Birdie Rocray explains Wednesday to Dirigo Elementary School summer program students how to write their names in Braille using sequins and glue. The workshop station was one of five to teach students about disabilities. Marianne Hutchinson/Rumford Falls Times

PERU — Dirigo Elementary School summer program students participated Wednesday in a CARE workshop to learn about disabilities. 

“Today is about the children seeing that there are disabilities other than the disabilities that you can see,” said Birdie Rocray, activity coordinator for the after-school and summer programs.

Dirigo Elementary School summer program student Brianna Poulin practices using a cane while blindfolded Wednesday as Ivan Dragoon guides her during a workshop on disabilities at the Peru school. Marianne Hutchinson/Rumford Falls Times

Rocray and Gail True, both former Girl Scout leaders of Troop 954 in Peru, presented the workshop, which started out with the Girl Scouts, True said.

It’s about “creating ability, awareness and respect for everyone,” she said Wednesday.

The workshop matches the summer program theme of CARE — compassion, awareness, responsibility and empathy — Cindy Petherbridge, school librarian and summer program co-coordinator, said.

“We have activities based on teaching them how it feels to have ADHD and have things ‘thrown at them’ and see how these other children are feeling in the world,” Rocray said about one of the five workshop stations.

“We have a lot of special needs (students) that have come in at the beginning of the summer and some kids were kind of, like, making fun of them … They need to know it’s not OK to laugh when somebody is frustrated because they can’t do something,” Rocray said.

At Rocray’s station, students learned how to write their names in Braille by using sequins and glue, while at another station, Audrey Rocray, staff member for the summer program, taught students the alphabet in American Sign Language.

Dirigo Elementary School summer program student Kyle Cloutier tries using a wheelchair Wednesday as Tammy-Lyn Perry watches during a workshop on disabilities at the Peru school. Perry is an activity leader for the after-school and summer programs.

Tammy-Lyn Perry, activity leader for the after-school and summer programs, said having the workshop “is a perfect thing” for students since “they don’t (always) see people with disabilities or they don’t know how to react to them. And they need to learn how to help.”

At her station, the students learned about using a wheelchair, they experienced being blindfolded while trying to perform activities and they had an arm in a sling while trying to open a jar or flip pages in a book.

Before students visited the stations to learn about different disabilities, True asked them questions about people with disabilities, such as “Should we feel sorry for people with disabilities?”

While many students answered ‘yes,’ True said, “No, they are just people who do things differently. They don’t want you to feel sorry for them, they want you to treat them like everyone else.”

True explained that some disabilities are visible, while others can’t be seen. “It could be things like autism, ADHD, (and we) treat everybody with respect, right?” True asked. “We’re going to be nice to one another … words we use might be hurtful, so when you see somebody with a disability, don’t stare. Say, ‘hi,’ tell them your name and ask them their name.”

Someone with a disability wants friends just like you do, True said.

Dirigo Elementary School summer program students learn the alphabet in American Sign Language on Wednesday from staff member Audrey Rocray during a workshop on disabilities at the Peru school. Marianne Hutchinson/Rumford Falls Times