Departmental News
Resource available for including youths with disabilities in 4-H and other youth programs
4-H youth leaders and volunteers have a resource for including youth with disabilities into 4-H programs thanks to information compiled by the Department of Family and Consumer Sciences in the University of Wyoming College of Agriculture.
“4-H: An Exclusively Inclusive Program,” a new University of Wyoming Web site, was written with 4-H in mind but can be used by anyone working with youth. The information describes the benefits of including children with disabilities into 4-H programs and activities, training on understanding youth with disabilities, fact sheets about disabilities, links to disability-support associations, and a link to the Americans with Disabilities Act home page.
The information is available on-line by going to www.uwyo.edu/UWAG. At that site, click on the 4-H link. Inclusive 4-H is one of the options available. The Web address is www.uwyo.edu/wyo4h/Inclusive.
“4-H leaders, volunteers and educators need to have more information than just fact sheets,” said Randy Weigel, professor in the Department of Family and Consumer Sciences. “That is why we also included links to resources and readings on working with young people and disabilities.”
“A disability is not a reason to expect a young person to be helpless. A child with a disability has a limitation, but it is not debilitating. They have the right to experience opportunities just as someone without a disability does,” added Weigel.
“This information lets people who are not familiar with a disability know what a particular disability is, how it is treated, and what educators and leaders should think about when working with a person who has a disability.
“4-H can play an empowering role in the family with a disability.”
4-H is the youth arm of the University of Wyoming’s Cooperative Extension Service, and its state offices are located in the College of Agriculture.
The work is the result of efforts of former UW graduate student Patricia Tatman and Weigel.
Tatman, who now lives near Coffee Creek, Mont., teaches on-line for the UW family and consumer sciences department. “4-H: An Exclusively Inclusive Program” was her graduate project.
“These materials give 4-H leaders and volunteers some ideas to think about if they have a member who has a disability so they don’t start automatically thinking ‘this will be a big problem to deal with,’” said Tatman. “It talks about the importance of including kids with disabilities with those who don’t have disabilities.”
The project had initially been written for Wyoming use, but “we wanted to make it less specific to Wyoming so it could be a resource for many different states,” said Tatman. “We wanted it to be useful for everyone.”
“Participating in projects can build self-esteem and a sense of accomplishment,” Weigel said. “In many families with a disabled child, there is a strong advocacy to have that child feel good about themselves and participate with others to the best of their ability.”
Wyoming’s sparse population and open space can lead some with disabilities to feel isolated. “Participating in 4-H can give a sense of belonging, and has the benefit of teaching life skills,” said Weigel.
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