This militant association aims to educate as many people as possible on the issue of disability, through various workshops in schools.
Disabilities are still the target of misconceptions. Did you know ? 97% of people with a disability are not in wheelchairs.
To raise awareness as much as possible, LADAPT has created Handi'Mallette, an educational action labeled by the national education system, to enrich its knowledge of the various disabilities (motor, deafness, blindness, mental, cognitive, mental, cerebral lesions or head trauma , etc…).
Supervised workshops
These educational actions, adapted to 3-5 year olds and 6-16 year olds, are offered in leisure centers but also in class by teachers. “Following this, a health professional and a volunteer go to the classes for 3 hours, to offer this Handi'Mallette action to children”, indicates Julie Achaume, executive assistant of LADAPT. “First, we ask them what they think about disability, then they give their ideas. During these discussions, their questions are answered and the different families of disabilities are presented. We absolutely want to get across key messages on the issue of disability diversity, in particular invisible disability ", points out Julie.
"We have extraordinary testimonies from children who have a positive vision of disability"
After the explanations, the students move on to the scenario, always supervised by a health professional and a volunteer. “There are workshops on different themes to discover the diversity of disabilities: workshop on learning disabilities, writing your first name in Braille, getting around with glasses and a white cane or learning sign language. ” Fun workshops that educate children. "We have extraordinary testimonies from children, who have a positive vision of disability, especially in speech and reflection", she indicates.
At the end of the day, the children fill out a satisfaction questionnaire, they also receive a prize. "They receive a diploma entitled" I am an ambassador for disability ", because they are given a mission, that of spreading the good word around them", indicates Lysette walnut, volunteer and retired.
"It is happiness to do that"
More so, children learn to show solidarity with one another. They understand that “The handicap can be compensated by aids: an armchair, glasses, a computer, a human help, a comrade, we insist on the notion of solidarity. " As for the volunteers mobilized for a day, this experience is also beneficial. "It is happiness to do that", concludes Lysette.
Since its creation seven years ago, Handi’Malette has educated more than 15,000 children and more than 200 teachers and facilitators.