Simulation Experience

Ceami Ferrin

Originally, I wanted my simulation experience to be on how it would feel to be mute for

two days. I thought this would work great, and I would learn a lot from the experience, but since
I am a teacher, I figured that wouldn’t fly too well with administration. Instead, for this
experience I went 48 hours with my arm in a sling, being solely dependent on my left arm.
Before starting the simulation, I thought this would give me a little insight into how it might be
to be disabled in one thing, but I got a lot more out of the experience than I thought. I learned a
bit more about myself, and about the people I surround myself with. I didn’t want anyone’s
reaction to be swayed by knowing that my arm was in a sling for a class assignment, so I told the
people I can in contact with that I had hurt it. This goes against what I normally do, and I’m not a
very good liar, but I was able to go through with it for two days. I was limited to my left arm for
two of my busiest days, since I figured this would help me get the most experience and learning.

As I had guessed, many of my colleagues, students, and family members asked what I
had done. They all showed sympathy and told me if I needed help with anything that I can ask.
This is something that a PWD probably deals with on a daily basis, if they are around people
they don’t see all the time. I felt bad that I was lying to people, but I would remind myself it
wasn’t quite lying since it was for school. I grateful and touched by how much people wanted to
help. I thought it would be something people would say just to be kind, but some of my
colleagues and students did things without even asking if they could help out. My teacher friends
brought me my worksheets for the day, and laid my students snacks out on the table for me. If I
would drop anything, or struggle to open a door, my students would rush to be the first one to
help me. It was very sweet, but I understood a little more what a PWD mean when they say they
are capable of doing things on their own. I was glad I didn’t have to do things, but I also knew I
could, and part of me wanted to do things on my own as well.

One experience that terrified me, and wasn’t good thinking on my part, was that I would
still drive to and from work. I figured if I really needed my arm while driving, I could use it since
nothing was actually wrong with it. At one point, as I was merging lanes, another car decided to
merge into the lane at the same time. Even with two hands on the wheel this is terrifying, and I
learned it is even more so with one hand. I ended up pulling my arm out of the sling to avoid
hitting this car, and then I was struck with a realization. There are PWD who didn’t always have
their disability. When they are adjusting back to the things they did daily, they might learn some
things are harder than they used to be. Adjusting is possible, but at first I imagine it being
difficult and frustrating. I think my car driving incident would have gone differently if my arm
were truly paralyzed or broken.

Although I only experienced two days of an impairment, I feel pretty confident saying
that a person born with a disability, or getting a disability from a traumatic event, experiences
life differently than I did in my short time. I knew this was going to be short, which also effected
my emotions and reactions. For a PWD they know this is something that will affect them for
their whole life, so they have different outlooks and feelings. In our studies throughout the
semester, we learned that simulating a disability doesn’t help a PWOD truly understand a PWD.
This became very clear to me as I was going through this simulation experience. I was disabled
for a short time, but it was a good eye opener to things that I hadn’t thought of as much before. I
still have much to learn, and going through this simulation has added to my learning experience.