Aphasia awareness month was in June and I wonder how many people were educated and informed about aphasia? Obviously some countries are far more advanced and successful in their marketing of aphasia than others. However, at the end of the day, we need to ask ourselves what was it that we as informants set out to achieve and did we reach our goals?
I reflect back to what I set out to do to spread awareness and I am ashamed I didn't try harder. I could have challenged myself and set out to educate five new people everyday about aphasia, however, would this feeble attempt to educate be sufficient enough to make an impact? Chances are: probably not. Adults are not as easily intrigued by adults as they are by children.
Children possess this covert talent to open our eyes and enhance our awareness. On a daily basis, our children bring home (all shoved into their backpacks) a plethora of information. However, we often skim over the important announcements and systematically shift our attention on to the next child. We look for OUR homework as parents: What was the homework for the day? Any projects? Tests? Upcoming PTA meetings? School events? Parties? [Then we realize how neglectful we are when we discover moldy, half-eaten sandwiches at the bottom of their bags].
What this all boils down to is that the routine homework assignments and school notifications will become yesterdays news and ultimately one less thing for us adults to worry about. However, if we open their notebooks, look at their worksheets and other miscellaneous school handouts we may actually learn slightly more about their day.
Children are learning and becoming more aware each day about people with disabilities. They may notice more people in wheelchairs, see a blind person walking down the street with their guide dog or walking stick, or even see someone communicating with their hands! However, when it comes to aphasia they can't see it on an individual or even understand it if we explain it to them. The most effective way to educate and spread awareness is by experiencing it. Children can experience these handicaps on a very basic level. They are provided with an opportunity to experience the sensation of riding around in a wheelchair, walking down the corridors of their schools with their eyes covered by a scarf, and they experience the handicap of hearing impaired as they wear noise blocking head sets to cover their ears.
Imagine when your child comes home one day and tells you that there are people who can't speak because they were hurt or sick. Imagine your child describing what they experienced when they couldn't talk at the lunch table and at recess. Imagine seeing the excitement in their eyes as they describe how they could use an ipad or communication computer to talk to their friends. When education and awareness enter our schools, it ultimately permeates our homes and communities.
If children are our future, shouldn't the information they learn have an impact on our awareness?
