Correspondent photo / Susan Wojnar Austintown Intermediate School hosted its sixth annual Ability Awareness Week this past week. Abby Ellis, 5th grade, wears a blindfold and uses a white cane to simulate being vision impaired. She is attempting to find the bean bags and put them in the pail.

AUSTINTOWN — Students at Austintown Intermediate School spent the past week learning an important lesson that went far beyond academics — understanding and supporting one another.

The school hosted its sixth annual Ability Awareness Week, a unique program designed to help students better understand disabilities and challenges others may face while encouraging kindness, empathy and inclusion throughout the school community.

Throughout the week, students participated in activities and discussions that highlighted both the challenges and strengths people experience in everyday life. Through hands-on learning experiences, students were encouraged to see the world through someone else’s perspective and discover ways they can help create a more welcoming environment for everyone.

“This is our sixth year for this amazing event,” said Linda Ankerman, occupational therapist at the Educational Service Center of Eastern Ohio. “It was initially created as a means to fully integrate all students within our campus by assisting students to understand disabilities and challenges others may face.”

According to Ankerman, children — and adults — often notice differences in others but may not fully understand them or know how to interact with someone who appears or behaves differently from themselves. Ability Awareness Week was developed with support from the Austintown Local School District administration and staff to help bridge that gap through education and experience.

The program operates on a three-year rotation, allowing students in grades 3 to 5 to experience a variety of disability awareness themes during their time at the intermediate school. Each year focuses on four to five different areas.

Previous themes have included autism, ADHD, dyslexia, mental health, physical disabilities, social communication and hearing impairments. This year’s focus included visual impairments, diabetes, food allergies, asthma, brain injury awareness and speech disorders.

“Each year we emphasize empathy and ways to assist each other to make our school environment stronger together,” Ankerman said.

Each morning began with themed announcements featuring a “word of the day,” “fact of the day” and “thought of the day” connected to the disability awareness topic being highlighted.

Students then participated in classroom morning meetings that included videos, instructional materials and interactive activities designed to help them better understand the featured condition through a multi-sensory approach.

The learning extended beyond the classroom as well. During specials such as art, gym, music, STEM and technology, the first portion of each class featured videos of individuals with disabilities who have achieved success in a variety of fields related to those subjects.

The school building itself reflected the week’s message of inclusion and support. Hallways were decorated with colorful paper hands featuring students’ personal strengths and ways they could help others. At the end of the week, students created a second hand describing how someone in the building had helped them during the week. The paired displays served as visual reminders that everyone both gives and receives support.

Each student also received a workbook created by AIS staff to guide them through the week’s activities. The workbook included classroom activities, reflection pages and informational materials to encourage participation and discussion.

One of the most memorable parts of the week took place in the gymnasium, where students rotated through five interactive stations simulating various disabilities or challenges.

At one station focused on visual impairments, students wore blindfolds and used canes to navigate through a 10-foot obstacle course. Another visual impairment activity introduced students to beep ball, a game similar to soccer that uses an audible ball to help players locate it through sound.

Students also explored diabetes awareness by comparing food items and guessing which contained higher amounts of sugar, helping them better understand healthy dietary choices and disease management.

Another station focused on social communication challenges, immersing students in activities that simulated communication breakdowns in order to build empathy for individuals who struggle with communication differences.

A final station highlighted physical impairments by allowing students to attempt modified world record-style activities inspired by accomplishments achieved by individuals with disabilities.

Through each experience, organizers hoped students would gain a deeper appreciation not only for the challenges others may face, but also for the resilience, talents and achievements of people living with disabilities.

“The goal of our event is to increase not only awareness, but also empathy,” Ankerman said.

By combining education with hands-on experiences, Ability Awareness Week continues to help students at Austintown Intermediate School learn one of the most important lessons of all — that understanding, compassion and inclusion can make a stronger community for everyone.