilities. Make your community more welcoming and inclusive for all!

Get Started
Hero

Receive free educational resources that teach youth about the importance of access and inclusion.  

Learn more
Hero

Browse the latest stories about access and inclusion from Rick and our team of bloggers. 

Read our Blog