There is a large debate on if simulating a disability is beneficial to your understanding of the disability. There are many strong views on the topic, in both support for the practice and against the practice.
Often people simulate sight loss with simulation glasses and participants find it difficult to adjust. Many participants in these activities leave more afraid of sight loss and saying that they never could live like this. This kind of simulation doesn't help participants understand how the barriers can be overcome and lead fulfilling lives.
Skift Meetings ran an event simulating wheelchair usage and stimulated a large debate within the community. The linked article reflects on the reaction and lessons we can all learn about simulations and the concerns of the community.
There was broad agreement that by being curious and talking to people with disabilities increases understanding of not only the barriers, but also the workarounds used to get around the barriers to live a full life.
Be curious and learn more about disability today….
He once divided participants into groups of three and asked them to choose who would be carried across the room. None of them wanted to be handled in that way. “Then I put up a picture of a person in a wheelchair sitting at the bottom of a set of stairs. Could you just carry them up? Well, how did that feel when you thought somebody was going to carry you?”
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