The February 2024 edition of Enabling Access detailed the history of an immersive disability awareness training that the Access Center for Independent Living (ACIL) offers called Think This Is Easy? (TTIE).
It has come to our attention since the article was published that some members of the community do not have a grasp of what happens when people go through TTIE. To help address this issue, this article will give a detailed overview of each TTIE station.
Just a few reminders before getting into the particulars of each station, TTIE is an in-person, immersive experience that is suitable for anyone who wishes to learn about the challenges and barriers that individuals with disabilities face in the community. Each TTIE training is limited to twenty participants. Larger groups can be accommodated by having multiple sessions. Each TTIE training station is facilitated by ACIL staff or volunteers, most of whom have some type of disability and often the disability being experienced at the station.
There are nine possible stations, but ACIL typically combines the snacks and drinks station with either the speech impairment station or the dexterity impairment station so that participants only go through seven stations.
At the cognitive impairment station participants are challenged to complete oral and written exercises while being given conflicting written and audio instructions. Throughout the challenge, participants often experience the type of confusion that those living with a cognitive impairment sometimes experience when trying to complete tasks.
The visual impairment station requires participants to be blindfolded and guided through an obstacle course. This allows participants to get a taste of the visual disorientation that those who are blind experience at times when guided by others in locations that they are unfamiliar with. ACIL recently purchased some goggles that simulate different visual impairments such as Detached Retina and Retina Pigmentosa. We hope to eventually work them into TTIE trainings.
Participants attempt to have a conversation with several marshmallows or cotton balls in their mouths while at the speech impairment station. At times, the speech impairment station will be combined with the snacks and drinks station. When the stations are combined, participants will have to instruct either a fellow participant or a facilitator as to their food and drink choices and when they would like to be given a bite or a drink. Oftentimes, the fellow participant or facilitator will be distracted during the feeding process. This allows participants to experience some of the struggles that those with speech impediments or other speech difficulties experience daily.
Varying degrees of hearing loss leading up to complete deafness is experienced by participants using headphones at the hearing impairment station. Participants must then rely on body language and/or lip reading to communicate with their fellow participants and the facilitator. This gives participants an idea of the difficulties that those who are Deaf or hard-of-hearing experience when communicating with others and just a couple of the strategies Deaf individuals use to overcome communication struggles.
Depending on the location of the TTIE, the mobility impairment station will look different. At times, participants will have the chance to push a manual chair up a ramp and down a hallway before also getting a chance to see how difficult it can be to fit a wheelchair into a restroom stall. Other times, participants will have the chance to drive a power wheelchair through an obstacle course. In both instances, a light is shone on just a few of the struggles those with mobility impairments experience daily when participants go through this station.
The dexterity impairment station tends to be very eye opening for participants because the importance of good dexterity is not something people often think about. While at the station, participants are asked to perform a series of activities requiring good dexterity and fine motor skills such as writing or buttoning a shirt while their fingers are restricted by gloves and/or rubber bands. This helps many participants to realize how blessed they are to have full use of their hands and fingers.
While at the Autism station, participants watch and listen via headphones to a short film that highlights the barriers and challenges that some people with Autism experience.
The Schizophrenia station is set up like the Autism station. Participants watch and listen to a short film about going to the convenience store while experiencing a Schizophrenic break. The film highlights how difficult it can be for individuals with Schizophrenia to complete everyday tasks.
Before each TTIE training is over, participants are given the opportunity to share their experiences with each other. Frustrations, realizations, surprises, and questions are often shared and answered during that time which adds to the overall TTIE experience.
Have questions about TTIE training? Want to schedule TTIE training for your coworkers or staff? Contact Independent Living Specialist, Dylan Boot at 937-341-5202 Ext 109 or [email protected].
