Despite the organizers’ hesitancy about the attendance of the first ever Unity Night at Olander Elementary in Fort Collins, Nick and his team were able to help a great crowd of kids and adults alike by providing them with empathy training to experience movement in a manual wheelchair, navigating through a room with a vision impairment, grocery shopping with a learning disability, and reading colors through the eyes of someone who may not perceive as the experiencers did.

Nick’s favorite part was watching the kids play the games and the awareness they gained from trying these experiences.

In particular, Nick liked watching the kids try to read the correct color on words that were colored a different color. This test, called the Stroop test, mimics a learning disability in which someone struggles with sorting information in their brain (selective attention). Because the brain is trained to read first, it is difficult for someone to name a color rather than read a word on page.

You can learn more about this test here:
https://www.cleverism.com/the-stroop-effect-naming-the-color-but-not-the-word

In this coin game, coins are given different values, and participants are asked to purchase small items using the coins, such as an apple. This game mimics the learning disability dyscalculia (“math dyslexia”), in which a person has difficulty with simple calculations, sequencing numbers, and telling time. You can read more about dyscalulia here: https://www.additudemag.com/what-is-dyscalculia-overview-and-symptom-breakdown/

The kids all did great being brave and trying new ways to think, speak, and move!

We look forward to working with students at Olander elementary again in the near future!