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By Peggy Revell on December 4, 2013. PEGGY REVELL prevell@medicinehatnews.com Twitter: MHNprevell http://medicinehatnews.com/news/local-news/2013/12/george-davison-kids-learn-about-living-with-a-disability/ Through wheelchairs, Braille, service dogs and more — the International Day of Persons with Disabilities was celebrated Tuesday at George Davison School. “We have 25 presentations from 13 organizations within the community, plus 50 to 60 volunteers to help people learn about abilities and disabilities,” said Shirley Jago, with the Canadian Paraplegic and chair of the annual event that rotates through various schools each year to mark the day. It’s about getting kids to look at things differently, she explained — what it’s like to have autism, learning Braille and sign language, how to operate wheelchairs, what service dogs do, and much more. “It’s just showing them a look at the community’s differences, so they learn healthy respect for (people with disabilities),” she said. “And they won’t be afraid of approaching a person with a disability because they’ve had a day like today.” Grade 2 student Kaydence Freitag’s favourite part of the day was an activity where students wore blindfolds and tried to find a cup and spoon to eat apple sauce. “(I learned) that it’s hard to eat when you can’t see,” she said, while she also enjoyed learning some sign language — as it’s an important way to communicate with deaf. “My favourite thing has been to try out the wheelchair for the first time, and learning about the sledge hockey players,” said Grade 4 student Munro Maxwell, adding that while it was fun, operating a wheelchair wasn’t easy. Being disabled doesn’t mean being different, he said although it can be difficult — but there is lots of technology to help make things easier. Teaching kids creates a ripple effect, said Jago, as they hope the children go home and talk with their parents about what they’ve learned that day. “And hopefully it keeps going on from there.”