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Teaching awareness of disability through play

N’JOY designs and organizes a range of innovative activities for children aged 2 to 15. The organization uses make-believe adventures to teach children about values such as the importance of sustainable development, tolerance and team spirit.

N’JOY leverages its educational expertise to help children explore, try out and grow through group interaction. One of the activities on offer, T’es Cap, le Handicap, helps to raise children’s awareness of this issue through ‘play and learn’ workshops that mimic sensory disabilities. Through play they learn about their bodies, their senses and the part these play in their everyday lives.

Children are plunged into a world of make-believe with the help of “Doctor Sense” who shows them how to explore and understand the subject. They then split into teams to try out the different workshops.

About twenty different sensory and parasporting activities are on offer to raise awareness of the different types of disabilities, including laser rifle shooting, Braille Lego, sign language, blind football, torball (a ball game for the blind and visually impaired played with an audible ball), curling, psychomotor obstacle courses, sensory boxes and tactile lotto. Participants learn more about disability by experiencing it for themselves. The programme ends with a feedback and discussion session.

  • Hélène Darras, Dodos* manager at N’JOY, had this to say: “This event meets many of the children’s needs, whatever their age. There are both sports and sensory workshops, which means that everyone can find an activity they like. And the event is all about cooperation and mutual support, which are key to raising awareness of disability. The children enjoy it because disability is a subject they don’t necessarily feel comfortable talking about. The closing Q&A session and discussion are an opportunity for them to express themselves freely, talk about an experience of their own or ask questions without being teased.”

These events last two or three hours and take place in Roubaix, Rouen, Rennes, Nancy, Paris and Lyon. Held on Wednesdays all year round (during school holidays and termtime), they can accommodate 150 children and are tailored to different age groups in the 4 to 15 age range.

Forty-three events were organized in the first two terms of 2017, and since the programme was set up there have been 333 sessions in total. This makes T’es Cap, le Handicap one of the most popular activities in the N’JOY catalogue.

More information on T’es Cap, le Handicap

*Dodos is a recreation centre minicamp package that includes accommodation, meals, activities and appropriate supervision.
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