Welcome to Auesome News!

This week we are talking about different abilities, and how we support our Auesome students to be part of the larger community. Driving for this philosophy, we explore our neighborhood, making connections, and strengthening relationships. Moving from inside to outside environments, our students combine social skills and mindfulness to transform “natural” biased attitudes into understanding, acceptance, and empowerment. Small steps promote big changes. Being out there also allows our society time to observe, rethink, and respond differently. Time and opportunities go hand in hand, and everyone has a part to play in this symphony.

Like a piece of music not yet finished, we can create new melodies, which include everyone’s abilities as a fundamental part of being and learning differently. Together our actions resonate our true intentions, and we understand more profoundly the latent capacity within everyone. Having this idea in mind, we need to know that attitudes, values and needs can be influenced by cultural and diverse contexts. What is perceived as a problem, how it is understood, and the possible acceptable solutions(1), all define what efforts are needed and how long they would take. The model applied by society affects how a dis-ability is viewed. Nowadays, a balance approach promotes the bio-psycho-social-model, connecting both the medical and social representation. At same time, the social model highlights the environment’s impacts where people are “disabled by society” rather than just directly by their bodies.

Knowing this allows us the possibility of building up learning opportunities to help foster an inclusive society through our “Auesome friendship project”. This project celebrates the power of “small connections” in a multicultural society. What is small connection for us? The ability to step out our “bubble” to collaborate within a diverse group for, at least, a short but regular period. Where both sides experience the benefits of this effort. According to Misch and colleagues, the anticipation of future collaboration reduces in-group bias(2), improving cooperation between groups. What a better time to nurture these seeds than during childhood?

We are incredibly grateful for our first partnership with our neighbour – Children’s House. But what does it take to make such project work? It takes action, communication, and relationship building. From “Show and Tell” to “Art Class” (and other activities), students have opportunities to collaborate in different areas. Simple steps may require both a lot of social-emotional(3) development and mindful actions to establish healthy connections, improve self-esteem, compassion, kindness, and respect, but lead to continued growth to all involved. More than academic subjects, these life lessons are designed to promote the rights of people with diverse abilities. Moving from biased actions to embracing different groups through the little ones, where the old and subliminal prejudices aren’t yet consolidated as “normal attitudes”.

So far, it has been a truly rewarding project! The students’ excitement motivates planning, discussion, creativity, and cooperation to meet their little friends. Likewise, similar engagement drives our neighbour/partner. For our students, being welcomed and accepted as they are in a different space builds the foundation for societal wellbeing. Discrimination(4) affects people’s opportunities, well-being, and their sense of agency. Persistent exposure to discrimination can lead individuals to internalize the prejudice or stigma that is directed against them, manifesting in shame, low self-esteem, fear, and stress, as well as poor health.

To give you the big picture, it is estimated that worldwide more than 1 billion people live with disability(5). Disability being an evolving concept that encompasses under its umbrella impairments, activity limitations, and participation restrictions(6).which negatively affect the interaction between and individual and society. In developing countries, the number of people living with some form of disability has grown by around eighty percent. In that sense, every one of us will experience or deal with it at some point in our lives.

As well said by Shafik(7), we need to urgently rethink the social contract. How we support each other to thrive is the key action to allow everyone to have a good life and to contribute effectively to society.

Dear readers, 

In this article you will find a few underlined and numbered passages. These additional references are for those who want to know more about the specific topic.To access them, you may wish to copy and paste the reference below. We hope the additional resources is helpful to you.

(1) Gopalkrishnan N. (2018). Cultural Diversity and Mental Health: Considerations for Policy and Practice. Frontiers in public health, 6, 179. 
https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2018.00179

(2)  Misch, A., Paulus, M., & Dunham, Y. (2021). Anticipation of future cooperation eliminates minimal ingroup bias in children and adults. 
Journal of Experimental Psychology: General. Advance online publication. 
https://doi.org/10.1037/xge0000899

(3)  http://developingchild.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/2004/04/Young-Children-Develop-in-an-Environment-of-Relationships.pdf

(4)  https://www.un.org/development/desa/dspd/2018/02/prejudice-and-discrimination/

(5)  https://www.un.org/development/desa/disabilities/resources/factsheet-on-persons-with-disabilities.html

(6) https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789241564182

(7)  https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691204451/what-we-owe-each-other