October is Disability Awareness month and Red Door would like to invite you 

to celebrate those with unique abilities and special needs.  This month, we want 

to honor everyone and bring a sense of love and acceptance to anyone and 

everyone, no matter their physical attributes, race, creed, or mental state.

 

It is our hope that by spreading awareness about disabilities, we can negate

the potential to make those diagnosed with learning, physical, or mental 

disabilities feel isolated and alone.  Here are some great tips on how you can 

help us celebrate disabilities awarness month. 

 

VOLUNTEER!  One of the best ways to help celebrate disability awarenss is

by giving your time and efforts to help a great cause.  Whether is assisting a

child with learning abilities with extra tutoring or volunteering to help out

at an event benefiting those with disabilities, you will have made a huge impact, 

not only on those you are helping but on yourself as well.  Nothing help you to

realize your blessing more than helping those less fortunate.  

 

EDUCATE YOURSELF!  Read a book about a disability, the more you learn,

the more you know, the less likely you are to offend or hurt someone overcoming a disability. You can also read about disabilities to your children.  Here are some great children's book recommendations: 

 

Be Good to Eddie Lee by Virginia FilIing
Eddie Lee, a young boy with Down syndrome, follows the neighborhood children into the woods to find frog eggs. They are resentful and try to make him stay home.

 

Danny and the Merry-Go-Round by Nan Holcomb
Danny, who has cerebral palsy, visits the park with his mother and watches other children playing on a playground. He makes friends with a young girl after his mother explains cerebral palsy to her and points out that it is not contagious.

 

My Mom Is Handicapped: A “Grownup” Children’s Book by Barbara Turner Brabham
A six-year-old boy describes life with his mother, a teacher with physical disabilities.

 

What It’s Like to Be Me by Helen Exley
Children from all over the world write about themselves and their disabilities. They tell us how they see themselves and how they want to be seen. All of the illustrations are created by the child

 

PRACTICE GOOD ETIQUETTE! Here are some great tips on practicing good wheelchair etiquette. 

 

• Be prepared to offer assistance to people with limited use of their hands, wrists or arms.

• Ask for permission to touch a person’s wheelchair, it’s part of their personal space.

• Keep the ramps and wheelchair-accessible doors and parking spaces unlocked and unblocked.

• Wheelchair users are not equipment, do not use their wheelchair for personal use.

• Always speak directly to the person with a disability.

• Do not exclude wheelchair users from activities. 

 

Thank you for helping us to celebrate disability awareness month.